NINGBO: Indian men slid to the ninth position in the World Team Chess Championship after losing to Ukraine in the third round of the event.

Grandmaster Alexander Moiseenko guided Ukraine to a 2.5-1.5 win over India after defeating G N Gopal on the fourth board.

It turned out to be another average day for the Indians as they suffered their second consecutive defeat after bowing down to Azerbaijan in the previous round.

In the top three boards, P Harikrishna, K Sasikiran and Parimarjan Negi held on to their fort against higher-rated opponents but Gopal went down in a long-drawn affair to give Ukraine the victory by a minimal margin.

Holders Russia maintained their position at the top of the tables following a grueling 2-2 draw with Armenia.

The Russians, thus, took their tally to five points out of a possible six and kept their full point lead over Armenia, Israel and Ukraine, who all have four points apiece.

Four teams, Azerbaijan, United States, China and Hungary share the fifth spot with three points while India is now down to the ninth spot on just one point. Lowest ranked Egypt are last in the current standings after losing all the matches.

On what turned out to be an exciting day, Hungary made merry against Azerbaijan winning 2.5-1.5 thanks to a fine victory by highest rated woman player Judit Polgar against Rauf Mamedov.

Hosts China, however, went down fighting to Israel, which is without their top player Boris Gelfand.

The decisive victory for Israel was achieved by youngster Tamir Nabaty who accounted for hugely talented Ding Liren.

In the other match of the day, Egypt avoided a whitewash at the hands of United States when their top player Ahmed Adly split points against Gata Kamsky on the first board.

Against Ukraine, the Indian think-tank rested Surya Shekhar Ganguly after two back-to-back losses and it proved to be a good idea till Gopal made the decisive error.

On the top board P Harikrishna played out a very easy draw with Vassily Ivanchuk, the former World championship finalist.

Krishnan Sasikiran also played it safe with black pieces against Sergei Movsesian and the game was drawn after a lot of pieces changed hands in the middle game.

But India's ace in the tie was Parimarjan Negi as he held a terrific position for a long time against Zahar Efimenko and had an undisputed advantage.

However, Efimenko came up with some sterling defence after giving up a piece for two pawns in the endgame and the game eventually ended in a draw.

But in the decisive game, Gopal gave a pawn early in the opening against Moiseenko and that did not turn out well for the Indian.

As the game progressed, Moiseenko traded queens in the middle game and fought for an advantage with his extra pawn. It eventually boiled down to a rook and pawns endgame, wherein Gopal retained some chances to hold but Moiseenko proved superior in calculations. It was all over for the Indian in 104 moves.

With six rounds still to come in the world's premier team event, last edition's bronze medalist, Indian will have to go all out in the remaining matches.

India's next match is against Israel. Complete results after round 3 (Team points in bracket): Armenia (4) drew with Russia (5) - Levon Aronian beat Sergey Karjakin; Alexander Grischuk drew with Sergei Movsesian; Vladimir Akopian drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi; Peter Svidler beat Gabriel Sargissian.

Egypt (0) lost to USA (3) 0.5-3.5 - Ahmed Adly drew with Gata Kamsky; Alexander Onischuk beat Amin Bassem; El Gindy Essam lost to Yasser Seirawan; Robert Hess beat Samy Shoker.

China (3) lost to Israel (4) 1.5-2.5 - Wang Hao drew with Emil Sutovsky; Michael Roiz drew with Wang Yue; Yu Yangyi drew with Ilya Smirin; Tamir Nabaty beat Ding Liren.

India (1) lost to Ukraine (4) 1.5-2.5 - P Harikrishna drew with Vassily Ivanchuk; Pavel Eljanov drew with K Sasikiran; Parimarjan Negi drew with Zahar Efimenko; Alexander Moiseenko beat G N Gopal.

Hungary (3) beat Azerbaijan (3) 2.5-1.5 - Peter Leko drew with Teimour Radjabov; Vugar Gashimov drew with Zoltan Almasi; Judit Polgar beat Rauf Mamedov; Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew with Csaba Balogh.

NINGBO (CHINA): The Indian men went down to United States of America 1-3 on Thursday and are now on the verge of going out of medal contention in the world team chess championship.

After raising visions of a better second half by beating Israel in the previous round, the Indians faltered again with black pieces which proved crucial.

On the second board, Krishnan Sasikiran went down to Alexander Onischuk while Parimarjan Negi found his nemesis in Robert Hess on the fourth board.

The Americans drew the other two games with Gata Kamsky holding his fort easily with black pieces against P Harikrishna and Yuri Shulman played out a draw with Surya Shekhar Ganguly to seal the victory.

Meanwhile, Armenians maintained their winning run at the expense of hosts China and remained at the top of the tables on eight points out of a possible ten.

The Armenians won the match by a minimal 2.5-1.5 margin. Russia and Hungary remained in pursuit of the leader with fine victories against Egypt and Israel respectively. While Russians won 3-1, Hungarian proved even more ruthless winning 3.5-0.5.

Ukraine became clear fourth on six points with a spirited effort against Azerbaijan. While the first three boards ended in draws, Gabriel Sargissian provided the crucial blow for Ukraine defeating Alexander Moiseenko.

The fifth place is now shared by Azerbaijan, China and USA who all have five points while Israel is now eighth with four points in their kitty. Past the half way stage and with only four games to go, the Indians need a makeover to come out of their ninth place on three points. Egypt remained at the bottom of the tables yet to open their account.

Sasikiran has been India's mainstay in the team championships but this time the second highest rated player in the country has not been able to display top form.

Against Onischuk, the King's Indian defense by Sasikiran did not come good as the former Russian gained a decent advantage in the middle game.

Sasikiran tried hard to salvage but his position worsened in the endgame and Onischuk picked up the crucial point in 58 moves.

Negi fell prey to an oversight in the middle game against Hess. Playing black, Negi faced a surprising Alapin variation by Hess and apparently equalized in the ensuing middle game.

However, in the later stages, Hess came up with some tactical stroke that Negi missed and lost in 32 moves.

Ganguly spent some time in the early stages against Shulman's French defense but could not do much while Harikrishna drew with Kamsky in 36 moves.

Complete results round 5 (Team points in bracket): Egypt (0) lost to Russia (7); Ahmed Adly lost to Alexander Grischuk; Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Amin Bassem; Samy Shoker drew with Peter Svidler; Nikita Vituigov drew with Ezat Mohamed. China (5) lost to Armenia (8). Wang Hao drew with Levon Aronian; Sergei Movsesian drew with Wang Yue; Li Chao drew with Vladimir Akopian; Gabriel Sargissian beat Yu Yangyi. India (3) lost to USA (5). P Harikrishna drew with Gata Kamsky; Alexander Onischuk beat K Sasikiran; Surya Shekhar Ganguly drew with Yuri Shulman; Robert Hess beat Parimarjan Negi. Hungary (7) beat Israel (4). Peter Leko beat Michael Roiz; Ilya Smirin drew with Zoltan Almasi; Judit Polgar beat Evgeny Postny; Tamir Nabaty lost to Csaba Balogh. Azerbaijan (5) lost to Ukraine (6). Teimour Radjabov drew with Vassily Ivanchuk; Pavel Eljanov drew with Vugar Gashimov; Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew with Zahar Efimenko; Gadir Guseinov lost to Alexander Moiseenko.

NINGBO (China): The India. men succumbed to their fifth defeat in eight matches, bowing to China in the eighth and penultimate round of the World Team Chess Championship.

On the top board, P Harikrishna found his nemesis in Wang Hao and on the second, K Sasikiran found a tough opponent in Wang Yue in a 1-3 loss after the other two games ended in draws.

Armenia closed in on the title with a hard-fought draw with Azerbaijan. After the first two boards ended in draws, both teams recorded a victory each, taking Armenia to an unassailable 13 points out of a possible 16. The Armenians now need just a draw in the final round match against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, holders Russia came hard at Israel and the day saw the first 4-0 whitewash in the premier team event. Israel are depleted due to the absence of their top star Boris Gelfand and it was evident as Russia won all the games.

In the other matches of the day Hungary had it easy against Egypt, winning 3-1, while Ukraine won by a minimal 2.5-1.5 margin against the United States.

With just the final round to come, Ukraine and China share the second spot on 11 points each, while Russia and Hungary are also in with a chance for a podium finish with 10 points in their kitty.

USA are clear sixth on eight points, a full point ahead of Azerbaijan. The Indian men share the eighth spot with Israel on five points while Egypt are yet to open the account.

The stage is set for a grand finale as Armenia take on Ukraine while China will meet Hungary in the decider. The formidable Russians are up against India.