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World Team Chess: Arun Prasad guides India to the top

January 06, 2010 15:55 IST

Grandmaster S Arun Prasad provided the crucial full point as India edged out Greece to emerge joint leader after the opening round of the World Team Chess Championship in Bursa, Turkey.

Arun got the better of Stelios Halkias to script India's 2.5-1.5 win while his team-mates settled for draws.

Among others, Krishnan Sasikiran was held by Vasilios Kotronias, Surya Shekhar Ganguly could not breach Loannis Papaioannou's defence while G N Gopal survived some anxious moments before signing peace with Hristos Banikas on the top three boards.

Indians thus emerged joint leaders in the championship along with Azerbaijan, USA, Russia and Israel. The remaining teams are all sharing the second spot.

In the next round, the Indians will take on US.

The World Team Championship is an elite team event in which 10 teams, including the top three finishers in the Chess Olympiad and the continental champions, take part.

Every team has six players with four boards to play in each round in this round robin event.

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