Ningbo, China: Indian men managed to beat a spirited Egypt in the eighth round to help themselves from occupying the bottom place in the World Team Chess Championships.
India won 2.5-1.5 with victories through P Harikrishna and Surya Shekhar Ganguly while Krishnan Sasikiran was held to a draw and G N Gopal had to concede defeat.
The victory did not help India`s cause too much as they are now at joint eighth in the 10-team event with Israel with eight points, ahead of Egypt who have lost all their matches so far.
For India, Harikrishna played his trademark endgame and Amin Baseem was no match. It was a Bogo-Indian defense and the game lasted 79 moves.Much earlier, Surya Shekhar Ganguly gave an early lead at the expense of Samy Shoker. Ganguly played attacking chess with white pieces and won an exchange to force matters in 41 moves.
El Gindy Essam played out a draw with Sasikiran after winning a pawn while Gopal went down to Ezat Mohamed in 63 moves of a Grunfeld defense.
The Indian victory apart, it was a dramatic day in the premier team championship as holders Russia were outdone by hosts China 1.5-2.5. The victory for China came unexpectedly on the top board when Ukrainian turned Russian Sergey Karjakin went down to Wang Hao from a position of strength. The other three games were drawn.
In another reversal, United States cashed in on successes on the first and last board to beat Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5. Gata Kamsky won after a dogged defense against Teimour Radjabov on the top board while veteran Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan proved the value of experience over youth in crushing Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the fourth board.The lone saving grace for Azerbaijan was Rauf Mamedov who defeated Yuri Shulman while the other game of the match was drawn.
On a comeback trail, Ukraine beat Israel 2.5-1.5 to jump to joint second spot. Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Moiseenko won two important games for their team while Pavel Eljanov was on the receiving end.
With just two rounds to go in the tournament, Armenia, on 12 points, has a huge three points lead over China and Ukraine who have nine points apiece. The trio of Russia, Hungary and USA shares the fourth spot on eight points and Azerbaijan a distant seventh on six points.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.