INDIANS HOPING TO FINISH ON A HIGH

Times of India
Nov 25 2008

GERMANY: As the 32nd Chess Olympiad is meandering to close, players
and ardent fans are certainly missing the services of World Champion
Viswanathan

Anand and second highest-rated woman player Koneru Humpy in the
tournament.

With just one more round to go, the 13th seeded Indian men are placed
joint 18th while the 11th seed women are currently joint seventh.

A good performance in the final round might propel both teams to
higher up the order but it could have been a different story if both
stalwarts had participated in the biggest chess event.

Anand had turned down the offer to take part in the Olympiad after
the World Championship triumph and certainly the preparations for
the match against Vladimir Kramnik had taken its toll.

Humpy cited a busy schedule for her non-participation. Without Anand
and Humpy there were no great expectations and even then the result,
by the women, is quite encouraging.

The women will take on Armenia while the men are slated to meet
Slovakia in the final round game.

With both sections interestingly poised, it remains to be seen who
comes out the winner.

Armenia and Ukraine are locked at the top in the men’s category while
Poland surprised many to be in front in the women’s event.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress