In the women's event, India's D Harika drew with Nino Bastiashvili (Georgia) to move up to four points. She is in joint third place with six others.
China would have been among the top medal contenders in the Olympiad and their absence would brighten India's chances.
Grandmaster D Gukesh endured a heartbreak in the final tie-breaker against Wei Yi of China and had to be content with a joint second place finish at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
It has bolstered the home team's medal chances at the 14-day event, which is expected to see massive participation from more than 150 countries.
An "embarrassed" All India Chess Federation (AICF) has filed a police complaint after a Chess Olympiad trophy its team won in the last edition of the tournament at home went missing from its office, forcing the sports body to arrange for a replica of the prized possession and tender an apology.
As an Icon player for the SG Alpine Warriors at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, Magnus Carlsen opened up about the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Gukesh's journey wasn't easy as his family dug into their savings and also turned to crowd-funding to fuel his dream.
India's Dronavalli Harika defeated former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the third round of the FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament in Riga to grab a share of the lead.
Grandmaster R Pragnanandhaa held tournament leader and defending champion Anish Giri of Holland to a draw on the day.
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi pipped Rinat Zumabayev of Kazakhstan in the fifth round to share the top spot.
Gukesh aims to keep improving after becoming India No 1 without sponsorship support
Former World champion Viswanathan Anand struggled for the second day running as he was held to a draw by almost-retired Robert Hess of the United States in the second round of Isle of Man International Chess tournament.
Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh upset Magnus Carlsen in the ninth round of the preliminary phase of the Aimchess Rapid online chess tournament, becoming the youngest to beat the World champion.
14 young Indian chess players including D Gukesh, the world's second youngest Grand Master, and R Praggnanandhaa will be coached by former World champion Vladimir Kramnik at a 10-day camp, in Chennai, from January 8. The camp, the second organised by Microsense, will also see Boris Gelfand, a former World title challenger, impart training to the Indian players.
He is the youngest Indian to achieve the feat at 12 years, seven months and 17 days, erasing the mark set by his state-mate R Praggnanandhaa in June last year.
'It will be special. Looking forward to going to a world championship match without the tension of playing. I am a chess fan too and hope it will be a good match'
Vidit Gujrathi crashed through the defences of Hans Moke Niemann of the United States to join the leaders' pack on 4.5 points.
Mahi, Palak and 2 other Indians enter final at Asian Youth & Junior Boxing C'ships
Grandmaster B Adhiban finished tied third at the Chess.com Isle of Man International tournament after beating the highly-regarded Michael Adams of England in the ninth and final round, in Isle of Man (UK) on Monday.
Esports to breakdancing, Hangzhou will set the trend for future of sport
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand came into his own with a much-needed win over Jan-Krzystof Duda in 78 moves in the second round after losing to his opponent in the first round.
Grandmaster Koneru Humpy will spearhead the Indian challenge in the Women's candidates' chess tournament that will get underway in Toronto, Canada from Wednesday.
The Indian teams made winning starts in the Open and women's sections of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai on Friday.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, on Friday, October 7.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games on Tuesday, October 3.
With the Indian teams doing well so far, they can run into one another in the competition.
India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Monday, October 2.
Anand firmly believes that India has enough talent to produce the next Chess World Champion
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Sunday, October 1.
Arjun Erigaisi's win over In-Jung Gu came after a stiff fight with the Korean having gained an advantage before slipping up.
The game incidentally was an old Sicilian where Shirov tried an unconventional ninth move.
The team of Chingari Gulf Titans stunned Mumba Masters by 12:3, while SG Alpine Warriors were upstaged by Triveni Continental Kings
India 'B' blanked Estonia 4-0 in the second round of the Open section in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Saturday while the second-seeded India 'A' team defeated Moldova 3.5-0.5 to make it two wins from as many matches.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday, October 4.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Vaishali, sister of the Indian chess prodigy and GM R Praggnanandhaa, scored impressive victories over Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Russia's Valentina Gunina on the opening day of the Blitz championship.
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
In 2019, World Champion Magnus Carlsen was asked to guess the nationality of the reigning world champion in 2050. He responded: 'India will have had many by then!'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
