Padmini Rout

Calcutta: Top seed Tania Sachdev returned to winning ways, scripting a comfortable win over Michelle Catherina in the fifth round of the UBI 40th National Women Premier Chess Championship, organised by the Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy and AllSport Foundation, at the Spring Club, on Friday.

After her consecutive losses in the last two rounds, Tania was back to her best, completely outplaying Michelle. Playing white, Tania won a couple of pawns in the middle game and then converted her extra material into a win in 42 moves.

“The tournament has not at all gone according to my expectation… I played some of the worst chess in my career. I made silly mistakes and paid the price. Managing time was also a factor…

“Today, I was determined to do well. I managed my time well and that made the difference,” Tania said.

With the win, Tania bagged 1 point, which brought her back into contention. She is 1 point adrift of the leaders.

WGM Padmini Rout of Odisha joined overnight leaders Mary Ann Gomes (Bengal), Soumya Swaminathan (PSPB) and Swati Ghate (LIC) with a fine win over Bodda Pratyusha of Andhra Pradesh.

Playing black, local favourite Mary Ann opted for the King’s Indian set up against Bhakti Kulkarni of Goa. Had she taken advantage of Bhakti’s blunder in the 15th move, she could have bagged a full point.

The match between Soumya and Swati ended in a draw. Swati blundered a pawn early in the opening but Soumya failed to take any advantage as the game frittered away to a draw after 53 moves in a rook and opposite bishop ending.

Results
Fifth round: Soumya Swaminathan (PSPB, 3.5) drew Swati Ghate (LIC, 3.5); Tania Sachdev (AI, 2.5) bt Michelle Catherina (TN, 0.5); GK Monnisha (TN, 1.5) drew Ivana Maria Furtado (Goa, 2.5); Bhakti Kulkarni (Goa, 2.5) drew Mary Ann Gomes (WB, 3.5); Kiran Manisha Mohanty (LIC, 2) lost to Nisha Mohota (PSPB, 2); Bodda Pratyusha (AP, 2.5) lost to Padmini Rout (Odisha, 3.5)