 "D Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana of USA to put India in a gold medal-winning position in Chess Olympiad. Image: FIDE/Michal Walusza")
India are on the cusp of winning two gold medals at the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad after the top-ranked men’s team defeated the second-placed United States of America by a comprehensive margin of 2.5-1.5, while the women’s team also beat China by the same margin to return to the top of the standings with one round to go in the tournament.
In the open section, which is also known as the men’s category, Grandmaster and World Championship challenger D Gukesh gave India the big win as he defeated Fabiano Caruana of the USA. Gukesh once again impressed with his calm composure under pressure as he defeated a higher-ranked player.
In the Catalan opening Gukesh had the complications running in his favour in the later stages of the middle game before taking a pawn. Curana lost the second pawn under pressure as Gukesh won the match in 46 moves.
While R Praggananandhaa lost his match against Wesley So and the USA took an early lead, the Indian men’s team was kept in contention first by Gukesh’s win and then it was followed by Vidit Gujrathi keeping Levon Aronian at bay.
In the final game of the tie, Arjun Erigaise dominated Lenier Dominguez Perez and gave India the victory. Arjun won the match after over five hours of play.
India now lead the open section with 19 points from 10 rounds with one more round to go. China (17) are second, while Solvenia (16) are third.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIndian women’s team beat China
The Indian women’s team, who were second in the standing after a 2-2- draw against the USA, are back on top after beating China 2.5-1.5. Divya Deshmukh gave India a strong start as she defeated Ni Shiqun on board three, while the remaining three games ended in draws.
R Vaishali scripted a defying defence after getting into a difficult position against Guo Qi and in the end forced a draw.
On the top board, D Harika played a draw against Zhu Jiner, while Vantika Agarwal held Lu Miaoyi.
The final round of the Chess Olympiad will start at 2:30 PM IST on Sunday. In Round 11, the India men will face Slovenia, while the women’s team will be up against Azerbaijan.