Gukesh was superb.
| Photo Credit: FLICKR/FIDE
Not even the strong Chinese wall could stop the Indian men at the Chess Olympiad. And it took a remarkable endgame from D. Gukesh for the second-seeded India to keep the sole lead.
It had almost seemed India would have to be content with a draw against its third-seeded rival. The second, third and fourth boards had all ended in draws, and that meant Arjun Erigaisi’s stunning six-game winning streak came to an end, as he was held by Bu Xiangzhi.
R. Praggnanandhaa and Pendyala Harikrishna drew with Yu Yangyi and Wang Yue, respectively. And a draw looked the likeliest result on the top board between Gukesh and Wei Yi, too.
China’s decision to rest Ding Liren had meant that there would be no teaser for his World title match against Gukesh, starting on November 23 in Singapore. The Chennai teenager showed his class against Wei, as he converted the virtually equal-looking ending, with his double-knight against Black’s rook, to a well-deserved victory in 80 moves.
The Indian men thus won the match 3-1. Having won all their seven matches, they are on 14 points. Four rounds remain.
Iran is placed second, with 13 points, followed by Uzbekistan, Hungary, Armenia and Serbia, who all have 12 points each. In the eighth round on Thursday, India will take on Iran, the 10th seed.
The top-seeded Indian women also maintained their sole lead with 14 points, after their 3-1 win against second seed Georgia. But they have a two-point lead over the second-placed Poland. Kazakhstan and France are also on 12.
Against Georgia, Vantika Agrawal’s victory on the fourth board against her higher-rated rival Bella Khotenashvili had more or less ensured India’s win in the match, but, later on, R. Vaishali converted her slightly better position into a full point over Lela Javakhishvili on the second board.
On the top board, Dronavalli Harika drew with Nana Dzagnidze. On the third board too, it was a draw, between Divya Deshmukh and Nino Batsiashvili.
In the eighth round, India will meet Poland.
Published – September 19, 2024 01:08 am IST