Koneru Humpy shines as India women beat Georgia
The women’s team of Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Tania Sachdev and R Vaishali may not catch the eye in the same fashion as India’s young brigade in the open section. They are getting the job done though. They have won all their six matches at the 44th Chess Olympiad here, vindicating their status as the top seeds in the women’s section.
Their supremacy seemed certain to be challenged by Georgia on Wednesday. The east European nation is seeded third and is led by world No 6 Nana Dzagnidze.
Riding on Humpy’s victory over Dzagnidze, the hosts beat Georgia 3-1. R Vaishali reinforced her potential with a win against Lela Javakhishvili in 36 moves. Tania Sachdev and Harika Dronavalli earned half a point each courtesy of draws against Salome Melia and Nino Batsiashvili respectively.
The highlight without a doubt was Humpy’s performance. There were some unsettling moments after the opening exchanges, particularly when the 35-year-old moved her queen to b3 and rook to d1 in successive moves. Humpy knew she had to be very precise thereafter.
“Moving my pawn to c6 on move 23 helped me get back into a position. All my dubious moves worked out well eventually. It was a comfortable win towards the end,” Humpy told a media conference after the sixth round.
This is Humpy’s first event in the classical format after almost two-and-a-half years. “My start to the tournament was very shaky. I struggled a lot. Even though I had winning positions, I was not able to convert. I was also bad with time management. I am gradually improving. I hope the success continues in the coming rounds,” said Humpy.
With Thursday being a rest day, the hosts are in a good position to recharge their batteries before renewing the quest for a medal. They are currently on top of the standings.
“This was a very important win. We have a few strong teams and one of them was of course Georgia. We wanted to make sure we kept winning. Winning before the rest day makes it extra special. There is one day to relax. The players have been putting in a lot of effort. Initially, there was some pressure when the games started. After the middle game, we were comfortable on all boards,” GM Abhijit Kunte, captain of the women’s team, said.
The second Indian women’s team drew 2-2 against Czech Republic after Vantika Agrawal, Padmini Rout, Mary Ann Gomes and Divya Deshmukh were all held. India C beat Australia 3-1.
In the open section, India B suffered their first defeat of the competition on Wednesday. D Gukesh notched up a sixth win on the trot against Gabriel Sargissian–Armenia’s highest-rated player – B Adhiban and Raunak Sadhwani lost. Nihal Sarin shared the spoils with Hrant Melkumyan. The hosts have slipped to third as a result while Armenia are leading the table.
The second-seeded Indian team of P Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Krishnan Sasikiran also had a modest result–a 2-2 draw–against Uzbekistan. Harikrishna, who had a tough match-up against world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov, was the only Indian player to register a victory. India C beat Lithuania 3.5-1.5.
Norway continue to struggle
The Norwegians came into the tournament as one of the more fancied teams. The presence of world champion Magnus Carlsen had a lot to do with it, but the world No 1 needed more backing from his teammates. That hasn’t been the case so far. His win against Australia’s Anton Smirnov on Wednesday counted for little yet again as Aryan Tari and Jon Ludvig Hammer lost.
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