 "Chess #1195")
The Asian Nations Cup in Abu Dhabi was a triumph for the Indian open squad. The team of Baskaran Adhiban (2663), S P Sethuraman (2658), Vidit Gujrathi (2648), Krishnan Sasikiran (2637) and Deep Sengupta (2554), with R B Ramesh as non-playing captain, broke China's seven-year long stranglehold.
India took first place in the nine-round 22 team event, winning eight matches and drawing Mongolia to score 17 match-points (2 for a victory, 1 for draw). China (15) and Kazakhstan (14) followed. The Indians were lucky to draw the underrated Mongolians in Round 2. But after that, they registered seven straight wins.
The key result was the clash with China in Round 5. China was not fielding the same outfit that won the Olympiad gold. But it had three 2700-Elo GMs in Wie YI, Wang Yue, Bu Xiangzhi, and the fourth board was held by the 2014 World Junior Champion, Lu Shanglei. India was definitely the underdog but the Olympiad bronze medallists beat the gold medallists 2.5-1.5. Gujrathi won against Wei, Sethuraman lost to Wang, Sasikiran drew Lu, and Adhiban beat Bu. This result ensures India a seat at the World Team Championships.
Unfortunately, the Indian women weren't quite in top gear. Only 10 teams participated in the 9 rounder. The Indian women, (Dronavalli Harika, Tania Sachdev, Padmini Rout, Soumya Swaminthan, Bhakti Kulkarni) did manage a 2-2 draw with China, but they lost matches to Vietnam and Kazakhstan. That pushed them into fourth place.
The Asian environment has become far more competitive in the last decade. Apart from the two giants - China and India - there are the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Iran has produced several talented young players in the recent past, and Vietnam has one superstar. Sadly, The Philippines, which was a pioneer in Asian chess, has fallen behind.
Meanwhile, Sergey Karjakin has created a minor "diplomatic row" by withdrawing from the Norway Chess that starts on April 18. The Challenger cited "tiredness", which is understandable given that he's just won the Candidates. But the late intimation has thrown organisers off-balance and drawn much criticism. There's disappointment since the event would have seen a clash between the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and the challenger. Karjakin won Norway in 2013 and 2014 with Carlsen finishing second both times on home turf.
The DIAGRAM, BLACK TO PLAY (White: Wei Yi (China) Vs Black: Vidit Gujrathi (India), Asian Nations Cup, 2016) is from the big match. White's position collapses suddenly after 31.- f4! 32.Ne2 f3! 33.Nf4 Nd4 34.Ra1 Rf8 (0-1). The multiple threats include 35. Qd2? Rxf4 36. Qxf4 Ne2+ or 35. g3 Rxf4 36. gxf4 Qxh3 37. Qf1 Ne2+.
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player
