A DISAPPOINTING FINISH FOR INDIA
The Statesman, India
June 5 2006
Press Trust of India
TURIN (Italy), June 4: India had a disappointing finish at the 37th
Chess Olympiad here with the women’s team bagging the 12th spot and
the men managing to get the 30th place after the concluding round of
the meet.
Indian men yet again failed to make the most of the situation and
managed a minimal 2.5-1.5 victory over Italy B in the 13th and
final round.
Armenia attested their supremacy in the event with a quick draw on
all four boards against Hungary and won the gold medal with a huge
score of 36 points out of a possible 52. The silver medal went to
China who came with yet another fine performance in the final round
game to beat the Netherlands by a 2.5-1.5 margin. The Chinese men
finished with 34 points.
In an amazing turn of events, pre-Olympiad favourite and top seed
Russia were thrown out of medal contention after they lost their
final round game against Israel by a 1-3 margin. It paved the way
for the United States men who beat Norway 3.5-0.5 to join Israel in
the third spot on 33 points, and after the tie-break was resolved the
USA got the bronze. Behind Israel, Hungary finished fifth overall on
32.5 points while Russia ended in sixth place. Indian men who had
been given the second billing here behind Russia finished 30th on
29.5 points after the final list was announced.
In women’s section, the Ukraine won the gold after taking a draw with
Armenian eves. The Ukraine ended with 29.5 points out of a possible
39 and won the gold with a 1.5 point lead over Russia, who defeated
Indian eves in the final round 2-1. Indian eves, seeded ninth, had a
better finish than their male counterparts and tallied 23 points to
finish in 12th place. The Chinese women, the defending champions,
had to be content with the bronze this time. In the final round,
China drew with Belarus and ended on 27.5 points overall.
For Indian men, the final round also did not bring any good news as
national champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly was outdone on the third board
by unknown Sabino Brunello of the Italy B team. In fact, the Indian
opposition did not have a single International Master against four
Indian GMs and it was again a tragedy of errors that failed to propel
the team to a better finish. Viswanathan Anand was expectedly rested
and Krishnan Sasikiran won his game against Niccolo Ronchetti after
former world junior champion P Harikrishna gave the team an early lead
defeating Daniele Vocaturo. However, Ganguly’s loss combined with a
draw by Sandipan Chanda against Denis Rombaldoni on the fourth board
could yield only a minimal victory.
Meanwhile, Mr Bharat Singh Chauhan, treasurer of the All India Chess
Federation, was unanimously elected as president of Fide’s Asian Zone
3.2 here. Zone 3.2 comprises of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka.