Backed by excellent performances on all boards, the Indian men outclassed Kazakhstan 3.5-0.5 to remain in joint second spot with nine points after the end of the sixth round of the World Teams Chess Championship, here.
B. Adhiban was held to a draw on the top board by Rinat Jumabayev but the trio of Krishnan Sasikiran, Surya Ganguly and S. P. Sethuraman delivered the goods on the last three boards for another handsome victory that is bound to help the confidence of a team eyeing a medal-finish.
Sasikiran got the better of Anuar Ismagambetov, Ganguly proved too good for Murtas Kazhgaleyev while S. P. Sethuraman remained unstoppable on the last board as he made i look easy against Denis Makhnev.
Meanwhile the Russian men were held to a draw by Azerbaijan with Arkadij Naiditsch defeating top Russian Sergey Karjakin. The Russians drew level on the second board where Ian Nepomniachtchi won against Rauf Mamedov while the other two games ended in draws.
Russia remained in sole lead on 10 points following the draw while India and England now follow them just one point behind. The English Grandmasters had a field day against a much younger Iranian lot as the former romped home with a 3-1 result, winning on the top three boards.
United States made sure they remained in medal contention scoring a whopping 3.5-0.5 victory over Sweden. The US team is now in sole fourth spot on eight points, two points ahead of fifth placed China.
In the women’s section being held simultaneously, the Indian eves suffered a setback as they lost 1.5-2.5 to China. Eeash Karavade drew with Tan Zhongyi and Soumya Swminathan and Padmini Rout were also able to hold their fort against higher- ranked Shen Yang and Huang Qian respectively.
However, Bhakti Kulkarni suffered a loss on the fourth board to Lei Tingjie, giving the Indian ladies their second loss in the event.
With just three rounds to come here. China remains in sole lead with 12 points and Russian ladies follow them two points behind after beating USA 2.5-1.5.
Ukraine defeated Armenia 2.5-1.5 to retain their third spot on nine points and the Georgians scored a regulation 3.5-0.5 victory over Egypt to reach eight points and in sole fourth spot.
The Indian women have slipped to joint fifth spot with host Kazakhstan.
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