India outclass Israel on final day to emerge winners

New Delhi: Indian team rode on a superb show by Grandmaster (GM) Krishnan Sasikiran to outclass their Israeli counterparts 29.5-18.5 on the final day of the three-day chess match played at the AAI Officers Club here.

Sasikiran, who is the second highest rated Indian chess player, paved the way for his team`s victory scoring a massive 7.5 out of a possible eight on the final day. He emerged victorious in seven games and settled for a draw against Vitali Golod in the rapid game. Indians built on a healthy lead in the opening round with Abhijeet Gupta getting better off Ilia Smirin in the blindfold game and Sasikiran taking home the advantage against Golod. From Israel`s perspective, GM Baron Tal was on the receiving end throughout the match and went on to lose all 12 games that he played against Indians. The best Israeli player was Ilia Smirin, who scored 8 points in all and was especially effective in the last round where he scored 3.5/4. IM Gil Popliski scored 4.5 points while Vitali Golod ended up with six points in all. Sasikiran, who had an off day on Tuesday, was by far the best player in the meet scoring 9.5 points out of a possible 12. Abhijeet Gupta and B Adhiban scored an identical seven points while Tuesday’s hero Gopal lost some sheen to end up with six points in all. The match, sponsored by Airport Authority of India (AAI), was played as a curtain raiser to the World Chess championship scheduled later this year at Moscow between Israel`s Boris Gelfand and India`s Viswanathan Anand. PTI