India's chess prodigies, including D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, and R Praggnanandhaa, have propelled the men's team to second place, while the women's team holds third, keeping medal hopes alive at the 46th Chess Olympiad.
Key Points
- Indian men's team secured a decisive 3.5-0.5 victory over Uzbekistan-2 in the 10th round, placing them in sole second position.
- The Indian women's team drew 2-2 with leaders China, maintaining their third-place standing and medal aspirations.
- D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, and R Praggnanandhaa were instrumental in the men's team's success with individual wins.
- B Savitha Shri delivered a crucial victory for the women's team, marking her eighth win in the event.
- Uzbekistan-1 leads the open section with 18 points, while China holds the top spot in the women's section, also with 18 points.
World champion D Gukesh, GMs Nihal Sarin and R Praggnanandhaa again showed the way as the Indian men scored a comprehensive 3.5-0.5 victory over Uzbekistan-2 in the 10th and penultimate round of the 46th Chess Olympiad now in progress at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
B Savitha Shri ensured the Indian women survived after some anxious moments before settling for a 2-2 draw with leaders China to keep their hopes alive.
This was Savitha Shri's eighth victory in the event, coming at the expense of Zhai Mo. She has a staggering 8.5 points from her nine games.
Men's Team Position And Medal Prospects
Meanwhile in the Open section Uzbekistan-1 continued to remain ahead on 18 points following another comprehensive victory over Armenia.
The Uzbeks also scored a 3.5-0.5 victory; they currently look invincible.
Indian men, on 17, are in sole second spot and well-placed to win the silver medal.
However, to repeat their gold medal-winning performance from the last Olympiad, they need to win handsomely and also hope for Uzbekistan to lose their match.
Women's Team Performance And Standings
In the women's section, the Chinese also took their tally to 18 points and remain a full point ahead of Kazakhstan, who moved to sole second spot after beating France 2.5-1.5.
The Indian eves are in the third place on 16 points.
Key Individual Contributions
Nihal Sarin was the first to score a victory in the match against Uzbekistan-2. The Indian grabbed a couple of pawns early with his black pieces to force matters against Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov.
GM Gukesh was the next to step in and Ortik Nigmatov was no match, while Arjun meanwhile drew on the second board.
Praggnanandhaa finally scored over Jakhongir Vakhidov to complete the victory.
Open results: Uzbekistan-1 (18) beat Armenia (15) 3.5-0.5; India (17) beat Uzbekistan-2 (15) 3.5-0.5 (R Praggnanandhaa beat Jakhongir Vakhidov; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Abdimalik Abdisalimov; Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov lost to Nihal Sarin; Ortik NIgmatov lost to D Gukesh).
Women results: China (18) drew with India (16) 2-2; (Koneru Humpy drew with Zhu Jiner; Divya Deshmukh drew with Song Yuxin; Vantika Agrawal lost to Lu Miaoyi; B Savitha Shri beat Zhai Mo; Kazakhstan (17 beat France 2.5-1.5; Mongolia (15) lost to Poland (16) 1-3; Vietnam (16) beat Indonesia (14) 2.5-1.5).
