The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Defensive approach costs Indian men dear; easy win for the women

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Sport

Sport - Chess

Defensive approach costs Indian men dear; easy win for the women

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Defensive approach spelt disaster for the Indian men as Morocco made a mockery of seeding to carve out a sensational 3-1 victory over the second seeds in the open section of the Chess Olympiad that began late on Sunday in Turin.

The ladies team provided some consolation to the Indian camp by racing away to an expected 3-0 victory over Brazil.

The talking point at the Oval, which was one of the venues of the Winter Olympics in February this year, was the starting trouble faced by the Indians. The big defeat, in turn, leaves them with plenty to catch up with in their search of a medal over the next 12 rounds.

With Viswanathan Anand yet to join the squad and K. Sasikiran taking a `drop', India fielded both its reserves, Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda and debutant D. P. Singh. Their defeats at the hands of lesser-rated rivals, coupled with the inability of P. Hari Krishna and Surya Shekhar Ganguly to strike, left India with its biggest loss since the 2002 edition of the Olympiad. In 2002, India had lost four matches all with an identical 1.5-2.5 scoreline.

Teams like Russia, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Germany and Romania were among those who did not drop even half a point in the opener. Vassily Ivanchuk, the hero of Ukraine's title-triumph in 2004, had to settle for a draw with International Braille Chess Association's Russian spearhead Sergey Krylov. On a day when surprises were at a premium, India provided them in plenty against Morocco, seeded 74.

Hari fails to cash in

Playing black, Hari never looked better against fellow-GM Hichem Hamdouchi. Ganguly squandered the advantage of white pieces and drew in just 26 moves against FIDE Master Jacques Elibilia, rated 245 points below.

Chanda, who has a good record in team events, played the waiting game against Ismail Karim but wilted under pressure while Diwakar struggled for 71 moves before surrendering to Muhamed Arbouche. The Indian women went about their task in a business-like manner and dismissed Brazil with ease. Humpy needed just 20 moves to win before Swati and Harika prepared to checkmate their rivals.

The results: First round:

Open: Russia bt Kazakhstan 4-0; Morocco bt India 3-1 (Hichem Hamadouchi drew with P. Hari Krishna; Surya Shekhar Ganguly drew with Jacques Elibilia; Ismail Karim bt Sandipan Chanda; D. P. Singh lost to Muhamed Arbaouche); Armenia bt Venezuela 3-1; IBCA lost to Ukraine 0.5-3.5; France bt Bolivia 3.5-0.5; USA bt New Zealand 2.5-1.5; Faroe Islands lost to Netherlands 0-4; Azerbaijan drew with Mongolia 2-2; Kyrgystan lost to Bulgaria 0-4; Spain bt Malaysia 4-0.

Women: Russia bt Portugal 3-0; IBCA lost to Ukraine 0.5-2.5; Georgia bt Iceland 3-0; Austria lost to Hungary 0-3; USA bt Bangladesh 3-0; Malaysia lost to China 0-3; Itaty `A' bt South Africa 3-0; Armenia bt Denmark 3-0; Philippines lost to Germany 0.5-2.5; India bt Brazil 3-0 (K. Humpy bt Regina Lucia Santos Ribeiro; Paula Delai Fernanda lost to D. Harika; Swati Ghate bt Joara Chaves).

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