Meenakshi rips Chen at chess World Cup

HYDERABAD: It was no match-up. World champion Zhu Chen (Elo 2509) of China against reserve entrant Woman Grandmaster (WGM) S. Meenaskhi (Elo 2309) of India, not even in the top 100 women.
Meenaskhi prepared till 3:00 am with elder sister WGM S Vijayalaskhmi and coach GM Scherbakov. All this would have come to zilch without that million-dollar quality: bravery.
Said Meenakshi: ‘‘I was fearless on the board.’’
She was talking to the media after a sensation victory over Zhu Chen from the black side of Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5) opening in the first Group D league game of the chess World Cup at the Ramoji Film City here on Thursday.
The champion fought till 67 moves hoping that Meenu would choke. Instead, the Indian came up with clinical finish. The hurt in Zhu Chen’s eyes was evident when she resigned.
Due to a technical hitch, the computer outside the players hall was not showing the right position of Zhu Chen-Meenakshi encounter. India’s Woman International Master Swati Ghate, who had already smelt Meenaskhi’s win, spotted the mistake.
Meenaskhi took the initiative by sacrificing a piece. But it is beyond doubt that world No. 4 Zhu Chen’s 33.Qf4 (going for queen exchange) was a blunder. At that point, she was down by two pawns but she also had an extra piece in bishop.
Though Meenaskhi’s win stole the limelight, Humpy and Ghate were bright in their own ways. GM Humpy (Elo 2484) defeated International Master (IM) Nana Isolieani of Georgia.
In the men’s section, defending champion V. Anand (2755) played a theoretical draw from the black side of the Nimzo Indian defence (1. d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) against a strong Chinese GM Xu Jun (2643). He plays K Sasikiran in the next round on Friday.
The countenance of Sasikiran didn’t reveal that he has started with a bang by beating Mohd Al-Modiahki from the black side of Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5), also known as Spanish opening.
With Anand needing a win to be in a comfortable position in the group and Sasi determined to keep momentum, their match seems a mouth-watering prospect. Meenakshi meets R Aarthie on Friday. And if she wins, she becomes a real contender for a quarter-final spot.
Results: (Round 1, white named first): Men’s: Group A: Ye drew Ivanchuk, Macieja drew Iuldachev, Malakhov lost to Vescovi. Group B: Azmaiparashvilli drew Radjabov, Rublevsky drew Dreev, Yermolinsky lost to Kobese. Group C: Al-Modiahki lost to Sasikiran, Hichem drew Kasimdzhanov, Xu Jun drew Anand. Group D: Ganguly lost to Beliavsky, Morozevich drew Short, Ehlvest beat Harikrishna.
Women: Group A: Li Ruofan beat Viktorija, Kovalevskaya beat Harika, Mateeva drew Maia. Group B: Stefanova beat Xu Yunhua, Vijayalakshmi drew Cramling, Ghate beat Nino. Group C: Stepovaia drew Kostenuik, Humpy beat Nana, Bhagyashree lost to Krush.
Group D: Wang Pin beat Peng Zhaoquin, Zhu Chen lost to Meenakshi, Aarthie lost to Dworakowska.