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PSPB continues to lead after a controversial match

By Our Sports Reporter

K. Sasikiran of PSCB joins his teammate GM Abhijit Kunte and IM V. Saravanan of Tamil Nadu, who were locked in a draw in the sixth round of the National team chess championships, in a post-game analysis at Vijayawada on Friday.

VIJAYAWADA JUNE 27. The normally affable R.B. Ramesh, the reigning British Open champion, was visibly upset at the arbiter's decision to declare his game against Tamil Nadu State champion, K. Gunasekaran, as a draw under time pressure in the sixth round on the top board here on Friday.

Yet, even after the appeals committee comprising Pravin Thipsay, Dongre, Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi and M. Srinivasa Rao deliberated for more than two hours in the afternoon to justify the verdict and award only half-a-point, defending champion Petroleum Sports Promotion Board stayed on course for the title in the Servo Indian Oil 27th National team chess championship with a handsome tally of 20 points.

Just as his team-mates Krishnan Sasikiran, Abhijit Kunte and Sandipan Chanda were getting to ready have an early lunch, Ramesh was taken aback by the developments in the end-game. In Panov-Botvinnik attack, Gunasekaran seemed to be trying for a draw despite his opponent being one pawn up. With the position being very passive for blacks, Ramesh too was not in a mood to try anything special.

When it looked as if they were settling for a draw, the episode unfolded after 66 moves. First, Gunasekaran claimed for a draw. Then the arbiter just asked both to continue. Later with Ramesh having one minute and his rival less than 30 seconds, and the position on the board, in the view of the arbiter, being `drawish', a draw was declared.

Ramesh, who felt that he was just gaining control with his queen and two pawns, protested this decision as he was clearly a piece up. However, the arbiter insisted that since there was no change on the board position for the preceding 20 moves and it was apparent the game was being continued to consume time, a draw was a `logical' result.

However, PSPB continues to top the pack with 20 points followed by Tamil Nadu with 17.5 points. Bank Sports Board `A' and Indian Airlines are tied with 16 points each in the third place with a round to spare.

The top board on which PSPB battled it out against Tamil Nadu saw Sasikiran outwitting M.R. Venkatesh in Nimzo Indian Defence. The youngster captured knight on c3, one move earlier instead of white chasing his bishop. In a way, he was one move down in the opening itself, analysed his team-mate Visweswaran.

Quick to seize, Sasikiran developed his pieces on the kingside, won an exchange. Soon, it was a question of time before the Grandmaster wrapped up the win even though Venkatesh was successful in dragging the contest even in lost position.

On the other board, two-time GM norm holder Sandipan Chanda had to settle for a hard-fought draw against P. Konguvel in Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence. The Tamil Nadu player had a definite advantage early. But his exchange of rooks instead of bishop only made things difficult for him.

Later, from a clear chance to gain control, Konguvel strangely overlooked bishop's sortie which enabled Chanda to stop white's passed pawn. In the subsequent rook and knight and rook and bishop ending, both were content to split the point.

GM Abhijit Kunte and IM Saravanan also settled for a draw in Closed Sicilian variation with the former having a slight edge. There was a chance for Saravanan for a kingside attack when Kunte played d5 break. But, when the former allowed the queens to be exchanged, the game fizzled out into a draw in rook and knight and rook and bishop ending.

Ironically, with BSB `A' holding the better-rated Indian Airlines to a two-all draw in the seventh round, it has brightened Tamil Nadu's chances of finishing runner-up unless something dramatic happens on the morrow in the last round.

The highlight of the Airlines-BSB encounter was GM Pravin Thipsay's fluent, 51-move win over C.S. Gokhale in Ruy Lopez Spanish Variation. Though Gokhale preferred to play the classical line opted by Viswanathan Anand's rival in one of previous games, he deviated on the 10th move by not playing Qe7, according to Thipsay.

Drawing from his vast experience, Thipsay soon neutralised that novelty and was a pawn up by the 19th move. Then, by exchanging pieces in Queen's ending, the seasoned campaigner ensured that there were no escape routes for his young rival.

On the same board, Sharad Tilak and S. Sathyapragyan were locked in a 30-move draw in Sicilian Schevinengen variation.

For Indian Airlines, Rahul Shetty provided the lone win in this round outwitting N. Neelakandan. This win came as a relief to the Airlines camp after IM N. Sudhakar Babu held WGM Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi in a long game featuring 88 moves in Semi-Slav Defence which also saw both of them exchange all the pieces to ensure an even-ending.

Important results:

Sixth round: PSPB (20) bt Tamil Nadu (17.5); BSB `A' (16) drew with Indian Airlines (16); Alekhine Chess Centre, Kolkata (15.5) bt Services (14.5); Hyderabad (14) lost to SCR (14.5); Space Academy, Vijayawada (13) lost to Tamil Nadu 'B' (14.5); AP Sub-juniors (12.5) lost to BSB `B' (14.5); Guntur (1) lost to Maharashtra (14.5); BK Trust, Pune (13) bt Gujarat (11.5); Champions Chess Academy, Vij (12.5) bt BSNL, Delhi (11); Chess Academy, SERSA (12) bt Rising Stars CA, Bangalore (11); Anitha Chess Academy, Vij (11) lost to Punjab (12); Tirumala Chess Mate (9.5) lost to Challenging Knights, Mumbai (1.25); J & K (12.5) bt Gudiwada (9.5); Vijayawada Sub-juniors (11) drew with West Bengal (0).

Fifth round: Indian Airlines lost to PSPB; TN bt SCA; SCR lost to BSB `A'; Services bt BK Trust; BSB `B' bt TN `B'; AP Sub-juniors bt Maharashtra; West Bengal bt Alekhine CC bt Jharkhand.

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