A tense match with China:

India faced China in round 5 of the Asian Nations Cup 2018 | Photo: Swapnil Dhopade

Although there were four draws in the match, it was not at all boring. On board one Adhiban had a better position and excellent chances of winning, which he missed against Lu Shanglei. On board four Abhijeet Gupta was losing his game against Bai Jinshi, but he managed to hold on.

 

Adhiban vs Lu Shanglei

Lu Shanglei has just moved his queen c2. How should White win this position?

Adhiban checked with the move Qe8. But it was a subtle mistake. The right choice would have been to give Qd8+ Kh7 Nf8+ Kg8 Ne6 Kh7 and now Qc7! when the queens have to be exchanged because of the mate threat on g7.

Abhijeet Gupta played quite poorly in the opening and soon landed in a lost position against Bai Jinshi. But the GM from Rajasthan fought with all his might and drew the game! This ensured India drawing the match with China.

As of now things look pretty bleak for the Indian team. They are relegated to the sixth spot. Iran having played both India and China and having beaten both of them are the clear favourites. We now face Vietnam in the sixth round which is another difficult test.

Rank after round 5

Rk.SNo TeamGames  +   =   -  TB1  TB2 
13
Iran Green55001014,5
22
China5311711,0
36
Iran Red5302614,0
44
Kazakhstan5302613,0
55
Vietnam5302612,0
61
India5221611,5
77
Uzbekistan5212510,0
811
Syria421158,0
98
Iran White5203410,5
1010
Iraq512247,0
119
Bangladesh511337,5
14
Afghanistan511337,5
1312
Lebanon510427,0
1413
Oman510424,5

Vietnam too strong for Indian women:

Team India lost to Vietnam 2.5-1.5 | Photo: Swapnil Dhopade

Both the youngsters faltered. The important question is: Why was Padmini Rout rested?

Harika played a long game to beat Vietnamese Hoang Thi Bao Tram:

Vaishali couldn't hold a draw against Pham Le Thao Nguyen:

Akanksha Hagawane lost from the black side of a Fianchetto Grunfeld:

Rank after round 5

Rk. Team12345678 TB1  TB2  TB3 
1
China * 331014,50
2
Vietnam * 23711,50
3
Iran Green12 * 23611,50
4
Kazakhstan2 * 4512,50
India1 * 244512,50
6
Uzbekistan1½2 * 4510,00
7
Iran Red½½0 * 426,50
8
Syria10000 * 01,00

The chances of Indian team winning a medal are also waning.