Negi pockets Asian title despite loss in final game

Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi won the Asian continental chess championship despite losing to AR Saleh Salem of UAE in the final round that concluded here.

Negi finished the tournament with 7 points and was tied for first place along with Yu Yangyi of China. But in their direct encounter earlier in the championship, Negi had beaten Yangyi, which helped him win the gold medal.

It was a shocker for Negi in the last round as he misplayed a level position against Saleh from a Slav defense game. The middle game was intense after Saleh sacrificed a rook for a knight but the computer analysis suggested that it was an easy draw for Negi who lost his nerves. 

Heartbreaks

It was a day of heartbreaks for the other Indians. Mary Ann Gomes spoilt her chances of gold medal in the women’s section, for which a draw was enough against Tan Zhongyi of China. The Kolkata-based girl lost from a balanced middle game and could only finish on second spot. 

The Indian’s hopes of a rare double did not materialise but it was nevertheless a remarkable performance from Mary Ann who has been in her best form lately. Ending on the wrong side was Eesha Karavade who misplayed a completely winning position against eventual winner Irine Sukandar Kharisma of Indonesia. Kharisma won from a hopeless endgame which, on another day, Eesha could have won against any strong opponent. 

For the record, Yangyi finished second, repeating his performance from last year and the third spot was bagged by Saleh on 6.5 points. In the women’s section, Tan Zhongyi finished third.

Results: (Indians unless stated): Men: AR Salem Saleh (UAE, 6.5) bt Parimarjan Negi  (7); Le Quang Liem (Vie, 5.5) drew with Yu Yangyi (Chn, 7); Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (5.5) drew with John Paul Gomez (Phi, 5.5); Xiu Deshun (Chn, 5.5) drew with M R Venkatesh (5.5); Wen Yang (Chn, 6) bt G N Gopal (4.5); Nguyen Duc Hoa (Vie, 5) bt Abhijeet Gupta (4); B Adhiban (5) bt Farid Firman Syah (Ina, 4); Nezad Husein Aziz (Qat, 4.5) drew with SP Sethuraman (4); Deepan Chakkravarthy (4) drew ith Le Quang Long (Vie, 4); Tran Tuan Minh (Vie, 3.5) drew with N Srinath (3.5). 

Women: Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 6.5) bt Mary Ann Gomes (6.5); Irine Sukandar Kharisma (Ina, 7) bt Eesha Karavade (5.5); Padmini Rout (5.5) lost to Wang Jue (Chn, 6.5); Le Thanh Tu (Vie, 5.5) lost to Ding Yixin (Chn, 6.5); Pham Le Thao Nguyen (vie, 5) drew with Tania Sachdev (5); Guo Qi (Chn, 5.5) bt Swathi Ghate (4.5); Ni Shiqun (Chn, 5) drew with Nisha Mohota (5); Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vie, 3.5) lt to B Pratyusha (4.5).