Chinese men and women capitalised on the fierce battles among Indian teams and covered lost ground in the men’s and women’s sections in the Asian Team Chess Championship after two rounds were played at Abhay Days Inn here on Friday.Chinese men recorded a 2.5-1.5 win over Vietnam and a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively to secure the lead with 14 points while the Indian teams fought among themselves and emphatically dispelled the Chinese doubts that the hosts would throw points against one another to get favourable results.Vietnam and India C were in second position in the men’s section with 12.5 points each. India C continued their good work by trouncing India B 3-1 in the fifth round after losing to India A in the morning, thanks to a brilliant effort by Lanka Ravi, who won both his games today.Vietnam held India A to a 2-2 draw in a crucial fifth round clash. Dao Thien Hai outwitted Krishnan Sasikiran on the top board. It required a marathon 80-move effort on the fourth board by GM Abhijit Kunte to help India A’s cause. The Indian GM beat To Quoc Khanh in Sicilian in a bishop ending.In the women’s section, China went on the rampage as though to avenge their defeat in the last round by routing India C and India B in the two rounds they played on Friday. They led with 11 points followed by Vietnam in second place with 10 points. China, who blanked India C 3-0 in the morning, threatened to repeat the act against India B in the evening but a valiant effort by Swati Ghate, who bounced back to defeat World Cup winner Xu Yuhua on the second board, helped the hosts reduce the margin of defeat.India A were in third position with 9.5 points. And when India A and India C met in the fifth round, the result was a 1.5-1.5 draw. For India C, Sai Meera Ravi, a replacement for Pratibha, celebrated her call, by defeating Harika on the last board after Saheli Dhar lost her game to Aarthie Ramaswamy.In the morning, India A men struggled for their 2.5-1.5 win over India C with Krishnan Sasikiran and Abhijit Kunte scoring on the top and fourth boards respectively and Dibyendu Barua losing to International Master Lanka Ravi, who seems to be enjoying his recall into the national team.India B held Kazakhstan 2-2 with Sandipan Chanda giving the home team the lead with a resounding victory in semi-Slav against Kostenko in a sharp opening line. However, Askarov neutralized the lead beating RB Ramesh on the fourth board in a Queen, rook and bishop ending in which the Kazakh had a passed pawn.In the women’s section, India A did well to hold Vietnam to a 1.5-1.5 draw. Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman could not repeat her stellar performance against the Chinese and lost to Hoang Thanh Trang, the former world junior champion in 46 moves of Nimzo Indian Defence. Nisha Mohota held Nguyen Thi Than Anh in 44 moves of Kings Indian Defence on the second board.Dronavalli Harika saved India’s face by defeating Le Kieu Thien Kim in 30 moves of Sicilian Defence on the third board. Saturday is a rest day.
