Saheli Dhar Queen B again

Sangli, Nov 21: Saheli Dhar-Barua of Railways, with seven points, claimed the 26th Godrej National Women B' Chess Championship, conducte...

Sangli, Nov 21: Saheli Dhar-Barua of Railways, with seven points, claimed the 26th Godrej National Women B8217; Chess Championship, conducted by Nutan Buddhibal Mandal at Sangli, today. Saheli repeated her showing from Chennai 8217;98, despite tying for first place with World under-18 champion Aarthie Ramaswami. Aarthie finished second because of lesser progressive score.

With qualification getting precedence, the last round encounters witnessed quick draws in the top four boards.

NEW QUALIFIERS: Y Pratibha, S Sujatha TN and Baisakhi Das WB were the new qualifiers to National A8217;. Pratibha, who is representing the T Nagar Chess Academy, defeated Kiran Agarwal TN in 36 moves in the Dutch Stonewall opening.

Former National champion Mrunalini Kunte Aurangabadkar of IDBI got a gift8217; from E Sheena of Kerala, who blundered in time trouble enabling the Maharashtrian to qualify.

National junior champion Nisha Mohota of WB was the notable player to miss out on the National A8217;. She tied for eighth spotwith six points, but a lesser progressive score denied her the berth.

Results 9th round: Saheli Dhar-Barua 7 drew Neha Singh 6.5, S Meenakshi 6.5 drew Aarthie Ramaswami 7, S Sujatha 6.5 drew Pallavi Shah 6.5, Anupama Gokhale 6 drew Baisakhi Das 6, Kiran Agarwal 5.5 lost to Y Pratibha 6.5, Mrunalini Kunte Aurangabadka 6 bt E Sheena 5, Pushpalatha Mangal 5 lost to Nisha Mohota 6, Bindu K Saritha 5.5 drew TT Laxmi Priya 5.5, Swati Mohota 5 lost to Saheli Nath 6, MR Sangeetha 4.5 lost to M Sai Meera 5.5.
Final placings: 1 Saheli Dhar-Barua 7, 2 Aarthie Ramaswami 7, 3 Pallavi Shah 6.5, 4 S Meenakshi 6.5, 5 S Sujatha 6.5, 6 Y Pratibha 6.5, 7 Neha Singh 6.5, 8 Mrunalini Kunte Aurangabadkar 6, 9 Anupama Gokhale 6, 10 Baisakhi Das 6.

The qualifiers
Saheli Dhar-Barua Rlys, Aarthie Ramawsami TN, Pallavi Shah Maharashtra, S Meenakshi TN, S Sujatha ECC, Y Pratibha T Nagar Chess Academy, Neha Singh Bihar, Mrunalini Kunte AurangabadkarIDBI, Anupama Gokhale BPCL, Baisakhi Das WB.