China, September 03: The Indian eves benefited from a late entry penalty rule to beat Russia 2.5-1.5 in the second round of the World Women Team Chess championship here.
The Indians were helped by the Zero Tolerance rule on the fourth board as Russian Gunina Valentina was a bit late to enter the tournament hall for her game against Mary Ann Gomes.
As per the latest rules the players have to be seated on their respective chairs when the games start. While Gunina was at the gate of the tournament hall, she was declared lost.
International Master Eesha Karavade continued her good run and accounted for Marina Romanko which proved vital for the Indian team.
On the top board, world junior girls’ champion Harika played solidly to hold Tatiana Kosintseva while on the second Tania Sachdev squandered a promising position to go down fighting against Nadezhda Kosintseva.
Ukraine sprang a major surprise by scoring a memorable 3-1 victory over top seeds China thanks to vital points on the last two boards where Inna Gaponenko and Maria Muzychuk scored over Shen Yang and Ju Wenjun respectively.
Polish eves emerged as the sole leaders on four points following a regulation 2.5-1.5 victory over Vietnam.
The Indian team share the second spot with Ukraine and Georgia on three points each while China and United States are now joint fifth with just two points. .
—PTI