India ride on Ganguly; remain in third spot

Besides Ganguly, other three Indians — K Sasikiran, P Harikrishna and S Arun Prasad drew against their respective opponents.

India and Azerbaijan still share the third spot with 11 points each. The Indians will now take on Brazil in the final round and victory in that match will ensure a medal for them.
Sasikiran held World Cup winner Boris Gelfand to an easy draw with white pieces on the top board, Harikrishna salvaged some anxious moments before signing peace with Michael Roiz, while Prasad drew with Michael Rodshtein.

Russia, with 13 points, jumped in to sole lead once again after scoring a fine 3.5-0.5 victory against Egypt and are now the top contenders for the title. They are followed by United States, who are a full point behind.
United States were beaten by Armenia and now they have a tough opponent in Azerbaijan to meet in the final round.

Standings (round VIII): Russia (13) 1; United States (12) 2; Azerbaijan (11) and India (11) 3.
Results: India bt Israel 2.5-1.5 (Krishnan Sasikiran drew Boris Gelfand, Michael Roiz drew P Harikrishna, SS Ganguly bt Evgeny Postny, Michael Rodshtein drew S Arun Prasad); Russia bt Egypt 3.5-0.5; Azerbaijan bt Greece 3-1; Armenia bt United States 2.5-1.5; Egypt lt to Brazil 1.5-2.5.