Petroleum completes ‘double’; AAI second after drubbing Railways ‘A’

Petroleum teams completed the title-sweep with ‘perfect’ scores in both sections and stamped its authority on the National team chess championship

Published : Feb 14, 2018 19:44 IST , BHUBANESWAR

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board players after winning the title in the National Team Chess Championship 2018 at KIIT sports complex in Bhubaneswar.
Petroleum Sports Promotion Board players after winning the title in the National Team Chess Championship 2018 at KIIT sports complex in Bhubaneswar.
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Petroleum Sports Promotion Board players after winning the title in the National Team Chess Championship 2018 at KIIT sports complex in Bhubaneswar.


Dominant Petroleum teams completed the title-sweep with ‘perfect’ scores in both sections and stamped its authority on the National team chess championship here on Wednesday.

This was only the second time Petroleum was winning a ‘double’ – the first one being in 2015. The title-win in the open section was 10th for the Petroleum men and only the third for the women.

Ironical as it may sound, for their superb collective effort, Petroleum’s Surya Shekhar Ganguly, B. Adhiban, G. N. Gopal, M. Karthikeyan and Deep Sengupta – all Grandmasters – shared Rs. 25,000.

In the women section, the share for the winning members was even smaller – with Eesha Karavade, Soumya Swaminathan, Mary Ann Gomes, Padmini Rout and Nisha Mohota receiving Rs. 20,000.

Though assured of regaining the titles, Petroleum (18 match-points) crushed BSNL 3.5-0.5 in ninth round after Adhiban split the point with Himal Thanki on the top board.

In the race for the second spot, Airports Authority of India played to its seeding and drubbed defending champion Railways ‘A’ 3-1. After draws on the top two boards, AAI rode on the victories of M. Shyam Sundar and N. R. Visakh who surprised higher-rated Swapnil Dhopade and
M. S. Thej Kumar, respectively. The defeat pushed Railways ‘A’ to the fourth spot, behind Railways ‘B’.

In the women section, Petroleum (14 match-points) rolled over Telangana 4-0 to regain the title, won here on 2016. Defending champion Air India (11) finished runner-up after blanking Tamil Nadu 4-0, a score-line with which AAI drubbed Uttar Pradesh for the third spot.

Important results:

Open (ninth round): BSNL (10) lost to Petroleum (18) 0.5-3.5; Airports Authority of India (14) bt Railways ‘A’ (13) 3-1; Odisha-KIIT (11) drew with Railways ‘B’ (13) 2-2; Bihar (10) lost to Air India (12) 0-4; LIC (12) bt Tamil Nadu (10) 2.5-1.5.

Women (seventh round): Telangana (6) lost to Petroleum (14) 0-4: Tamil Nadu (8) lost to Air India (11) 0-4; Uttar Pradesh (7) lost to Airports Authority of India (10) 0-4; LIC (8) bt Himachal Pradesh (3) 4-0.

Final standings (top five):

Open: 1. Petroleum (18 match-points), 2. AAI (14), 3. Railways ‘B’ (13), 4. Railways ‘A’ (13), 5. Air India (12).

Women: Petroleum (14 match-points), 2. Air India (11), 3. AAI (10), 4. Tamil Nadu (8), 5. LIC (8).

Board Prizes winners:

Open: Board 1: Karan Trivedi (Gujarat, 7/8), Board 2: B. Adhiban (Petroleum, 8/9), Board 3: G. N. Gopal (Petroleum, 6/7), Board 4: Ajay Kumar Rai (Defence, 8/9), Board 5: Deep Sengupta (Petroleum, 6/6).

Women: Board 1: Swati Ghate (LIC, 7/7), Board 2: Kiran Manisha Mohanty (LIC, 5.5/7), Board 3: Sakshi Chitlange (AAI, 5/6), Board 4: Padmini Rout (Petroleum, 5/5), Board 5:  Nisha Mohota (Petroleum, 4.5/5).

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