49th National Women 2023 R8: Bhakti Kulkarni still in sole lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 08/07/2023

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.

IM Bhakti Kulkarni maintains her sole lead 7/8

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.

Position after 43.Rh7+

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

Details

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

Details

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

Details

Links

Tournament Details

Gujarat State Chess Association: Official site

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