Asian Continental Chess Championship: Ganguly wins silver; bronze for Sethuraman, Vijayalakshmi

Al Ain (UAE): Grandmaster and former national champion Surya Shekhar Ganguly brought out his best on the final day to outclass Zhang Zhong of Singapore and secured the silver medal in the Asian continental chess championship that concluded in Al Ain on Tuesday. Out of the six medals at stake, the Indians won three with S P Sethuraman winning the bronze in the open while S Vijayalakshmi got the bronze in the women’s section that was held simultaneously. [caption id=“attachment_2385660” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Getty[/caption] Ganguly was the star of the day with his white pieces as he tormented Zhang Zhong who interestingly started and ended the tournament by losing to Indian counterparts. It may be recalled that K Rathnakaran had beaten the fancied Singapore Grandmaster in the opener. Up against the Benoni, Ganguly was in his elements as he digested a thematic exchange sacrifice quite easily. The extra material did not count for much but the ease at which the Indian launched the king side attack was simply a treat for the chess buffs. Zhong was at sea in the middle game and lost without much ado. Ganguly matched Grandmaster A R Salem Saleh of UAE on seven points but the latter had the better tiebreak with his more wins. Saleh won the gold medal in the open section after settling for a quick draw with Vidit Gujrathi who sealed his place in the next world chess cup by finishing fourth. Sethuraman won the Bronze scripting a fine comeback in the championship. Ganguly, Gujrathi, and M R Lalith Babu were the Indians who qualified for the world cup to be held next month in Baku, Azerbaijan. Sethuraman is already seeded for the event. In the women’s section S Vijayalakshmi ran out of luck and had to settle for the Bronze despite starting the final day with a half point lead. The Indian, who is on a comeback trail after a long hiatus, lost to Shen Yang of China in the last round. Mitra Hejazipour of Iran won the gold in this section by virtue of the better tiebreak score than Shen Yang on seven points. Vijayalakshmi’s tiebreak however was good enough to secure the bronze. PTI