India settles for silver in FIDE World Women's Team C'ship

By: WE Staff | Monday, 4 October 2021

India won its first-ever medal in the FIDE world women’s team chess championship. India lost the final match to Russia by 3-1 in the summit clash to secure the silver medal.

“Congratulations to India, the runners-up of the 2021 FIDE World Women’s Team Championship. A historical achievement in Sitges marks India’s first medals at the World Women’s Team Championships,” International Chess Federation tweeted.

In round one, the Russian Team won the first essay 2.5-1.5. The match results were as follows: Kosteniuk 1-0 Vaishali, Goryachkina 0-1 Harika, Lagno 1-0 Kulkarni and Kashlinskaya 0.5-0.5 Gomes.

In the first match, Kateryna Lagno was the star of the CFR Team. Through her victory, the CFR Team got an upper hand in the first match of the final.

In the semi-final clash, India scored a dramatic 2.5-1.5 victory in the second round after first round 2-2 to beat Georgia with 1.5-0.5 match points in the match.

Also, India defeated France 3-1 in the fifth and final round to finish second in Pool A and qualify for the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women’s Team Chess Championship.

The India-France match saw Kulkarni in a 51-move encounter against Natacha Benmesbah.

GM D Harika shared honours with Marie Sebag in a 45-move game and Tania Sachdev drew with Andreea Navrotescu in 34 moves.