Asian Nations Cup: Indian women shine in Iran

Both the Indian teams came back strongly to reach the podium at the Asian Nations Cup chess tournament on Friday. The men won the silver while the women claimed the bronze.

The men, comprising B. Adhiban, S.P. Sethuraman, K. Sasikiran, Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Abhijeet Gupta, finished with 10 points to take the runner-up spot behind champion Iran Green (13 points). In the final round, India thrashed Iran White 3.5-0.5.

The women’s squad, featuring D. Harika, R. Vaishali, Eesha Karvade, Padmini Rout and Aakanksha Hagawane, took its tally to eight points after drawing with Iran Green 2-2 in the final round. It finished third behind China (13) and Vietnam (10).

Later, the women struck gold in the blitz event, scoring 13 points, pushing Vietnam (12) and China (9) behind. The men, however, had to settle for the fourth spot, with eight points, behind Iran Green (14), China (12) and Vietnam (10).

Individual honours

The women fared well on the individual boards too, with Harika winning the silver on the first and Eesha (third), Padmini (fourth) and Aakanksha (fifth) taking the bronze. The men fared even better, with Sethuraman (second board) and Sasikiran (third) capturing the gold and Adhiban (first) winning the silver.

Final standings (classical): 1. Iran Green 13; 2-3. India and China 10; 4-5. Kazakhstan and Iran Red 9; 6-8. Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Syria 7; 9-11. Iran White, Vietnam and Iraq 6.

Women: 1. China 13; 2. Vietnam 11; 3-4. India and Uzbekistan 8; 5-7. Kazakhstan and Iran Green 7; 7. Iran Red 2.