India beats Armenia in round 3 of World Women's Chess Championship

Sitges (Spain): The Indian team posted a second straight win in Pool A of the FIDE World Women’s Team Chess Championship by beating Armenia 2.5-1.5 in the third round here on Tuesday.

The Indians had defeated Spain 2.5-1.5 in the second round late on Monday to notch up the first win after being held to a 2-2 draw in the opener against Azerbaijan.

With the win in round three, India moved up to the second spot on 7 board points and 5 match points behind the formidable Russia (11 board points, 6 match points).

In the match against Armenia, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni notched up the important wins to set



up the victory. D Harika had settled for a draw against Elina Danielian while the talented, young R Vaishali went down to Lilit Mkrtchian.

Sachdev, an experienced player, got the better of Anna M Sargsyan in 40 moves in a Goglidze Attack game. Kulkarni contributed a vital point by taming Susanna Gaboyan in a 30-move affair.

Vaishali, who had won her matches in the first two rounds, suffered a reverse at the hands of Mkrtchian in a 30-move English Variation game.

In other third round matches, Russia outclassed Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 and host Spain edged past France 2.5-1.5.