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Round 17 Viji,
Nisha & Harika confirm their Olympic spot
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 Grandmaster
Koneru
Humpy, sponsored by Bank of Baroda, proved a cut above the rest, as she remained unbeaten in the 17-round tournament that concluded here today. Along
with her maiden National "A" title, Humpy takes the winner's
purse of Rs.37000.
The 16-year-old Andhra girl, who could only finish sixth in the 1999 edition of the
Championship held here, proved to be a nightmare to all her 17
opponents, winning fifteen games and drawing just two games,
against Harika and Vijayalakshmi.
That the reigning Asian Champion emerged the sole leader from the third round itself spoke volumes of her incredible performance that also took by surprise the visiting coach,
Grandmaster Evgeny Vladimirov (Kazakhstan).
Overwhelmed by Humpy's remarkable run, Vladimirov, who also provided live commentary of the tournament's proceedings on the website, commented that Humpy's "fighting spirits" could win her many more laurels in the
International arena.
WGM S Vijayalakshmi (IA), whose splendid show went unnoticed in the wake of Humpy's severe onslaught, took the runner-up berth with 14.5 points to be followed by WGM Nisha Mohota (LIC) and Dronavalli Harika (AP), both of whom garnered 11.0
points each.
The top four from the tournament will now represent the country in the Spain Olympiad in October 2004.
In her final engagement today, Humpy, who aggregated 16.0 points, settled for a draw with
Vijayalakshmi in a King's Indian defense, involving a classical variation, in only eight moves.
All but one game, were agreed drawn in double quick time. WGM Norm
holder Swati Ghate turned out to be the lone ranger on the final
round, as she defeated Bengal junior Saheli Nath, with an attacking
middle game, combining her queen, rook and knight.
Final
Round Results
Bhagyashree Thipsay
(7.5) drew with Tania Sachdev (9.0)
Anupama Gokhale (8.0) drew with Saimeera Ravi (6.0)
Dronavalli Harika (11.0) drew with Eesha Karavade (10.0)
Aarthie Ramaswamy (8.0) drew with Y Prathiba (7.0)
Nisha Mohota (11.0) drew with K Chandra Hawsa (6.0)
M R Sangeetha (4.0) drew with C V Rajalakshmi (3.0)
Kruttika Nadig (8.0) drew with S Meenakshi (10.0)
S Vijayalakshmi (14.5) drew with Koneru Humpy (16.0)
Swati Ghate (8.0) beat Saheli Nath (6.0)
LIVE
Coverage: http://www.live.chessindia.org/
(Agencies)
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