IOC-A wins team championship

By Kirti Patil

Pune: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)-A defeated Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)-A in the summit clash to win the team championship of the 32nd Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Inter-Unit Chess Tournament, being played at the PYC Gymkhana here on Friday.

IOC-A defeated ONGC-A with the score of 2.5-1.5.

In the final, on the top Board, Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa of IOC-A defeated Grandmaster Vidit Gujarathi of ONGC-A in the only decisive encounter between the two teams. In a Queen’s Gambit Declined Variation, Praggnanandhaa obtained a slight advantage and played flawlessly to score an important victory.

On the second Board, the game between Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan of IOC -A and Grandmaster Koneru Humpy of ONGC-A ended in a draw when both players could not make any progress in a Queen-Pawn opening game.

On the third Board, Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani of IOC-A drew with Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha of ONGC-A. On the fourth Board, Grandmaster Adhiban B of IOC-A also drew with Grandmaster Sethuraman S. P. of ONGC-A in Queens Indian Defence.

Earlier in the semi-finals, ONGC-A got the better of ONGC-B with a score of 3-1 to advance to the final. On the top Board, Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi of ONGC-A was held to a draw by International Master V. S. Raahul of ONGC-B.

On the second Board, Woman International Master Isha Sharma was held to a draw by Grandmaster Mitrabha Guha. However, on the third and fourth Boards, Grandmasters S .P. Sethuraman and Deep Sengupta (both ONGC-A) prevailed over Grandmaster Neelotpal Das and International Master P. Konguvel (both ONGC-B), respectively.

In the other semi-final IOC-A won against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) with the score of 2.5-1.5 to move into the final. On the top Board, Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta of BPCL played a very dynamic game to score over Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa of IOC-A in a Kings Indian Defence. On the second Board, Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan of IOC-A signed the peace treaty against Grandmaster M. R. Venkatesh of BPCL in a Queen Ending.

On the third Board, Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani of IOC-A scored against Grandmaster Vaibhav Suri of BPCL when the latter losing a piece in time pressure from a complex Sicilian encounter.

On the fourth Board, Grandmaster B. Adhiban of IOC-A employed the French defence and strategically outplayed Grandmaster G N Gopal of BPCL, which helped IOC-A in reaching the final.

In the team championship, BPCL finished third by scoring a massive 3.5-0.5 victory over ONGC-B.

Results:

Final:

IOC-A beat ONGC-A 2.5-1.5

GM R. PRAGGNANANDHAA (IOC-A) dbt GM VIDIT GUJRATHI.

GM Murali Karthikeyan (IOC-A) drew with GM Koneru Humpy (ONGC-A).

GM Raunak Sadhwani (IOC-A) drew with GM Mitrabha Guha (ONGC-A) .

GM B. Adibhan (IOC-A) drew with GM Sethuraman S. P. (ONGC-A).

Semi-final1:

ONGC A beat ONGC-B WITH 3-1.

GM Vidit Gujarathi (ONGC-A) drew with IM V. S. Raahul (ONGC-B).

GM Mitrabha Guha (ONGC-A) drew with WIM Isha Sharma (ONGC-B).

GM Sethuraman S. P. bt GM Neelotpal Das (ONGB-B).

GM Deep Sengupta (ONGC-A) bt IM P. Konguvel (ONGB-B).

Semi-final 2:

IOC-A beat BPCL 2.5-1.5

GM R. Praggnandhaa(IOC-A) lost to GM Abjbhijeet Gupta (BPCL).

GM Murali Karthikeyan (IOC-A) drew with GM.  R. Venkatesh (BPCL).

GM RAUNAK SADHWANI (IOC-A) bt GM Vaibhav Suri(BPCL).

GM B. ADHIBAN (IOC-A) bt GM G .N. Gopal (BPCL) .