It turned out to be a disappointing final round for the Indian men as they lost to Russia 2.5-1.5 in the ninth and final round of the World team chess championships on Thursday.
Having done some real hard work to be joint second after the penultimate rounds, a 2-2 result would have given a bronze and a victory would have ensured the silver for India. Unfortunately, the loss came from a position of strength.
In the women’s championship being organised simultaneously, China cruised home to its ninth straight victory, defeating Ukraine 3.5-0.5. The Indian women finished sixth with nine points after settling for a 2-2 draw with Hungary in the final round.
The results (open), final round:
Russia bt India 2.5-1.5 (Sergey Karjakin drew with B. Adhiban; S.S. Ganguly drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi; Alexander Grischuk bt S.P. Sethuraman; Aravindh Chithambaram drew with Dmitry Andreikin). England bt Sweden 3.5-0.5; USA bt Iran 3-1; Azerbaijan bt Egypt 2.5-1.5; Kazakhstan lost to China 1.5-2.5.
Final Standings: 1. Russia (16); 2. England (13); 3. China (12). 4-5. India, USA (11); 6-7. Iran, Azerbaijan (8); 8-9. Kazakhstan, Sweden (4); 10. Egypt (3).
Women: India drew with Hungary 2-2 (Hoang Thanh Trang drew with Eesha Karavade; Soumya Swaminathan lost to Anita Gara; Ticia Gara drew with Padmini Rout; Bhakti Kulkarni bt Bianka Havanecz).
USA bt Egypt 2.5-1.5; Ukraine lost to China 0.5-3.5; Georgia drew with Russia 2-2; Kazakhstan bt Armenia 3-1.
Final standings: 1. China (18); 2. Russia (14). 3-4. Georgia, Ukraine (12); 5. Kazakhstan (10); 6. India (9); 7. USA (7); 8-9. Armenia, Hungary (4); 10. Egypt (0).
