Fifth seeded Indians stayed on course of a strong finish after posting 3-1 victories in both sections of the Chess Olympiad here on Thursday.
In the 10th and penultimate round, India defeated the Netherlands in the open section after the women prevailed over Peru.
India, already out of the medal-hunt, stood in the sixth place in the open section and 10th among women. In the final round, Indian men play Poland.
Men from USA and China share the top place with 17 match-points while in the women section, China (17) enjoys a one-point lead over Ukraine, USA and Armenia.
With Viswanathan Anand taking a break, P. Hari Krishna moved to the top board and drew with his good friend Anish Giri after facing some anxious moments. In the meantime, Vidit Gujarati, B. Adhiban and K.
Sasikiran established clearly better positions against their rivals.
Before long, Adhiban and Sasikiran won the two lower boards and Hari drew to gave India the winning lead. Vidit, too, inched closer to victory with a two-pawn advantage in an endgame where Erwin L’Ami had only the queen to protect his king. Vidit missed the winning continuation and L’Ami forced a draw through perpetual checks that led to 140 moves after which the Dutchman could claim a draw under the
50-move rule without a capture.
Earlier, the women looked headed for a possible 4-0 win victory over Peru. After Padmini Rout scored on the fourth board, D. Harika benefited from a ‘blunder’ from her rival in an equal position. She
gained a rook and a move later, her rival gave up. Tania Sachdev, too, proved her superiority to ensure victory for India.
However, in a complete winning position against Deysi Cori, Humpy lost her concentration and overlooked a back-rank checkmate. In desperation, Humpy had to give up her queen but resigned a move later.
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