Swati Ghate stuns third seed, Humpy moves into 3rd spot

KOZHIKODE, Nov 25: Rajaram Laxman was not happy with his game but he would certainly not mind the point that he earned against 18th seed Jenni Florian of Switzerland in the eighth round of the NTPC-Triveni World Junior Boys Chess Championship here today. The point took him to joint second position with six points, one point behind leader Darmen Sadvakasov of Kazakhstan, who had a hard-fought draw on the top board against Sergei Fedorchuk of Ukraine.Laxman after his victory. He had reason to be doubly happy as he also completed his maiden International Master norm in the process. Deputy Chief arbiter RB Sengupta said Laxman played in a category 5 field average 2,350 where the requirement was six points for a nine round IM norm.

Laxman, who also played three IMs, will meet a strong player in the next round and the result then does not matter.In the Kings Indan Saemisch, Laxman got better after his dynamic 21.f5 which paralysed black8217;s Kingside. Florian landed in time pressure and got into a mess soon. Bymove 41, Laxman threatened to win a piece or run through black8217;s position.India8217;s K Sasikiran, Harikrishna, Beenish Bhatia and Vikramaditya Kamble were successful in the eighth round. Sasikiran, after six rounds, pocketed a full point against 41st seed Janz Freric of Germany in 30 moves. Harikrishna was also lucky to get the point from 22nd seed Herraiz Herminio of Spain in 44 moves of Pirc Defence. Harikrishna has five points and can look for an IM norm tomorrow while Sasikiran has 4.5 points.Satyapragyan and Dervishi Erald of Albania drew in 28 moves of Sicilian Scheveningen, Beenish beat Blaz Kosmac of Slovenia in just 13 moves of Richter-Rauzer after winning a piece and Kamble overcame Dovramadjiev of Bulgaria in 27 moves of Kings Indian Attack. Kidambi held English IM Houska to a draw.Hoang extends leadHoang Thanh Trang 7 points inflicted the first defeat on Ruth Sheldon in the girls section. The Vietnamese extended her lead to one point as top seed Monika Bobrowska , who was involved in a draw withHungarian Lakos Nikoletta, was joined by teammate Iweta Radziewicz in the second spot, with 6 points.Swati Ghate and Koneru Humpy were the stars for India. Swati shocked third seed WGM Joanna Dworakowska, while 11-year-old Humpy overcame US champion and seventh seed Irina Krush in a drawish ending. Humpy is now the leading player for India, with 5.5 points.Swati went for the hyper-aggressive English Attack in the Sicilian Najdorf and started pushing her King-side pawns. Joanna, who had kept the king in the centre, suddenly went for the suicidal8217; King-side castling. It was a blessing in disguise for Swati who attacked relentlessly. Her powerful 25th move Ne6 should have won her the day, but Swati got a little bit excited and nearly paid the price. Fortunately, for Swati, out of sorts, Dworakowska blundered on the 30th move and resigned on the 34th move. Humpy8217;s sound temperament and calm play enabled her to upset Irina Krush, who went wrong in the rooks and opposite bishop ending.Vijayalakshmi stopped upbeatSwati Mohota. Aarthie Ramaswamy and Meenakshi posted victories. Pallavi Shah8217;s drawing sequence ended when she lost to Chinese Xu Yuan Yuan.RESULTS 8th round

:Sadvakasov Kaz 7 drew with Fedorchuk Ukr 6; Fressinet France 6 drew with Banikas H Greece 6; Laxman Ind 6 bt Jenni Florian Sui 5; Dao Thien Hai Viet 5 drew with Azer Mirzoev Azer 5; M.Kobalia Rus 5 drew with B. Pawel Pol 5; Igor Nataf Fra 4.5 lost to Halkias Stelios Gree 5.5; Ippolito Dean US 4.5 lost to Zhang Zhong China 5.5; A.Florean Rom 5 drew with A.Rasim Aze 5; Turzo attila Hun 5 bt Roghani Arash Iran 4; Sandeepan Chanda Ind 4.5 drew with Neelotpal Das Ind 4.5; Miroslav Houska Eng 4 drew with S.Kidambi Ind 4; Ramu Ind 4 bt Bojan Medak Cro 3; Dabelo Ronald Phi 3.5 drew with Kherdekar Ind 3; Uberooi Ind 3 drew with Radovanovic Yug 3; Dervishi Erald Alb 4.5 drew with Satyapragyan Ind 4.5; Harraiz Herminio Esp 4 lost to Harikrishna Ind 5; Sasikiran Ind 4.5 bt Janz FrerikGer 3.5.