Meenakshi, Saheli in Indian team, sister Viji on verge of hat trick

Talking to The Indian Express, Saheli said: “I am going for a win.†Sujatha, however, is not about to give up. “I will try and win the game,†she said.In case they draw, then both Saheli and Meenakshi will end up with 8 points assuming a draw between the sisters. Since both have not lost a game, it would be tough working out who is to be granted the second place. All other things being equal, Meenakshi, with 2195 Elo points which is better than Saheli’s 2185, might find herself posted to the second spot – and that ought to be a tragedy for Saheli.

Five times National title holder Bhagyashree Thipsay of the IDBI, Pallavi Shah of LIC, both from Maharashtra and Safira Shahnaz of Tamil Nadu are in the race for the fourth berth in the Indian team. All of them have 6.5 points.

If all of them win their final encounters then Pallavi will, in all probability, make it. The Koya system would then be used and Pallavi has the edge. Curiously enough, in the event of all losing their games, Swati Ghate with 7 points and no game to play will find herself in the team!

The strange situation has come about largely because Bhagyashree and Swati were unable to force a victory against their opponents Anupama and Neha Singh (Bihar) respectively.

Bhagyashree and Anupama were involved in the Queen’s Gambit/Chigorin’s Defence. Queens were exchanged early, but the veteran’s found the situation conducive for a draw on the 28th move.

Playing the Sicilian, Swati found Neha responding with the correct moves and reading her intentions well. Swati, in fact, looked to be in danger of losing, but Swati succeeded in forcing a draw after a long dues of 58 moves. With the draw Neha has notched 3 points. Tomorrow she will meet Bhagyashree. If Neha manages to spring a surprise then she could just about make it to the first 10.

What a tournament this has been for Meenakshi! From the tenth position last year she is sure to end up in the third position, if not as a runner-up. She played precisely to overcome the challenge of Sujatha playing the King’s Indian. Sujatha surrendered after the 55th move.

For Viji, despite her overall performance not being up to her high standards – she lost two games – it will be a record hat trick – winning the title thrice in a row. Once again Viji demonstrated her class while overcoming the World Junior Under 18 champ. She opted for the Closed variation of the Ruy Lopez. Her opening line was the one she played against Pratibha and lost but this time round she did not have to face the white’s queenside knight trying a foray on the king’s side. Aarthie posted the knight instead on c3. Playing imaginatively, Viji combined her pieces to good effect. Once the e and f pawns started their advance to break open the white king’s defences, there was little Aarthie could do to prevent the inevitable. Vijioffered her queen to promote her pawn to a new queen and gained a rook – a blunder Aarthie made under time trouble.

In the other game, Baisakhi Das drew with Pratibha.
Results:Round 12 (Points in brackets)
R Aarthie (Tamil Nadu, Wipro-5)lost to S Vijayalakshmi(Tamil Nadu, Indian Airlines-8.5); S Meenakshi (Tamil Nadu-6.5) bt S Sujatha(Tamil Nadu-3.5); Saheli Dhar Barua (West Bengal, Railways-7.5)drew with Pallavi Shah(Maharashtra,LIC-6.5); Baisakhi Das(West Bengal-1.5) drew with Y Pratibha(Tamil Nadu-3.5); Anupama Gokhale(Maharashtra, BPSCB-5.5) drew with Bhagyashree Thipsay (Maharashtra, IDBI, 6.5); Neha Singh (Bihar-3) drew with Swati Ghate (Maharashtra, LIC-7); Safira Shahnaz (Tamil Nadu-6.5) had a bye.

Game of the day: White:R. Aarthie Black: S. Vijayalakshmi White: R Aarthie (Elo 2219) Black: S Vijayalakshmi (Elo 2383)Ruy Lopez/Closed Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 Re8 10. Nc3 h6 11. a3 Bc5 12. Nd5 Nd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. c3 Ba7 15. Qf3 Nxd5 16. exd5 d6 17. Kh1 Bc8 18. Qg3 Kh7 19. a4 b4 20. cxb4 Bd4 21. Rb1 f5 22. Bd2 f4 23. Qf3 Qh4 24. Kg1 Rf8 25. Bc3 Ba7 26. d4 exd4 27. Bc2+ Bf5 28. Bxf5+ Rxf5 29. Qe4 Qf6 30. Bd2 Kh8 31. Rbc1 f3 32. Rxc7 fxg2 33. Qxg2 d3 34. Bc3 d2 35. Bxf6 dxe1=Q+ 36. Kh2 Qxf2 White Resigned.