Arjun arrow floors Hungary B, wins hearts

How do you smell the blood of the opponent’s king? Ask Erigaisi Arjun.


India’s No. 1 checkmated Peter Prohaszka (Elo 2542) with the white pieces in 34 moves in the Three Knights Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, as India outclassed the B team of hosts Hungary in the third round of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest on Friday.

It was Arjun at his aggressive best, showcasing why playing him on the third board—behind D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa—is such a nightmare for opponents.

From the 24th move onward, Arjun unleashed a blistering kingside attack—featuring pawn pushes and a flurry of exchanges—culminating in a queen exchange and a checkmate with two rooks and two bishops. This victory was especially crucial as Gabor Papp (Elo 2550) found a draw via threefold repetition against the higher-rated Vidit Gujrathi on the fourth board.

Without worrying about the counterplay he was offering his opponent—and despite the risk of miscalculation—Arjun opened up the long diagonal for his light-squared bishop and demonstrated how to win in style.

Prohaszka, in a gracious display of sportsmanship, allowed the checkmate to happen without resigning, acknowledging Arjun’s brilliance through his body language after the game.

In other matches, D Harika, facing an inspired opponent, lost on the top board to Russia’s Alexandra Kosteniuk, now playing for Switzerland.

However, wins from R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal ensured that top-seeded India defeated the 21st seeds 3-1. There were no nervous moments for India, as the three wins were already secured before Harika faced trouble.

Magnus Carlsen’s troubles continued at the Chess Olympiad, even before he took to the board in the third round on Friday. Carlsen took more than 11 minutes to make his first move with the black pieces against Roberto Garcia, a player rated 300 points below him, simply because he couldn’t reach the venue on time. His clock had already started by the time he arrived, reportedly biking through the rain without a player’s badge. Nevertheless, Carlsen won his game, and Norway defeated Colombia.

Carlsen didn’t play in the first two rounds of the Olympiad. The controversial decision to 'rest' him for a second day on Thursday proved costly for Norway, the sixth seeds, who failed to beat 50th-seeded Canada.

Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (Elo 2661) lost on the top board to Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (Elo 2509), and the 2-2 draw meant Norway faced Colombia instead of a stronger team like Italy or Denmark in the third round.

Though India’s top women players, GMs D Harika and K Humpy, believe that heavy scoring on the top board is not always necessary, there have been cases of outstanding performances.

Vassily Ivanchuk’s score of +6 (9.5 points, playing all 14 rounds) when Ukraine won gold in 2004 is a prime example. One of the greatest exponents of uncompromising chess, Ivanchuk missed the biennial team championship in India but has returned this year alongside his compatriot and former knockout world champion Ruslan Ponomariov.

Results:

Open:

USA bt Bulgaria; India lead Hungary 'B'; Hungary 'A' lead Austria; China lead Slovenia; Uzbekistan lead Croatia; Italy bt the Netherlands; Azerbaijan bt Moldova. Women: India bt Switzerland; Uzbekistan bt Hungary; China bt Italy; USA bt Canada.



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