SITGES (Spain): India drew 2-2 against Kazakhstan in the first match of the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Women's Team Chess Championship on Thursday.
India's No.1 player D Harika drew Zhansaya Abdumalik on the top board as did R Vaishali on the second board against Dinara Saduakassova.
Bhakti Kulkarni's loss to Meruert Kamalidenova on the third board was neutralised by Mary Ann Gomes on the fourth, with a fine 85-move win over Gulmira Dauletova.
Harika, who had a good run in the FIDE Online Olympiad recently with 7.5 points from her nine games, could not force a win against Abdumalik.
Vaishali, who has been in good form in this tournament, held higher-rated Saduakassova.
Kulkarni (Elo 2149) faltered against lower-rated Kamalidenova but Gomes saved the blushes for India with a win in a marathon encounter against Dauletova.
India and Kazakhstan will play the second match of the quarterfinal later tonight.
In the other first matches in the quarterfinals, Russia took a big step towards a spot in the semifinal with a crushing 4-0 win over FIDE Americas, while Armenia registered a 3-1 victory over Ukraine and George hammered Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5.
