After suffering three straight losses, India scored an expected 3-1 victory over Vietnam in the sixth round of the Women world team chess championship at Ningbo, China, on Monday. Overnight leader Poland, top seed China One and in-form Georgia all lost.
Harika, having suffered her first loss on Sunday, took no chances with black pieces against Hoang Thi Bao Tram and settled for a 15-move draw. Mary, on the fourth board, completed a 69-move victory to put India ahead.
Tania Sachdev, with four losses in as many rounds, gave India the winning lead by posting a 54-move victory on the second board.
Thereafter, Eesha Karavade drew in 49 moves on the third board to complete India’s second victory in the competition.
USA crushes China One
In the biggest upset of the day, USA crushed favourite China One 3-1.
The results (sixth round): Vietnam lost to India 1-3 (Hoang Thi Bao Tram drew with D. Harika; Pham Le Thoa Nguyen lost to Tania Sachdev; Hoang Thi Nhu drew with Eesha Karavade; Pham Bich Ngoc lost to Mary Ann Gomes); Poland lost to Armenia 0.5-3.5; USA bt China One 3-1; Georgia lost to Russia 1.5-2.5; China Two drew with Ukraine 2-2.
Standings (after six rounds): 1. Poland (9 match points), 2-5. Ukraine, China One, Georgia, Russia (7 each), 6-7. China Two, Armenia (6 each), 8-9. USA, India (5 each), 10. Vietnam.
