Tram slips to tie for first at chess champs
(31-12-2004)
HA NOI — As the Asian Junior Chess Championship moved on to the 10th round in Bikaner, India on Wednesday, Hoang Thi Bao Tram of Viet Nam slipped into a tie for first place after she was held to a draw by Malaysian Sulaikha Siti.
Tram’s draw with Siti, who had only earned five points from nine rounds, means at 8.5 points she now shares first place with Indian Harika Dronavalli, who defeated countrywoman J.E. Kavitha.
With only one round remaining, Tram must win the last match to ensure herself the gold medal. However, she is already guaranteed a medal as the fourth place player is 2.5 points behind.
Apart from Harika, another Indian player, Soumya Swaminathan, could possibly win as she has eight points after ten rounds.
In the last round Tram will play N Sandhya of India.
In the men’s event, Nguyen Van Huy earned one more point, rising to 11th place on six points.
Meanwhile, leader Arun Prasad was shocked after a loss to the fine tactical play of team mate G, Rohit.
Despite this loss, Arun Prasad with seven points is joint leader in the boys section with Deepan Chakravarthy, who defeated Indian Navin Kanna in just 37 moves.
Tram and Huy are the last Vietnamese chess players to compete in this year’s international tournament. Two others, International Grand Master Dao Thien Hai and Nguyen Anh Dung will participate in the Asian Men Individual Championship held in Cochin, India.
The event was planned for January 13-23, 2005 but was postponed to March 21-31 because of the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. — VNS
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