Indian eves go down to China in World chess

Ningbo (China): D Harika and Eesha Karavade`s resistance could not save India from a 1-3 defeat against

title favourite China in the third round of the World Women team chess championship here. International Master Tania Sachdev failed to find her rhythm and lost her third game on the trot after making a blunder against Zhao Xue on the second board. Mary Ann Gomes was the other Indian who went down on the fourth board, falling prey to a skillful display by Huang Qian. International Master Harika held on to her own on the top board and held top Chinese star Yifan Hao to a fighting draw while Karavade signed peace on the third board against Ju Wenjun giving the hosts a 3-1 victory. With this defeat, the Indian eves slipped to joint fourth spot with three points. The Polish women continued their winning streak and defeated the second Chinese team 2.5-1.5 to lead the tables with six points in all. Just one point behind the leaders are Georgia who scored an impressive 3-1 victory over Ukraine. China One jumped to sole third spot on four points while India, United States and Ukraine have three points each for the shared fourth spot currently. Six rounds still remain in the premier women team event of the world. Tania blundered early as the pressure showed on the most recent Arjuna awardee after losing the first two games. Playing black against Zhao Xue, Tania lost a rook for minor pieces in the early stages of middle game and the Chinese proved technically superior. Harika played white on the top board and it was a hard fought duel wherein the Hyderabadi had to play precisely in the middle game to keep the balance. The pieces got traded in a heap once Harika was off the hook and the ensuing minor piece endgame was just a draw which was agreed after 53 moves. Mary Ann Gomes suffered a loss at the hands of Huang Qian after misplaying a slightly worse middle game. The Indian lost a couple of queen side pawns in quick succession and the resulting endgame had no chances for her. In the other game involving Indian team, Karavade played it safe and drew with Ju Wenjun through repetition of moves after facing a King`s Indian defence with white pieces. Bureau Report