Chess Olympiad: India's men and women teams continue winning run to stay on top

D Gukesh, the World Championship Final challenger in waiting, delivered an outstanding performance despite facing time pressure, securing the only victory as India triumphed over China, the third-seeded team, in the seventh round of the Open section at the 45th Chess Olympiad on Wednesday.

The Indian women's team also continued their winning streak, with Vaishali Rameshbabu and Vantika Agarwal securing wins with black pieces, contributing to a 3-1 victory over the formidable Georgian side, who had previously won the Chess Olympiad in 2008.

After seven rounds, both the Indian men's and women's teams remained undefeated, accumulating 14 points each and maintaining their position as the sole leaders in the tournament standings.



In the Open section, Uzbekistan, Iran and Hungary regained their footing by securing victories in their respective matches. Iran triumphed over Vietnam, the team that had previously shocked China, with a score of 2.5-1.5. Hungary also achieved the same margin of victory against Lithuania, while Uzbekistan convincingly defeated Ukraine 3-1.

Following a rest day, the spotlight was on the encounter between India and China as the action resumed. Fans were eager to witness a potential clash between World Championship final contenders Ding Liren and Gukesh before their anticipated meeting in Singapore. However, the Chinese team decided to rest the reigning World Champion for this round, a decision that seemed wise considering Liren's loss to Vietnam's Le Quang Liem in the sixth round.

Although he did not face the World Champion, Gukesh proved to be India's standout performer, securing a victory against top Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi on the first board. In a closely-matched game between two players with similar ratings, Gukesh emerged victorious. Despite initially holding a slight advantage, the Chinese GM fought back valiantly and gained the upper hand, but Gukesh ultimately prevailed.

Gukesh's fortunes fluctuated during the game, but he managed to regain the upper hand with a series of accurate moves. Despite a complex endgame, he exploited a few inaccuracies by his Chinese opponent to secure victory after 80 moves.

The most significant development for Indian supporters was the end of Arjun Erigaisi's perfect winning streak, although he maintained his unbeaten run after drawing against Bu Xiangzhi, a former world top-10 player.

In other matches, R Praggnanandhaa settled for a draw against Yu Yangi, while Pentala Harikrishna, who replaced Vidit Gujarathi in the lineup, was held to a draw by lower-ranked Wang Yue.



The Indian women's team continued their impressive performance, securing their seventh consecutive victory by outperforming a formidable Georgian side.

Playing with black pieces, Vaishali emerged victorious against International Master Lela Javakhishvili, while Vantika Agarwal triumphed over the higher-rated Bella Khotenashvilli. Dronavalli Harika, on the first board, settled for a draw against Nana Dzagnidze, and Divya Deshmukh was held to a draw by Nino Batsiashvili on the third board.

However, the wins by Vaishali and Vartika guaranteed that the Indian women's team remained unbeaten in the tournament.