Parimarjan Negi produced a spectacular finish to upstage higher-rated Victor Bologan in just 29 moves and set up India’s dominating 3.5-0.5 victory over Moldova in the sixth round of the Chess Olympiad at Tromso, Norway, on Friday.
India’s women's team was lucky to escape with a 2-2 deadlock against Spain.
Negi’s top-board triumph that came following a robust kingside offensive on the black’s castled king was clearly his best game of the past week.
In the women’s section, the fifth-seeded Indian quartet survived the day due to another fine victory by Padmini Rout on the fourth board.
Leading sixth round results:
Open: India (9) beat Moldova (7) 3.5-0.5 (Parimarjan Negi bt Viktor Bologan; K. Sasikiran drew with Dmitry Svetushkin; B. Adhiban bt Vladimir Hamitevici; M. R. Lalith Babu bt Liviu Cerbulenco); Azerbaijan (11) bt Georgia (9) 3.5-0.5; Serbia (10) drew with Bulgaria (10) 2-2; Cuba (11) bt Kazakhstan (9) 3.5-0.5; Uzbekistan (9) lost to Russia (10) 1.5-2.5; Bosnia & Herzegovina (9) drew with France (9) 2-2; Croatia (10) bt Indonesia (8) 3-1; China (10) bt Egypt (8) 3.5-0.5; Vietnam (8) lost to Hungary (10) 1-3.
Women: India (8) drew with Spain (8) 2-2 (D. Harika bt Sabrina-Vega Gutierrez; Eesha Karavade lost to Olga Alexandrova; Mary Ann Gomes lost to Ana Matnadze; Padmini Rout bt Yudania Hernandez Estevez); China (12) bt Hungary (10) 3-1; Serbia (9) lost to Russia (12) 0.5-3.5; Netherlands (9) lost to Poland (11) 1-3; Slovakia (8) lost to France (10) 1-3; Iran (9) drew with Greece (9) 2-2; Italy (8) lost to Indonesia (10) 1.5-2.5; USA (10) bt Estonia (8) 3-1; Romania (10) bt Switzerland (8) 4-0.
