Young Parimarjan Negi stunned the 2004 World champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov as India outplayed Uzbekistan and reached a historic high in the Chess Olympiad by taking the silver medal ahead of powerhouses like Russia and defending champion Armenia at Tromso, Norway, on Friday.
Starting as the 19th seeded team, India tied for the silver with Hungary, Russia and Azerbaijan after China ensured its maiden gold in the Open category.
In the women’s section, where Russia expectedly captured the gold, fifth seed India drew with Romania to settle for the 10th spot. This is also the first time that India finished in the top-10 bracket in both sections of the biennial event.
India's medal-winning performance bettered its previous best, a sixth-place finish in the 2004 edition in Calvia, Spain. The performance is even more creditable considering the fact that India made it without the services of two of its best players — Viswanathan Anand and P. Hari Krishna.
Highest percentage scoreThe golden embroidary was provided by the youngest member of the squad — Padmini Rout. The 20-year-old, who was rested for the final round, bagged the gold with a stupendous performance of 7.5 points from eight outings. In fact, her percentage score of 93.8 was the highest among over1700 players from 177 countries.
While the Indian women drew on all boards, the men produced a sterling performance. Playing with white pieces, Negi won in 69 moves after K. Sasikiran started the rout by stopping Marat Dzhumaev in 47 moves. S.P. Sethuraman battled to a 73-move triumph on the second board before B. Adhiban settled for a 80-move draw.
Leading 11th-round results: Open:India (17) bt Uzbekistan (15) 3.5-0.5 (Parimarjan Negi bt Rustam Kasimdzhanov; S. P. Sethuraman bt Anton Filippov; K. Sasikiran bt Marat Dzhumaev; B. Adhiban drew with Jahongir Vakhidov).
Poland (15) lost to China (19) 1-3; Hungary (17) drew with Ukraine (16) 2-2; Russia (17) bt France (15) 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan (17) bt USA (15) 2.5-1.5; Cuba (16) bt England (14) 2.5-1.5); Spain (16) bt Vietnam (14) 2.5-1.5; Israel (14) bt Croatia (14) 2.5-1.5; Armenia (16) bt Czech Republic (14) 3-1.
Women:Romania (15) drew with India (15) 2-2 (Croina-Isabela Peptan drew with D. Harika; Cristina-Adela Foisor drew with Tania Sachdev; Irina Bulmaga drew with Eesha Karavade; Elena Luminita Cosma drew with Mary Anna Gomes).
Russia (20) bt Bulgaria (15) 2.5-1.5; Ukraine (18) drew with China (18) 2-2; Georgia (17) bt Germany (16) 4-0; Armenia (15) bt Spain (15) 2.5-1.5; Kazakhstan (17) bt Czech Republic (14) 3-1; Azerbaijan (14) lost to Poland (16) 0.5-3.5; USA (16) bt Argentina (14) 4-0; France (15) bt Serbia (13) 3-1.
Standings (top-10):Open: 1. China (19 match points), 2-5. India, Hungary, Russia, Azerbaijan (17 each); 6-10. Ukraine, Cuba, Armenia, Israel and Spain (16 each).
Women: 1. Russia (20), 2-3. China, Ukraine (18 each); 4-6. Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan (17 each); 7-9. Poland, USA, Germany (16 each), 10. India (15).
