 Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB) retained its National Team
Championship tile for the Indumathi Korke Trophy at Sangli. The Championship was sponsored
by "PUDHARI Newspaper " at the Arvade high School from May 21st to
27th. The PSCB were the favourites to win with their team comprising IMs K. Sashikiran , D. V. Prasad (Captain),
P. Konguvel, Abhijit Kunte and IM Elect
Jayant S. Gokhale. With their average rating of 2444 they were the natural topseeds and
were expected to demonstrate their superiority. But sometimes in team competitions the sum
is less than the parts.In the very first round
PSCB were held to 2-2 draw by Vidharba Chess team. PSCB's Sahikiran sacrificed an exchange
against Soman and lost the game. Though the loss was more due to mistakes in time rather
than Exchange Sac which reminded the on-lookers of GM Alexei Shirov. Jayant and
Konguvel were held to draws. This result, however, did not deter the mighty PSCB. They won
the rest of their matches to lodge 19.5 points and take the title. Abhijit Kunte performed
excellently for PSCB scoring 6pts from 7 games and won the Board prize on the third board.
For Union Bank of India, it was a tournament to be
forgotten. They only managed 2-2 draw in the 1st round and in the next were crushed 0-4 by
Indian, Chennnai. GM Praveen Thipsay and IM Sharad Tilak were not a part of the time for
this event. The find of this tournament was the Maharashta team. Inspite of not having
even a single International Master in their team, they finished a very creditable second.
The team consisted of R. M. Dongre (Captain), Ravi Bhave, Pankaj Joshi and Aamrdeep
Bartake. They swept Tal Academy 4-0 , drew Indian Bank 2-2 and even managed to collect 1.5
points from the formidable PSCB in the final round. Pankaj Joshi and Amardeep Bartake were
the team's stars securing the 2nd and 4th Board prizes to their credit.
For the last year's Runners Up, it was bit of a
disappointment. Though they beat Indian Airlines in the last round by a handsome 3-1
margin, they finished outside the prize list. Their tie break was quite low. But their win
was not in vain. It helped Institutional Championships LIC of India to obtain the third
position.
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