Sasikiran, Ganguly shine for India

Led by another brilliant onslaught by Grandmaster K Sasikiran and double GM norm holder Surya Shekhar Ganguly, India crushed United States 3-1 and moved to joint 8th position with 20.5 points after the eighth round of the 35th Chess Olympiad in Bled (Slovenia).

Sasikiran took a step ahead in establishing himself in the elite group with a finely crafted victory over Gregory Kaidanov on the top board.

But the Indian women team failed to keep up the momentum and went down to Bulgaria 1-2 after missing out on several winning chances.

Russia scored their seventh victory in the Olympiad when they toppled Netherlands 2.5-1.5 to remain atop the tables with 24 points and are followed by Hungary with 22.5 points.

In the women's section Georgia (19) stretched its lead by two points defeating defending champion China 2.5-0.5. United States with 17 points shared the second spot while India were placed in a joint 13th position with six more rounds to go.

EARLIER REPORT
Thumping wins for Indians