Oman Chess: Team Muscat defeat Kolkata to move up at Asian Cities Chess Championship in India

Muscat: Team Muscat overcame Kolkata to moved up the standings in the ongoing Asian Cities Chess Championship in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of eastern Indian state of Odisha on Wednesday.
In the seventh of the nine-round competition, Muscat defeated the Indian side by a 2.5.-1.5 margin to rise to fifth in the 12-team competition.
Though Amin Al Ansi, playing on board two, lost to Ghorai Samrat (2032), FIDE Master Salim Mohammed Salim Al Amri (2010) accounted for Ritabroto Ganguly (1847) and Mohammed Ahmed Said Al Amri (1711) defeated Soumik Datta (1741).
Candidates Master Salim Issa Ali Shamas (1902) draw with Sonkalan Bharati (2018) also proved vital as Muscat earned valuable points at the crucial stage of the championship.
Team Muscat, who were at eighth place at the start of the day’s proceedings, moved up to fifth after two wins and three draws and next play leaders Rasht of Iran on Thursday. The Iran side are on top with six wins followed by India’s Bhubaneswar KIIT (5 wins, 1 draw), Malaysia’s Penang (4 wins, 2 draw) and Dhaka (4 wins, 1 draw) in that order.
The championship concludes on Friday.