Qatar and India chess points leaders

Qatar and India, seeded No 3 and No 1 respectively, were the points leaders after the second round of mixed team's classical Swiss chess competition, both ending the day with 5.5 points. They both lost just a half-point in six games.

Uzbekistan won against China in the most anticipated game of the day. The players never faced each other before, so it meant that both the players and the audience were entering the unknown. Uzbekistan are seeded fifth and China fourth, but the Uzbeks won convincingly 2-1. Both teams drew two games, but the Uzbek women's International Master Olga Sabirova won her bout against Zhao Xue to secure the lead.

Uzbekistan's Rustam Kasimdzhanov explained his draw. "I got nothing from the opening, although I played white. Bu [Xiangzhi of China] opted for a Slav Defence and we were soon in a position where neither of us could try and go for a win. He had no weak points and neither had I. So we signed the peace after some 25 moves or so. It is far too early to say who will be our strongest opponents. There are several good teams in the tournament. I expect the outcome will only be decided in the eighth and ninth rounds."

Bu will be happy about the result, however. Before the match, he admitted his anxiety to reporters. "Yesterday we won. Today we're playing Uzbekistan. They have really good players and so we are prepared for quite a challenge. I am playing black. I am nervous," he said.

Qatar's Mohammed Al Medaihki and Chen Zhu won their games, while Mohammed Al Sayed drew his for 2.5 points overall against No 8 seed Indonesia. India, thanks to a long-anticipated return to form from world No 1 seed Sasikiran Krishnan, won all three games against 10th seed Turkmenistan. India were clearly favourites in their match against Turkmenistan with a 160-point average Elo rating lead.

Harikrishna Pentala, however, was not one to quibble about Elo ratings after his second-round win against Turkmenistan's Mesgen Amanov. "I am very happy with this win, because I took a serious risk. We were in an equal position when I decided to create some complications that would make him think. Fortunately, this worked for I was hard up for time, while he had been playing fast. The win gives me confidence. I am sure I'll do even better tomorrow," he said.

In the so-called Swiss system, teams are paired against other teams with approximately the same amount of points or in other words: after a loss a team is normally paired against a weaker one. As a consequence, the standings can shift rapidly. Today's losers will often be tomorrow's winners.

By By 15th Asian Games, Doha 2006