JOIN USMary Ann leads the table with 7.0 points followed by WGMs Padmini Rout (Orissa) and Eesha Karavade (Maharashtra) at 6.5 points each. Top seed Tania Sachdeva's defeat in the top board pushed her to the fourth spot with 6.0 points.
Eesha is coming back to form as she recorded her fourth win in succession. Facing Tania in the top board with black pieces, Eesha's bold tactics paid quick dividend.
The Nimzo Indian game saw Eesha achieving equality, and surprise Tania with an early pawn sacrifice. Picking up the extra pawn didn't help Tania as she found herself in further middle game complication.
With just under seven minutes to complete her last twenty moves, Tania erred, helping Eesha gain advantage and the game in 26 moves.
Tania's defeat, along with Mary's win, propelled the Calcutta girl into sole lead.
Consistency is Mary's middle name as she put behind her lone loss to Tania. The queen-pawn game saw Mary keep Nisha guessing, throwing her out of theory early in the game.
Nisha missed a critical pin in the centre that saw her going a piece down. Resistance ebbed down with less material on hand to defend and Nisha gave up on the 37th turn.
Talented Andhra girl Pratyusha Bodda drew a hard fought exchange down game against veteran Sai Meera of Indian Bank. In the process, Pratyusha completed her second Woman International Master Norm. Her first WIM Norm also came in the National Women Premier, at Orissa last year.
Results (Round 9): Tania Sachdev (AI) 6 lost to Eesha Karavade (Mah) 6.5, Mary Ann Gomes (AAI) 7 bt Nisha Mohota (PSPB) 5.5, Chandika Divyasree (AP) 5.5 lost to Padmini Rout (Ori) 6.5, P Michelle Catherina (TN) 5 drew Kiran Manisha Mohanty (Ori) 5.5, Pratyusha Bodda (AP) 5 drew Sai Meera (IB) 5.5, Swathi Ghate (LIC) 4.5 drew Meenakshi Subbaraman (AI) 5, M Mahalakshmi (TN) 4 lost to Sowmya Swaminathan (PSPB) 5 , S Harini (TN) 4 lost to Bhakti Kulkarni (Goa) 5, J Saranya (TN) 4 lost to R Bharathi (TN) 5, P Bala Kannamma (TN) 4 drew A G Nimmy (Ker) 4.5, Swati Mohota (WB) 3.5 lost to Aarthie Ramaswamy (AI) 4.5, Madhurima Shekhar (Del) 2 lost to Pon N Krithika (TN) 4.5, A Akshaya (TN) 4 bt P V Nandhidhaa (TN) 3, Cholleti Sahajasri (AP) 4 bt Supriya Joshi (Mah) 2, Shweta Gole (Mah) 2.5 - Bye.