Indians content with draws

Istanbul, November 11: Grandmaster K Sasikiran continued with his fine form but Indian men could only manage a 2-2 draw with Poland while ...

Istanbul, November 11: Grandmaster K Sasikiran continued with his fine form but Indian men could only manage a 2-2 draw with Poland while the Indian women did well to hold Vietnam 1.5-1.5 in the 13th and Penultimate round of the 34th Chess Olympiad here.

With only one round to go, Russia continued to top the men’s section with a fighting 2-2 draw with England. Russia has 36 points to its credit and is followed by Germany on 34.5 points. Germany defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina with a minimum margin of 2.5-1.5. Hungary (33.5) moved to third position with a 3-1 victory over Netherlands. The Indian team has tallied 30.5 points and a success in the last round will probably find them in the top ten.

In the women’s section, China is all set to annex the title. On 30.5 points, it has a near unassailable lead over Georgia (28). Russia is in third spot with 27 points while India has 21.5 points.

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Black was certainly ok for India on Saturday though with the favourable colours the stalwarts faltered to squander away an early lead given by Sasikiran who displayed fine positional sense to oust T Markowski from the black side of an English Opening.

In a rather unconvetional set up opted for by Markowski, Sasikiran obtained dynamic equality and struck in the centre on his 20th move. Soon Markowski was reeling under pressure and gave a piece for two pawns, hoping for some counter play. Sasikiran did not give any chances thereafter to register another excellent result.

The second board ended in a draw after GM Abhijit Kunte caught off guard in a relatively less played variation of the Sicilian Dragon by B Macieja.

Abhijit juggled the move order and found, to his astonishment, that his position had nothing much to offer. The right game plan followed thereafter and Abhijit exchanged a few minor pieces before settling for a draw after 20 moves.

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IM P Harikrishna had another good day. Polish man in form, B Socko could not get any advantage against the Indian teenage sensation from his opening with white pieces.

Harikrishna equalised in the middle game and exchanged pieces at regular intervals. In the Queen and Bishop endgame that ensued, Harikrishna sacrificed a pawn temporarily to get a draw.

On the fourth board Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua went down to R Kempinski.

Results (Round 13)
Men: England drew Russia 2-2; Germany bt Bosnia & Herzegovina 2.5-1.5; Israel drew Ukraine 2-2; Netherlands lost to Hungary 1-3; Georgia bt Bulgaria 3.5-0.5; China drew Armenia 2-2; Poland drew India 2-2; USA lost to Cuba 1.5-2.5 and Denmark bt Latvia 2.5-1.5.

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Women: Romania lost to China 0.5-2.5; Georgia bt Kazakhstan 2.5-0.5; Poland lost to Russia 0-3; Yugoslavia lost to Ukraine 1-2; Germany bt Netherlands 2-1; USA lost to Hungary 1-2; Bulgaria bt Lithuania 2-1; Cuba bt Czech Republic 3-0; Spain bt Belarus 2-1 and India drew Vietnam 1.5-1.5.

Standings after round 13:
Men: Russia 36; Germany 34.5; Hungary 33.5; Ukraine 32.5; Georgia 32; England, Israel 31.5; Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia and Yugoslavia 31; India, China, Armenia, Cuba, Greece, Denmark and Macedonia 30.5.

Women: China 30.5; Georgia 28; Russia 27; Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Netherlands 24; Hungary, Germany, Cuba 23.5; India 21.5.