India ends campaign on winning note; China and Russia win titles

India posted identical 3-1 victories over Norway in the open section and Azerbaijan in the women’s category to finish fourth in the standings.

Padmini Rout had an easy victory in the final round .

 

India ended its campaign in the World Team chess championship on a winning note in both sections as China and Russia claimed the titles here on Monday.

India posted identical 3-1 victories over Norway in the open section and Azerbaijan in the women’s category. With India already out of the medal contention, the victories led the men to the fourth spot and the women tied for the third spot. But once the three-way tie was resolved, the Indian women also finished fourth.

Chinese men emerged triumphant ahead of Russia and Poland. Russian women pushed China to the second spot, with Georgia taking the third place owing to better board-points than India and Ukraine.

India’s triumph in the open section came due to victories posted by B. Adhiban and M. Karthikeyan. On the top board, Vidit Gujarathi and Aryan Tari tossed away winning opportunities and eventually settled for a draw after K. Sasikiran was involved in a draw on the fourth board.

Among the women, before Tania Sachdev lost on the top board, the trio of Eesha Karavade, Padmini Rout and S. Vijayalakshmi posted easy victories.

Ninth round results:

Open: Norway lost to India 1-3 (Aryan Tari drew with Vidit Gujrathi; Johan Soloman lost to B. Adhiban; Frode Elsness lost to M. Karthikeyan; Lars Oskar Hauge drew with K. Sasikiran); Poland lost to China 1.5-2.5; Russia bt USA 4-0; Turkey lost to Belarus 1.5-2.5; Ukraine bt Egypt 2.5-1.5).

Women: Azerbaijan lost to India 1-3; (Gunay Mamadzada bt Tania Sachdev; Gulnar Mammadova lost to Eesha Karavade; Ulviyya Fataliyeva lost to Padmini Rout; Khanim Balajayeva lost to S. Vijayalakshmi); Russia bt Ukraine 3-1; China bt Egypt 3-1; Vietnam lost to Poland 1.5-2.5; Georgia bt USA 3-1.

Final standings:

Open: 1. China (16 match points), 2. Russia (15), 3. Poland (12), 4. India (11), 5. Turkey (10), 6-8. Ukraine, Belarus, USA (8 each), 9. Norway (2), 10. Egypt (0).

Women: 1. Russia (16 match points), 2. China (13), 3-5. Georgia, India, Ukraine (12 each), 6. Poland (9), 7. USA (6). Vietnam, Azerbaijan (5 each), 10. Egypt (0).