India's chess prowess shines as the men's team triumphs over Spain with a 3-1 score, led by world champion D Gukesh, while the women's team also dominates Mongolia in an impressive international tournament performance.
Key Points
- The Indian men's chess team defeated Spain 3-1 in a strong performance.
- World champion D Gukesh secured a clean victory over former challenger Alexei Shirov.
- Arjun Erigaisi contributed a crucial win with an aggressive game.
- The Indian women's team also established a 2-0 lead against Mongolia, with wins from B Savitha Shri and Divya Deshmukh.
The Indian men's team continued its fine performance, defeating Spain 3-1, with World champion D Gukesh showing the way with a very clean victory over former world championship challenger Alexei Shirov at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
On a day when Arjun Erigaisi paved the way for team India to go one-up early thanks to a finely crafted attacking game on the second board, R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by David Anton Guijarro, while Nihal Sarin achieved the same result against Jaime Santos Latasa.
Gukesh's Dominant Performance
Gukesh appears to have put aside thoughts of slipping below 2700 a couple of days ago, and this second victory on the trot is proof of the true mettle that the world champion possesses.
For the record, Shirov played the Sicilian Taimanov, but it never worked according to his plans as Gukesh seized the initiative early in the middlegame with firm control over the dark squares.
Shirov had reasons to panic and did so by sacrificing a rook for a minor piece, but the compensation was never sufficient.
Gukesh correctly opened up the centre, and the rest was child's play in this 42-move game.
Arjun Erigaisi's Strategic Win
Arjun, meanwhile, gave an early advantage to the team with his white pieces as he faced the Queen's Indian defense by transposition.
The middle game appeared with a dynamic balance and Arjun cashed in with some king side attack that resulted in creating weaknesses around the black king side.
Arjun invaded with his queen on the seventh rank to deliver the knockout punch.
Indian Women's Team Excels
In the women's section meanwhile, the Indians scored an identical 3-1 win over Mongolia.
B Savitha Shri continued to impress with her fourth victory on the trot against seasoned Munguntuul Batkhuyag while World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh also scored over Bayasgalan Khishigbaatar for an unassailable lead for team India.
Much later, R Vaishali and Koneru Humpy drew their games to ensure another fine win for the team that is seeking its second gold in the biennial event.
Indian results Round 4 Open: India (8) beat Spain (6) 3-1; (David Anton Guijarro drew with R Praggnanandhaa; Maksim Chigaev lost to Arjun Erigaisi; Jaime Santos Latasa drew with Nihal Sarin; Alexei Shirov lost to D Gukesh).
Important results Round 4 Open: Uzbekistan (8) beat Turky (6) 2.5-1.5; United States of America (8) beat Ukraine (6) 3.5-0.5; Serbia (6) lost to China (8) 1-3; Germany (8) beat Poland (6) 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan (7) drew with Czech Republic (7) 2-2; Israel (6) lost to Hungary (8) 1.5-2.5; France (7) drew with Romania (7) 2-2; Argentina (6) lost to Armenia (8) 1.5-2.5; England (7) beat Singapore (6) 3-1.
Indian results Round 4 Women: India (8) beat Mongolia (6) 3-1; (Mungunzul Bat-Erdene drew with Koneru Humpy; Munkhzu Turmunkh drew with R Vaishali; Bayasgalan Khishigbaatar lost to Divya Deshmukh; Munguntuul Batkhuyag lost to B Savitha Shri).
Important results Round 4 Women: Uzbekistan (8) beat Argentina (6) 3-1: India (8) beat Mongolia (6) 3-1; Armenia (6) lost to Kazakhstan (8) 1-3; China (8) beat Hungary (6) 3.5-0.5; Spain (6) lost to United States of America (8) 0.5-3.5; England (6) lost to Azerbaijan (8) 1.5-2.5; Vietnam (6) lost to Poland (8) 1-3; Germany (8) beat Israel (6) 3-1; Romania (8) beat Bulgaria (6) 3.5-0.5; Serbia (8) beat Iran (6) 3.5-0.5..
