Indian Oil 51st National Women 2025 R10: Mary Ann beats Nandhidhaa, exciting finish ahead
WGM Mary Ann Gomes (PSPB) defeated the seemingly infallible WGM Nandhidhaa P V (TN) in Round 10 of Indian Oil 51st National Women's Chess Championship 2025. The former three-time National Women champion, grinded a seemingly equal rook and knight endgame until the defending champion blundered and allowed her opponent to win the game. Mary is now coleader with Nandhidhaa at 8.5/10 each. WIM Srishti Pandey (MAH) won against WFM Shubhi Gupta (UP) after the latter wanted to fight and overstretched her pawns, creating weaknesses. Both Srishti and Shubhi are now at 8/10. The tournament is certainly poised for an exciting finish. Round 11 starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed
Srishti Pandey defeats Shubhi Gupta, gets in the championship fray
It was a day full of upsets. Second seeded WGM Sarayu Velpula (TEL) lost to WFM Sachi Jain (DEL). WFM Arshiya Das (TRI) and WFM Nivedita V C (TN) scored two big wins against IM Nisha Mohota (PSPB) and the top seed, WIM Arpita Mukherjee (WB) respectively.
Mary Ann - Nandhidhaa: 1-0
WGM Mary Ann Gomes (PSPB, 2257) grinded a relatively equal rook and knight endgame against the sole leader, WGM Nandhidhaa P V (TN, 2257).
44...Kg6? was a big mistake 45.Rg5+ Kh6 46.Ng3 dropped the h5-pawn. White traded the h-pawn for a7 and eventually created a passed pawn on b-file. That played a key role in White earning the victory.
Srishti - Shubhi: 1-0
WIM Srishti Pandey (MAH, 2219) mentioned in the post-game interview that her opponent could have forced a draw on move no.10 via repetition. It is a well-known theoretical draw in the delayed Cozio but WFM Shubhi Gupta (UP, 2259) is a fighter. She chose to fight instead.
33...d4? 34.Bf2+- Nf5 35.Ne5 Rhg8 36.Nc6 Rdf8 37.Nxa5 White took advantage of Black's overstretched weak pawns. 37...Bd6 38.Rg4 Ne7 39.Rxh4 Nd5 40.Bg3 Be7 41.Rg4 Ne3 42.Re1 Bd8 43.Rxe3 dxe3 44.Nc4 and rest became just a matter of time and technique for White to win the game.
Sarayu - Sachi: 0-1
WGM Sarayu Velpula (TEL, 2296) made a bold decision to give up an exchange against WFM Sachi Jain (DEL, 2080).
39.fxe4 Rg4+ 40.Kh1 Kf8 41.Rc2 Rxe4 42.Qxb4+ Kg7 43.Rf2 would have been fine. Even 39.Qxb4 Nxc5 40.Qxc5 is still okay Rh8 41.Ba3 Qd7 42.Qc1 Qd8 43.Bb4 Kd7 44.Qd2 Qg8 45.Qc2?? Qh7-+ forced the queen trade and now Black's material advantage became significant.
Arshiya - Nisha: 1-0
It was a clash of generations between the newly crowned National Sub-Junior Girls 2025 champion, WFM Arshiya Das (TRI, 2232) and Commonwealth 2025 Women Bronze medalist, IM Nisha Mohota (PSPB, 2144). In an already pleasant position for White, Arshiya found a nice way to force knight trade and increase her advantage.
24.Nf5+ Bxf5 25.exf5 Rh2 26.Rxe5+ Kf6 27.Ree1 White could have taken the a5-pawn Nxf5 28.Bf1 soon Black lost the knight at f5 and the game too. Arshiya made a strong comeback after suffering a one-sided loss against the sole leader, WGM Nandhidhaa P V (TN) in the previous round.
For more Round 10, Players Arrival and Aerial view photos, please click on the respective links.
Replay Round 10 games
Round 10 results
| Bo. | No. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | 2243 | 7½ | 1 - 0 | 8½ | WGM | Nandhidhaa, P V | 2257 | 6 |
| 2 | 10 | WIM | Pandey, Srishti | 2219 | 7 | 1 - 0 | 8 | WFM | Shubhi, Gupta | 2259 | 5 |
| 3 | 2 | WIM | Velpula, Sarayu | 2296 | 6½ | 0 - 1 | 6½ | WFM | Sachi, Jain | 2080 | 18 |
| 4 | 9 | WFM | Arshiya, Das | 2232 | 6½ | 1 - 0 | 6½ | IM | Mohota, Nisha | 2144 | 16 |
| 5 | 12 | WFM | Kalyani, Sirin | 2182 | 6½ | 1 - 0 | 6½ | WFM | Bristy, Mukherjee | 2008 | 25 |
| 6 | 49 | Shivamshika, G | 1881 | 6½ | 0 - 1 | 6½ | WGM | Varshini, V | 2170 | 14 | |
| 7 | 1 | WIM | Arpita, Mukherjee | 2301 | 6 | 0 - 1 | 6½ | WFM | Nivedita, V C | 2003 | 28 |
| 8 | 7 | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | 2251 | 6 | 1 - 0 | 6 | Bhat, Sannidhi Ramakrishna | 1978 | 33 | |
| 9 | 11 | WIM | Chitlange, Sakshi | 2193 | 6 | ½ - ½ | 6 | WCM | Rajanya, Datta | 1926 | 41 |
| 10 | 13 | WFM | Kheerthi, Ganta | 2177 | 6 | 0 - 1 | 6 | WFM | Potluri, Supreetha | 1850 | 55 |
Standings after Round 10
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | IND | 2243 | Petroleum Sports Promotion Board | 8,5 | 60,5 | 64,5 | 53,75 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | 6 | WGM | Nandhidhaa, P V | IND | 2257 | Tamil Nadu | 8,5 | 60 | 65 | 53,25 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | 5 | WFM | Shubhi, Gupta | IND | 2259 | Uttar Pradesh | 8 | 64 | 69 | 52,5 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | 10 | WIM | Pandey, Srishti | IND | 2219 | Maharashtra | 8 | 56 | 60,5 | 48 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 28 | WFM | Nivedita, V C | IND | 2003 | Tamil Nadu | 7,5 | 61 | 65 | 44,75 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | 12 | WFM | Kalyani, Sirin | IND | 2182 | Kerala | 7,5 | 59 | 63,5 | 45,5 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | 14 | WGM | Varshini, V | IND | 2170 | Tamil Nadu | 7,5 | 57 | 61 | 44,25 | 0 | 7 |
| 8 | 18 | WFM | Sachi, Jain | IND | 2080 | Delhi | 7,5 | 53,5 | 57,5 | 41,75 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | 9 | WFM | Arshiya, Das | IND | 2232 | Tripura | 7,5 | 52,5 | 56 | 41 | 0 | 7 |
| 10 | 7 | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | IND | 2251 | Tamil Nadu | 7 | 56 | 61 | 41,75 | 0 | 5 |
Round 11 pairings
| Bo. | No. | White | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Black | Rtg | No. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | WGM | Nandhidhaa, P V | 2257 | 8½ | 8 | WIM | Pandey, Srishti | 2219 | 10 | |
| 2 | 14 | WGM | Varshini, V | 2170 | 7½ | 8½ | WGM | Gomes, Mary Ann | 2243 | 8 | |
| 3 | 5 | WFM | Shubhi, Gupta | 2259 | 8 | 7½ | WFM | Arshiya, Das | 2232 | 9 | |
| 4 | 18 | WFM | Sachi, Jain | 2080 | 7½ | 7½ | WFM | Kalyani, Sirin | 2182 | 12 | |
| 5 | 28 | WFM | Nivedita, V C | 2003 | 7½ | 7 | WIM | Nimmy, A.G. | 1990 | 31 | |
| 6 | 55 | WFM | Potluri, Supreetha | 1850 | 7 | 7 | WGM | Srija, Seshadri | 2251 | 7 | |
| 7 | 32 | Rebecca, Jesumarian | 1982 | 6½ | 6½ | WIM | Velpula, Sarayu | 2296 | 2 | ||
| 8 | 4 | FM | Sherali, Pattnaik | 2270 | 6½ | 6½ | Maitreyi, Mondal | 2001 | 29 | ||
| 9 | 24 | Mrittika, Mallick | 2011 | 6½ | 6½ | WIM | Chitlange, Sakshi | 2193 | 11 | ||
| 10 | 16 | IM | Mohota, Nisha | 2144 | 6½ | 6½ | WFM | Saparya, Ghosh | 1971 | 34 |
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