In the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Indian women’s team continued their impressive run with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Georgia, while the men’s team defeated China 2.5-1.5.
Grandmaster R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal led the charge for the women’s team, securing crucial wins against Lela Javakhishvili and Bella Khotenashvili, respectively. Despite a draw by D Harika and a loss by Divya Deshmukh, Vantika’s remarkable time management skills sealed India’s seventh consecutive victory.
The Indian women now boast an impressive 14 points out of a possible 14, extending their lead to two points over Poland, Kazakhstan, and France.
In the open section, World Championship challenger D Gukesh led the Indian men to victory over China. Playing with the white pieces, Gukesh navigated a Closed Sicilian to a drawn endgame but remained focused to exploit a mistake by Chinese top board Wei Yi.
Despite speculation of a potential clash between Gukesh and Ding Liren, the reigning world champion was rested by the Chinese team. R Praggnanandhaa drew quickly as black against Yangyi Yu, while P Harikrishna’s efforts against Wang Yue resulted in an equal rook and pawns endgame.
Arjun Erigaise’s aggressive play against Bu Xiangzhi was met with a clever piece sacrifice, forcing a draw through repetition.
With four rounds remaining, the Indian men have maintained a perfect score, matching their female counterparts. Iran is the closest pursuer with 13 points, followed by Serbia, Hungary, Armenia, and defending champions Uzbekistan with 12 points each.
In the next round, the Indian men will face Iran, while the women will take on Poland.
