World Chess Championships | Indian men stun Sweden as women stop Georgia
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India’s chess contingent had a good day in office as the men overcame Sweden with a crushing 3.5-0.5 win quite expectantly, while the women did magnificently to hold high-ranked Georgia to a 2-2 draw. India, China, Russia, USA, and England are on two points with five other teams yet to get points.
The perfect start in the first round was provided by Grandmaster B Adhiban on the top board as he did well to craft the white pieces for others to capitalize. His teammates didn’t disappoint him either with the likes of Surya Shekhar Ganguly having an easy win over Axel Smith while SP Sethuraman overcame
India were definitely the better side given their massive winning margin and only defending champions China could match it as they overpowered Azerbaijan with the same 3.5-0.5 margin. Iran had a relatively young side in the tournament and although they lost to Russia 1.5-2.5, they did win hearts for their effort.
England also made a winning start with a 2.5-1.5 win over Kazakhstan while
The women’s category saw India hold Georgia to a 2-2 draw after some brilliant display by Soumya Swaminathan on the second board. Playing against Meri Arabidze, she had higher stakes of restoring parity for her side as Padmini Rout had lost to Nino Batsisashvili. Previously, on the top board, Eesha Karavade also did well against Bela Khotenashvili while compatriot Bhakti Kulkarni, on the fourth, staved off the pressure from Melia Salome.
Armenian women started with an easy 4-0 victory over Egypt while Russia beat Kazakhstan 3-1.
Results round 1 open: India beat Sweden 3.5-0.5 (B Adhiban beat Nils Grandelius; Erik Blomqvist drew with K Sasikiran; Surya Shekhar Ganguly beat Axel Smith; Linus Johansson lost to S P Sethuraman); China beat Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5; Iran lost to Russia 1.5-2.5; England beat Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5; Egypt lost to USA 1-3.
Women: India drew with Georgia 2-2 (Eesha Karavade drew with Bela Khotenashvili; Meri Arabidze lost to Soumya Swaminathan; Padmini Rout lost to Nino Batsiashvili; Melia Salome drew with Bhakti Kulkarni); Russia beat Kazakhstan 3-1; Egypt lost to Armenia 0-4; China beat Hungary 3.5-0.5; Ukraine drew with USA 2-2.
