India men strengthen position
dubai — Second seeded India strengthened their position at the top after the advantage gained during the mid-stage of the Asian Nations Cup Chess Championship organised by the UAE Chess Federation under the auspices of the Asian Chess Federation at Novotel Abu Dhabi Al Bustan hotel.
The Indian men now have widened the lead ahead of the home stretch as defending champions China will now be trying to catch up as quickly as possible.
In women’s action, Uzbekistan maintain solo lead with 12 match points followed closely by defending champions China (11), Vietnam and Kazakhstan (10), India (9), Iran and Mongolia (6), UAE-2 at 3, Sri Lanka with 2 and UAE-1 on 1.
GM B. Adhiban led the Indian campaign on Sunday when his side downed Bangladesh 2.51.5 to lead alone with 13 match points, ahead of China with 11. A team earns two match points for a win and one match point for a draw. Game points over four boards break the tie.
Adhiban set aside the Reti opening of GM Niaz Murshed of Bangladesh in 43 moves. Indian board 4 player GM Krishnan Sasikiran followed suit and used the Queen’s Gambit to beat GM Enamul Hossain in 36 moves. Mohammad Minhaz Uddin countered for Bangladesh by outplaying S.P. Sethuraman. GM Santosh Gujjrathi Vidit sealed the win for India with a draw against Al Rakib Mollah Abdullah on board 3.
China were held to a 2-2 draw by Kazakhstan, halving the point on all four boards. In other matches, Iran beat Vietnam 3-1, Mongolia defeated Sri Lanka 3-1, Uzbekistan crushed Iraq 3-1, UAE-1 smashed Lebanon 3-1, Kyrgyzstan blanked Oman 4-0, Jordan edged Palestine 2.51.5, Afghanistan beat Tajikistan 3-1, UAE-2 outclassed UAE-3 3.5-0.5 while Kuwait drew 2-2 with Nepal.
Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Iran share third slot with 10 match points each. Uzbekistan have 9 followed by Bangladesh, UAE-1, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan with 8 apiece. Vietnam, Iraq and Sri Lanka have 7 each followed by Afghanistan, Lebanon, UAE2 and Oman (6), Palestine (4), Kuwait and Nepal (3), and Tajikistan and UAE-3 on 2.