World Team C'ship: Indian women let Georgia off the hook, men lose to Poland

Indian men suffered an opening-round defeat to Poland while the ladies let higher-ranked Georgia off the hook and settled for a draw in the World team chess championship.

Published : Jun 17, 2017 21:51 IST , Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia)

Harika defeated Nana Dzagnidze.

Harika defeated Nana Dzagnidze.

Indian men suffered an opening-round defeat to Poland while the ladies let higher-ranked Georgia off the hook and settled for a draw in the World team chess championship here on Saturday.

In the ladies section, India appeared headed for victory until veteran S. Vijayalakshmi, armed with an extra knight, blundered in a winning position to lose to Nino Batsiashvili. This late loss negated D. Harika victory over Nana Dzagnidze on the top board. The other two boards ended in draws.

Against the higher-rated Polish men, Indians started well with spearhead Vidit Gujrathi beating Radoslaw Wojtaszek on the top board. But National champion M. Karthikeyan and B. Adhiban lost. On the fourth board, Parimarjan Negi could only draw.

First round results

Open: India (0) lost to Poland (2) 1.5-2.5 (Vidit Gujrathi bt Radoslaw Wojtaszek; B. Adhiban lost to Jan-Krzysztof Duda; M. Karthikeyan lost to Kacper Piorun; Parimarjan Negi drew with Mateusz Bartel); China (2) bt Belarus (0) 3.5-0.5; USA (2) bt Norway (0) 2.5-1.5; Egypt (0) lost to Russia (2) 0.5-3.5; Turkey (1) drew with Ukraine (1) 2-2.

Women: India (1) drew with Georgia (1) 2-2 (D. Harika bt Nana Dzagnidze; Eesha Karavade drew with Lela Javakhishvili; Padmini Rout drew with Bela Khoneshvili; S. Vijayalakshmi lost to Nino Batsiashvili); Russia (2) bt China (0) 3-1; USA (0) lost to Ukraine (2) 1.5-2.5; Poland (2) bt Azerbaijan (0) 3.5-0.5; Egypt (0) lost to Vietnam (2) 0-4.