Chennai: Second seed Padmini Rout of Orissa defeated top seed and two-time champion Tania Sachdev of Delhi in the sixth round of the Velammal National Premier Women Chess Championship here on Thursday. Padmini, playing white, faced the Schleimann gambit from Tania and kept that extra pawn for the rest of the game before winning in 50 moves.
Padmini's endgame timing was perfect and the position had the artistry of a problem composition.
Three pawns were in the queening race in a single game — two for Padmini and one for Tania. The decisive factor in Padmini's favour was that both her pawns were queening on different files and yet giving a vital check to the black king.
The win gave Padmini the sole lead with five points from six games. Her fourth win in a row in the event and in a key game against the top seed should help her enjoy her day off on Friday.
Five rounds remain to be played.
The Hindu