Vijaylakshmi maintains sole lead

Top seed and defending champion S Vijayalakshmi of Indian Airlines outclassed Y Prathibha of Tamil Nadu and held on to her full point lead after the end of the fifth round of the 27th National Women's 'A' chess championship in Delhi on Wednesday.

WGM Vijayalakshmi has 4.5 points and is followed by her younger sister IWM S Meenakshi, also of Indian Airlines. IWMs Anupama Gokhale (PSCB), Aarthie Ramaswamy (Wipro) and Swati Ghate (LIC) share the third position with three points each.

Playing white, Vijayalakshmi opted to explore the less trodden paths in the Queen pawn game and allowed a dynamic equilibrium to Pratibha in the middlegame. The game progressed violently thereon and Vijayalakshmi deployed her pieces aggressively on the queenside to exert pressure.

Pratibha lost control of the position as the time trouble approached and overlooked a simple manoeuvre that cost her a piece. Vijayalakshmi gave no chances after that.

It was yet again a superlative display in the Petroff defence with black pieces that gave Meenakshi a deserving victory over Saimeera Ravi of Bank Sports Board.

An off-beat opening variation did not give Saimeera a desirable position in the middlegame and a weak plan left her kingside unattended. Meenakshi castled on the queenside and initiated an attack against the king with some finely crafted manoeuvres. A deceptive queen move on the 20th turn left Saimeera defenseless as the pressure mounted with every move thereon. The game lasted only 26 moves.

Swati drew with Anupama in a cautious game that witnessed the established moves of the Pirc defence where Swati played white. The pieces got exchanged at regular intervals in the middlegame and the players arrived at a balanced Rook and pawns endgame. The draw was agreed to in 52 moves.

Aarthie got the better of Asian Zonal Champion Pallavi Shah of LIC who is yet to find her rhythm here. Playing white, Aarthie opted for the ultra sharp English attack but it was Pallavi who got her pieces rolling on the queenside first.

A tactical battle ensued and an oversight cost Pallavi dearly as the game was transposed to a Rook and pawns endgame after heaps of exchanges. With two connected passed pawns on the queenside and opponent's king stuck in the center, Aarthie did not face many troubles in converting her advantage.

Saheli Barua of South Eastern Railways bounced back into reckoning by defeating IWM Bhagyashree Thipsay of IDBI in a game of fluctuating fortunes. Bhagyashree surprised Saheli with a side variation in the Caro Kann defence but could not find the right defensive moves after winning a pawn.

Dolan Champa Bose of Bihar missed several winning opportunities in the endgame before settling for a draw with Dronavalli Harika Andhra Pradesh while M R Sangeetha of Tamil Nadu went down to IWM Nisha Mohota of LIC.

Results - round 5: S Vijayalakshmi (4.5) bt Y Pratibha (2); Saimeera Ravi (1.5) lost to S Meenakshi (3.5); Swati Ghate (3) drew Anupama Gokhale (3); R Aarthie (3) bt Pallavi Shah (1); D C Bose (3) drew D Harika (2); Saheli Barua (2) bt B P Thipsay (2) and M R Sangeetha (1.5) lost to Nisha Mohota (2).