The defeat pushed Vijayalakshmi to joint second position along with Nisha Mohota with six points. Swati Ghate leads with 6.5 points while Pallavi Shah and Anupama Gokhale share the third spot with 5.5 points.

Nisha Mohota, the second youngest participant in this championship, defeated Mrunalini Kunte while Swati Ghate beat Sai Meera on time.

Saheli Dhar-Barua, missed out on a chance to join Pallavi and Anupama in third spot, when she drew with Swati Mohota. Sarita Reddy, resurrecting her position after a string of losses here, defeated Safira Shanaz today.

Against Vijayalakshmi, Pallavi, once again, played the Centre Gambit. But unlike Bhagyashree Thipsay in the previous round, Vijayalakshmi was prepared to develop her bishop. In the middle game, Pallavi gave up her rook for a good enough compensation -- three pawns. She drove home the advantage to earn a `f' file passer which was a hopeless position for Vijayalakshmi who resigned after 41 moves.

Swati Ghate played the Sicilian defence but had black square weakness. Sai Meera tried to exploit that and thought over her moves. She consumed too much time and came under time pressure. She gave up after 30 moves with hardly any time left on her clock.

Nisha was an easy winner over Mrunalini, who played the Kings Indian Defence. On the 19th move, Nisha played her pawn to g4 which opened the King side. The queens were exchanged five moves later. Out of the position, Nisha got a protected passer pawn on c6. In the end game, Nisha unleashed a combination which helped her capture Mrunalini's `g' pawn and an exchange. Nisha won after 31 moves.

Anupama Gokhale had the better position on the board though even Purabhi Singha had the same material in the end game -- knight and four pawns. Anupama won in 48 moves.

Safira Shanaz blundered two pieces in time pressure after playing the Torre Attack against Sarita Reddy, who completed the formalities in 36 moves.Bhagyashree tried hard for over six hours to force a win against Neha Singh but the Bihar girl defended stoutly and earned her second consecutive draw, after 59 moves. Saheli Dhar-Barua had a bishop to Swati Mohota's knight but it was a drawish position and it ended that way when the pieces were exchanged and players left with two pawns each.

Results (8th round)1. Bhagyashree Thipsay (IDBI, 2205) 3.5 drew with Neha Singh (Bihar, 2040) 1.5; Purabhi Singha (Assam) 1.5 lost to Anupama Gokhale (Bharat Petroleum, 2205) 5.5; Safira Shanaz (TN, 2135) 2.5 lost to Sarita Reddy (TN, 2235) 4; Nisha Mohota (West Bengal, 2105) 5.5 bt Mrunalini Kunte (IDBI, 2170) 4; Swati Mohota (West Bengal, 2125) drew with Saheli Dhar-Barua (Indian Railways, 2240) 5; Sai Meera (Indian Bank, 2105) 1.5 lost to Swati Ghate (Maharashtra, 2220) 6.5; Pallavi Shah (Maharashtra, 2105) 5.5 bt S Vijayalakshmi (Indian Airlines, 2325) 6.

Pairings for ninth round: 1. S Vijayalakshmi vs Bhagyashree Thipsay; 2. Swati Ghate vs Pallavi Shah; 3. Saheli Dhar-Barua vs Sai Meera; 4. Mrunalini Kunte vs Swati Mohota; 5. Sarita Reddy vs Nisha Mohota; 6. Anupama Gokhale vs Safira Shanaz; 7. Neha Singh vs Purabhi Singha.