Grandmaster and Asian Champion, Parimarjan Negi came good with his white pieces, as he registered a 2.5 – 1.5 victory against Rustam Khusnutdinov of Kazakhstan yesterday in the fifth round of the Asian Nations Chess Championships in Zaozhuang at China. The victory ensured that the Indian men kept pace with China-1, who also scored an identical victory over Vietnam. The two leaders now have nine match points out of a possible ten and enjoy two points lead over third placed China-2.In the women's championship being organised simultaneously, the chances of an Indian medal improvedsignificantly after the eves cruised home to a 3-1 victory over Indonesia. D Harika struck form in a crucial first board encounter against Asian women's champion Irine Sukandar Kharisma. The rest was easy for the girls, despite a debacle on the third board, where Mary Ann Gomes went down to A A Citra Dewi.