India won the prestigious 3rd Bilateral Chess Summit against China by match points of 9-7, after completion of eighth and last round, which ended in 2-2 draw here at International Chess Hall in KiiT University today. This was first time that India won this unique competition, which was jointly organised by All Odisha Chess Association (AOCA) Kalinga Instutute of Industrial Technology (KIIT).

The victorious Indian team collected a cash prize of Rs 6 lakhs, while the Chinese team received Rs 4 lakhs. Department of Sports & Youth Services, Governmnet of Odisha was the title sponsors of the Summit.

In the eighth round, GM Aravindh Cithambram (India) and GM Lu Shanglei (China) won respective games, while the other two games ended in draw. India won the series by winning two rounds against one by China. Other five rounds ended in draws. China, however, had the consolation of gathering 16.5 game points, against 15.5 by India.

Among the four Indian Grand Masters, Narayanan Srinath and Aravindh Chithambaram emerged joint-best with 4.5 points each out of a possible eight. Their teammates Aryan Chopra and Karthikeyan Murali finished with 3.5 and 3 points respectively.

In the Chinese team, GM Lu Shanglei was most successful with 5.5 points, followed by Bai Jinshi (4.5), Xu Yinglun (4) and Xu Xiangyu (2.5). FIDE Senior Trainers IM Sekhar Chandra Sahu and GM XU Jun were the coaches of the Indian and Chinese team respectively.

All India Chess Federation (AICF) Secretary Bharat Singh Chouhan graced the closing ceremony as chief guest. KIIT Registrar Prof Sasmita Samanta AICF vice-president IM Sekhar Chandra Sahu, Organising Committee chairman Ranjan Mohanty, AOCA secretary Krushna Kumar Sarma and KIIT Sports Director Dr Gaganendu Dash were present on the occasion.

RESULTS (Round-8): India drew with China 2 –2

Board-1: GM Lu Shanglei (w) beat GM Aryan Chopra
Board-2: GM    Xu Xiangyu drew with GM Karthikeyan Murali (w)
Borad-3: GM Bai Jinshi (w) drew with GM Narayan Srinath
Board-4: GM Xu Yinglun lost to GM Aravindh Cithambram (w)
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PHOTO: Players, guests and officials at the closing ceremony of the 3rd India-China Chess Summit in Bhubaneswar on October 23, 2018.