Adhiban bounces bank to beat Jumabayev; joint second now

Sharjah: Grandmaster and former national champion B Adhiban bounced back in style and defeated Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan in the eighth round of 13th Asian Continental Chess championship here.

After an out-of-sort display in the previous round when he lost to Ni Hua of China, Adhiban came roaring back to form and jumped to joint second spot with just one round left in the event that is a part of the next world championship cycle. Yu Yangyi of China emerged as the sole leader after outwitting compatriot and top seed Bu Xiangzhi in a keenly contested game. Yangyi, who is the world junior champion currently, took his tally to 6.5 points out of a possible 8. Adhiban, Ni Hua and former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan share the second spot on six points each and all of them should make it to the coveted top five slots that guarantees a place in the world chess cup of 2015. Former Asian champion Parimarjan Negi and S P Sethuraman are the other Indians in with a chance, but for that they will have to win the last round and hope for some other favourable results on other boards. In the penultimate round, Negi played a fine game to beat Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran, while Sethuraman accounted for Batchuluun Tsegmed of Mongolia. Among other Indians in the fray, Abhijeet Gupta bowed out of contention after losing to local star A R Salem Saleh, while Krishnan Sasikiran moved to five points at the expense of Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh. Adhiban had to win with black -- a daunting task in Grandmaster level chess. Going for the King`s Indian defense, Adhiban made sure he landed in a complicated position as Jumabayev went for the Bayonet attack. Adhiban showed better preparation and understanding of middle game. He capitalised on a dubious pawn sacrifice by the Kazakh. Adhiban decided to eventually return the pawn but by then he had control thanks to his better placed pieces. Jumabayev succumbed under pressure. Negi faced the Phillidor defense by Maghami and got a slightly better middle game that was nurtured well. Maghami could never really equalise as Negi was relentless in the final part of the game and the Iranian was behind on the clock as well to make matters worse for himself. In the women`s championship being held simultaneously, Eesha Karavade remained the only Indian in with a chance for a podium finish after settling for a draw with Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Vietnam. Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia won the gold medal with a round to spare, taking her tally to an unassialable seven points in this section. The Indonesian is followed by Iranian duo of Sarasadat Khademalsharieh and Atousa Pourkashiyan on 5.5 points each and Eesha shares the fourth spot another half point adrift. Important and Indian results round 8 open (Indians unless specified): Yu Yangyi (Chn, 6.5) beat Bu Xiangzhi (Chn, 5.5); Ni Hua (Chn, 6) drew with Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzb, 6); Rinat Jumabayev (Kaz, 5) lost to B Adhiban (6); Parimarjan Negi (5.5) beat Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (Iri, 5); Abhijeet Gupta (4.5) lost to A R Salem Saleh (Uae, 5.5); Deep Sengupta (4.5) lost to Wen Yang (Chn, 5.5); S P Sethuraman (5.5) beat Batchuluun Tsegmed (Mgl, 4.5); Krishnan Sasikiran (5) beat Ziaur Rahman (Ban, 4); Surya Shekhar Ganguly (4.5) drew with Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vie, 4.5); Vidit Gujrathi (4.5) drew with Gundavaa Bayarsaikhan (Mgl, 4.5); Al-Sayed Mohammed (Qat, 4.5) drew with G N Gopal (4.5); Vaibhav Suri (5) beat Idani Pouya (Iri, 4); Wan Yunguo (Chn, 3.5) lost to Abhijit Kunte (5); M R Lalith Babu (4.5) beat Fang Yan (Chn, 3.5); Amirreza Pourramezanali (Iri, 4.5) beat Debashis Das (3.5); M Shyam Sundar (3.5) lost to Nezad Husein Aziz (4.5); Chu Wei Chao (Chn, 4.5) beat V Vishnu Prasanna (3.5); Munkhgal Gombosuren (Mgl, 3) lost to Akshat Khamparia (4). Women: Gong Qianyun (Chn, 5) drew with Irine Kharisma Sukandar (Ina, 7); Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iri, 5.5) beat Atousa Pourkashiyan (Iri, 5.5); Hoang Thi Bao Tram (Vie, 5) drew with Eesha Karavade (5); Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 5) beat Gu Tianlu (Chn, 4); Nguyen Thi Thanh An (Vie, 4.5) drew with Munguntuul Batkhuyag (Mgl, 4.5); Tania Sachdev (4.5) drew with Ni Shiqun (Chn, 4.5); Hoang Thi Nhu Y (Vie, 4.5) drew with Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kaz, 4.5); Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vie, 4.5) drew with Pham Le Thao Nguyen (Vie, 4.5); Mary Ann Gomes (3.5) lost to Swathi Ghate (4.5); Soumya Swaminathan (4.5) beat Dorsa Derakhshani (Iri, 3.5).