Indian eves held by Armenia in World team C`ship

Ningbo: D harika and Eesha Karavade won but Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes` losses forced the India team to settle for a draw against Armenia in the opening round of World Women`s team chess championship here. International Master and junior world champion Harika provided the crucial blow on the top board defeating top Armenian Elina Danielian, while International Master Eesha defeated Lilit Galojan. But, it did not turn out to be a good day for the other two Indian players -– International Master Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes -- as both suffered reversals on the second and fourth board respectively. While Tania was outdone by experienced Lilit Mkrtchian, Mary Ann found a tough contender in Nelli Agenian. The day did not provide many surprises as top seed and favourite China One defeated China two by a 3-1 margin. Resting their top player Yifan Hao, the top team did not have much trouble in securing victories on the second and fourth board where they played white while on the remaining two, peace was a just result. China One emerged as a co-leader alongwith Georgia that struggled to beat lowly-ranked Vietnam by a 2.5-0.5 margin, and Poland that scored a marginal victory over United States. With Georgia and China in front on two points, the Indian eves stand joint third along with fancied Russians who were held by Ukraine. Bureau Report