6 share lead in national A chess

WGM Aarthie and Harika agreed to a draw in a Sicilian Najdorf game. On the other hand, Delhi-based Tania was lucky to survive.

WFM Sai Meera had the smartest win of the day, when she tricked her opponent Kiran Mohanty into a Sicilian Najdorf move. Second ranked WGM Nisha Mohota (Elo 2416) found some stiff resistance from Maharashtra’s Anuprita Patil.

In Round 3, overnight leaders Harika and Eesha played out a Grandmaster draw in a game that lasted just 15 moves — an understandable fact since it was a double round day and both thought it better to play safe.

However, the biggest result of the round was that of Sai Meera who drew with Mohota in a complicated battle arising out of the Evan’s Gambit.

Results

Round-3: Harika Dronavalli (2.5) drew with Eesha Karavade (2.5); Meera Sai (2) drew with Nisha Mohota (2); Tania Sachdev ( 2.5) b Mary Ann Gomes (1.5); Aarthie Ramaswamy (2.5) b Nimmy A G (1.5); Kiran Manisha Mohanty (2.5) b Swathi Ghate (1.5); Soumya Swaminathan (1.5) drew with Pon N Krithika (2); Anuprita Patil (2) b Padmini Rout (1); Amruta Mokal (2) b Rucha Pujari (1); Dave Dhyani (1.5) drew with Sangeetha M R (1.5); Syed Nabeela Farheen (2) b Harini S 1; Swati Mohota (0.5) lost to P Priya (1.5); Preethi R (1) b Divyasri Ch (0.5); Savetha C H (0) lost to Baisakhi Das (1); Uthra P ( 0.5) drew with Athirai S (0.5).

Round-4: Aarthie Ramaswamy (3) drew with Harika Dronavalli (3); Eesha Karavade (3) drew with Tania Sachdev (3); Sai Meera (3) b Kiran Manisha Mohanty (2.5); Nisha Mohota (3) b Anuprita Patil (2); P Krithika 2.5 drew with Amruta Mokal (2.5); Nimmy A G (2.5) b Syed Nabeela Farheen (2); Swati Ghate (2.5) b P Priya (1.5); Mary Ann Gomes (2.5) b Dhyani Dave (1.5); Sangeetha M R (1.5) lost to Soumya Swaminathan ( 2.5); Padmini Rout (2) b Baisakhi Das (1); Rucha Pujari (1.5) drew with R Preethi (1.5); S Harini (2) b Swati Mohota (0.5); Divyasri Ch (1.5) b Uthra P (0.5); Athirai S (0.5) lost to Savetha C H (1).