49th National Women 2023 R8: Bhakti Kulkarni still in sole lead
IM Bhakti Kulkarni (Goa) got a few good opportunities to extend her lead in the eighth round of 49th National Women Chess Championship 2023. It has been over a decade since Bhakti defeated WGM Mary Ann Gomes (PSPB) in a rated game. She had a few chances in the endgame, unfortunately for her, she could not seize them. The only other pursuer, WIM Mahalakshmi M (RSPB) held IM Soumya Swaminathan (PSPB) to a solid draw. It allowed WGM Srija Seshadri (TN), WIM Mrudul Dehankar (MAH) and IM Padmini Rout (PSPB) to reduce the gap with the leader 6.5/8. It will be Padmini vs Bhakti on the top board in Round 9 which starts today at 10 a.m. IST.
Five in pursuit
Sarayu Velpula (TEL), Sneha Halder (WB) and Kashthuri Bhai R (AND) held WIM Mounika Akshaya Bommini (AP), IM Eesha Karavade (PSPB) and WIM Vishwa Vasnawala (GUJ) to a draw each respectively.
Bhakti - Mary: 0.5-0.5
IM Bhakti Kulkarni (Goa, 2315) has defeated WGM Mary Ann Gomes (PSPB, 2315) only twice out of their 13 rated game encounters against each other. The former won only twice. 11 out of 13 games were played in National championships. The last time Bhakti defeated Mary in a tournament was February 2013. She got a very good opportunity to register her third win over Mary.
Black has to make a critical choice. Where should the king move - up or down? 43...Kd6?? is a mistake as 44.fxg4 hxg4 45.Rh6+ Kd5 46.Rxa6 and White is winning. White missed this and opted for 45.Rg7 Rc5 46.Rg6+ Ke7 47.Rxa6 Rxc3 48.b4? One last chance to push for a win was 48.Ra8. The game continued 48...Rc4 49.Ra8 Kd6 and Black managed to salvage a draw in another ten moves.
A total of 156 players including 6 IMs, 6 WGMs and 10 WIMs are taking part from various states and units across the country in this eleven-day eleven-round Swiss League National Women Rating tournament. The tournament is organized by Gujarat State Chess Association at Rajpath Club in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from 30th June to 10th July 2023. The time control of the event is 90 mins/40 moves + 30 mins/end + 30 seconds increment from move no. 1.
Replay Round 8 games
Round 8 results
Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | Club/City | No. | ||
1 | 3 | IM | Kulkarni, Bhakti | 2315 | GOA | 6½ | ½ - ½ | 6 | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | 2315 | PSPB | 4 |
2 | 9 | WIM | Mahalakshmi, M | 2242 | RSPB | 6 | ½ - ½ | 5½ | IM | Soumya, Swaminathan | 2293 | PSPB | 6 |
3 | 2 | IM | Padmini, Rout | 2353 | PSPB | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | WGM | Varshini, V | 2120 | TN | 18 |
4 | 21 | WGM | Kiran, Manisha Mohanty | 2049 | LIC | 5½ | 0 - 1 | 5½ | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | 2226 | TN | 10 |
5 | 23 | WIM | Mrudul, Dehankar | 2030 | MAH | 5½ | 1 - 0 | 5½ | WIM | Tejaswini, Sagar | 1931 | GUJ | 28 |
6 | 19 | WIM | Bommini, Mounika Akshaya | 2094 | AP | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5½ | Velpula, Sarayu | 1845 | TEL | 34 | |
7 | 5 | IM | Karavade, Eesha | 2293 | PSPB | 5 | ½ - ½ | 5 | Sneha, Halder | 1807 | WB | 36 | |
8 | 7 | WIM | Sharma, Isha | 2267 | KAR | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | Mrittika, Mallick | 1948 | WB | 27 | |
9 | 39 | Rindhiya, V | 1764 | TN | 5 | 0 - 1 | 5 | WGM | Pratyusha, Bodda | 2250 | AP | 8 | |
10 | 11 | WIM | Chitlange, Sakshi | 2225 | MAH | 5 | 1 - 0 | 5 | Rebecca, Jesumarian | 1750 | TN | 40 |
Standings after Round 8
Rk. | SNo | Name | Typ | sex | Gr | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
1 | 3 | IM | Kulkarni, Bhakti | w | N | IND | 2315 | GOA | 7 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 37,00 | 0 | 6 | |
2 | 10 | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | w | N | IND | 2226 | TN | 6,5 | 39,5 | 43,5 | 33,75 | 0 | 6 | |
3 | 4 | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | w | N | IND | 2315 | PSPB | 6,5 | 39,5 | 43 | 33,50 | 0 | 5 | |
4 | 9 | WIM | Mahalakshmi, M | w | N | IND | 2242 | RSPB | 6,5 | 38 | 41,5 | 32,50 | 0 | 5 | |
5 | 23 | WIM | Mrudul, Dehankar | U20 | w | N | IND | 2030 | MAH | 6,5 | 37 | 40,5 | 31,25 | 0 | 6 |
6 | 2 | IM | Padmini, Rout | w | N | IND | 2353 | PSPB | 6,5 | 35 | 39 | 31,00 | 0 | 6 | |
7 | 34 | Velpula, Sarayu | U18 | w | S | IND | 1845 | TEL | 6 | 39 | 43,5 | 32,00 | 0 | 4 | |
8 | 6 | IM | Soumya, Swaminathan | w | N | IND | 2293 | PSPB | 6 | 39 | 43 | 31,00 | 0 | 5 | |
9 | 11 | WIM | Chitlange, Sakshi | w | N | IND | 2225 | MAH | 6 | 36,5 | 40,5 | 28,25 | 0 | 5 | |
10 | 8 | WGM | Pratyusha, Bodda | w | N | IND | 2250 | AP | 6 | 35,5 | 39,5 | 27,00 | 0 | 6 | |
11 | 7 | WIM | Sharma, Isha | w | N | IND | 2267 | KAR | 6 | 33,5 | 36,5 | 26,50 | 0 | 5 | |
12 | 25 | WGM | Swati, Ghate | w | N | IND | 2008 | LIC | 6 | 30 | 33,5 | 26,00 | 0 | 6 | |
13 | 19 | WIM | Bommini, Mounika Akshaya | U20 | w | N | IND | 2094 | AP | 5,5 | 39,5 | 43 | 27,50 | 0 | 4 |
14 | 18 | WGM | Varshini, V | w | N | IND | 2120 | TN | 5,5 | 39,5 | 42,5 | 26,50 | 0 | 4 | |
15 | 1 | WGM | Divya, Deshmukh | U18 | w | N | IND | 2389 | MAH | 5,5 | 37,5 | 41,5 | 26,75 | 0 | 5 |
16 | 28 | WIM | Tejaswini, Sagar | w | N | IND | 1931 | GUJ | 5,5 | 37,5 | 40 | 23,75 | 0 | 5 | |
17 | 15 | WIM | Arpita, Mukherjee | w | N | IND | 2160 | WB | 5,5 | 35,5 | 38,5 | 24,75 | 0 | 5 | |
18 | 20 | WFM | Saranya, J | w | N | IND | 2050 | TN | 5,5 | 35 | 39 | 25,25 | 0 | 5 | |
19 | 51 | Kalyani, Sirin | U14 | w | N | IND | 1660 | KER | 5,5 | 35 | 38,5 | 25,00 | 0 | 5 | |
20 | 5 | IM | Karavade, Eesha | w | N | IND | 2293 | PSPB | 5,5 | 34,5 | 38,5 | 25,50 | 0 | 3 |
Round 9 pairings
Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | Club/City | No. | ||
1 | 2 | IM | Padmini, Rout | 2353 | PSPB | 6½ | 7 | IM | Kulkarni, Bhakti | 2315 | GOA | 3 | |
2 | 4 | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | 2315 | PSPB | 6½ | 6½ | WIM | Mrudul, Dehankar | 2030 | MAH | 23 | |
3 | 10 | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | 2226 | TN | 6½ | 6½ | WIM | Mahalakshmi, M | 2242 | RSPB | 9 | |
4 | 6 | IM | Soumya, Swaminathan | 2293 | PSPB | 6 | 6 | WIM | Chitlange, Sakshi | 2225 | MAH | 11 | |
5 | 8 | WGM | Pratyusha, Bodda | 2250 | AP | 6 | 6 | WIM | Sharma, Isha | 2267 | KAR | 7 | |
6 | 34 | Velpula, Sarayu | 1845 | TEL | 6 | 6 | WGM | Swati, Ghate | 2008 | LIC | 25 | ||
7 | 36 | Sneha, Halder | 1807 | WB | 5½ | 5½ | WGM | Divya, Deshmukh | 2389 | MAH | 1 | ||
8 | 28 | WIM | Tejaswini, Sagar | 1931 | GUJ | 5½ | 5½ | IM | Karavade, Eesha | 2293 | PSPB | 5 | |
9 | 37 | WFM | Potluri, Supreetha | 1796 | AP | 5½ | 5½ | WIM | Arpita, Mukherjee | 2160 | WB | 15 | |
10 | 49 | Sachi, Jain | 1675 | DEL | 5½ | 5½ | WFM | Nimmy, A.G. | 2151 | KER | 17 |
Links
Gujarat State Chess Association: Official site