India takes the lead

By Errol Tiwari On In Chess with Errol |
Haifeng Su, in photo, one of Guyana’s successful chess players at the conclusion of round six of the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan. There are five rounds yet to be played in the competition. Su, playing board No 4, scored victories against opponents from Guatemala and Fiji, and achieved draws with representatives from Guernsey and Malta. Taffin Khan, playing board two, also garnered 3 points for Guyana with two wins and two draws (a win = 1 point; a draw = 1/2 point; a loss = 0 point). Guyana played Bermuda on Friday in its 7th round match.
Haifeng Su, in photo, one of Guyana’s successful chess players at the conclusion of round six of the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Azerbaijan. There are five rounds yet to be played in the competition. Su, playing board No 4, scored victories against opponents from Guatemala and Fiji, and achieved draws with representatives from Guernsey and Malta. Taffin Khan, playing board two, also garnered 3 points for Guyana with two wins and two draws (a win = 1 point; a draw = 1/2 point; a loss = 0 point). Guyana played Bermuda on Friday in its 7th round match.

Following the conclusion of round six of the 42nd Chess Olympiad currently in progress in Baku, Azerbaijan, India’s men have taken the lead ahead of such behemoths as Russia, the US, China, Ukraine and the Netherlands. India matched gloves with the Dutch team with the sensational Pentala Harikrishna on top board for India, and Anish Giri, a member of the elite top ten club, for the Netherlands. Their intriguing encounter ended in a fighting draw. The victory for Team India emanated from the mind of grandmaster Baskaran Adhiban who outplayed Erwin L’Ami.

ChessLogoThe gruelling competition peaked at the halfway mark where the leading teams are expected to clash with each other. India fought the US ‘dream team’ on Friday in what promised to be a monumental battle. The US boasts three players in the top ten group in Caruana, Nakamura and So. In an earlier round the Americans edged out the Ukranians by a score of 2.5-1.5. At the previous 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromso, India’s men captured the bronze medal ahead of the US. Friday’s battle would be fierce.

The 2014 gold medal winners, China, experienced a hit from Ukraine which had previously overcome the