Continuing her fine run, Padmini Rout assured herself of a maiden National women’s chess title with a round to spare after a dramatic sequence of results in the 10th round here on Tuesday.
Padmini (8.5 points) faced unexpected resistance from tailender Hinduja Reddy before emerging triumphant in 94 moves.
By this time, the second-placed defending champion Mary Ann Gomes (7) had resigned against 15-year-old Ivana Furtado in a game lasting 64 moves.
As a result, Padmini raised her lead to an unsurpassable 1.5 points before Wednesday’s final round.
Joining Mary in the second spot was Nisha Mohota, who beat Lakshmi Praneetha in 54 moves. Bhakti Kulkarni spoilt S. Vijayalakshmi’s chances of a podium-finish by winning in 46 moves.
The results: 10th round: Padmini Rout (8.5) bt Hinduja Reddy (1.5); Mary Ann Gomes (7) lost to Ivana Furtado (6); Lakshmi Praneetha (3) lost to Nisha Mohota (7).
S. Vijayalakshmi (6) lost to Bhakti Kulkarni (6); V. Varshini (3) bt Pratyusha Bodda (4); Swati Ghate (3) bt Nimmy George (5).
