Indian women swept Kazakhstan 3.5 – 0.5 in the tenth and penultimate round of the 44th Chess Olympiad at Hotel Four Points by Sheraton, Mamallapuram, Chennai here today. The win gave Indian women sole lead with 17 match points. Close behind are Poland, Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan with 16 match points. In the Open section Uzbekistan and Armenia shared the lead with 17 match points. Following the leaders were team India, USA and India 2 with 16 match points.
Team India 2 were poised for a win over Uzbekistan when disaster struck. GM Gukesh playing in the top board lost to GM Abdusattorov Nodirbek from a winning position. GMs Nihal Sarin and Adhiban Baskaran drew their games in the second and fourth boards. GM Praggnanandhaa once again rose to the occasion. Facing the talented Uzbek junior Sindarov Javokhir, Praggnanandhaa gave his best and won the game. The win was a small consolation as India held Ukraine 2-2. This result deals a blow to the title chances to the Indian 2 team in the Open section.
Team India won their game against Iran 2.5 – 1.5, keeping team medal hopes alive. GM Harikrishna lost in the first board to Iranian GM Maghsoodloo. The second and fourth board wins by GM Vidit Santhosh Gujrathi and S L Narayanan kept the Indian flag flying on the top. In the final round, team India faces the top seed United States of America.
Individual medal possibilities appear to be good for GM Gukesh Dommaraju (8.5/10), Nihal Sarin (6.5/9), Praggnanandhaa (6/9), Vaishali R (7/10), Tania Sachdev (8/10), Nandhidhaa P V (8.5/10). A good finish in the final round would surely enhance their medal chances.
In an exciting days play, where the competition was fierce, players kept finding new ideas to play. Grandmaster Adhiban Baskaran took on GM Vakhidov Jakhongir in a hard fought game. Despite pressure from Adhiban the Uzbek GM managed to hold on to a draw. Individual and team medals along with the title of strongest chess playing nation is to be decided tomorrow. Once the final game is over, the process of identifying the winner takes place.
This mega event, where 184 countries played for the top prize is a huge trigger. Next tsunami in the form of a chess wave is very much on the cards. Such is the enthusiasm and support for the game and the players. The eleventh and final round is scheduled to start by 10 am IST on Tuesday, 9th August, 2022. The prize distribution function is scheduled for 6pm later in the day.
Key final round pairings: Open section: Germany (15) – India 2 (16), Armenia (17) – Spain (15), Uzbekistan (17) – Netherlands (15), India (16) – USA (16), Moldova (15) – England (15), Azerbaijan (14) – Serbia (15). In the women’s section it is: India (17) – USA (15), Ukraine (16) – Poland (16), Azerbaijan (16) – Georgia (16), Kazakhstan (15) – India 3 (15), Slovakia (15) – India 2 (15), Indonesia (14) – Germany (14).
Open section : Main Results Round 10: India 2 (29.5) drew Uzbekistan (30.5), Azerbaijan (25) lost to Armenia (26), United States of America (24.5) beat Turkey (26.5), Iran (25.5) lost to India (27), Serbia (25) drew Netherlands (27.5), Spain (27) beat Czech Republic (27.5), Hungary (26) drew Ukraine (26), Germany (25.5) beat Israel (25.5), England (26.5) beat Italy (25), France (26) drew Lithuania (24), Norway (24.5) lost to Moldova (26), Poland (24.5) beat Sweden (22).
Women: Main Results Round 10: India(28) beat Kazakhstan (25.5), Georgia(26) drew Poland (29), Germany (26.5) lost to Ukraine (27.5), Armenia (26) lost to Azerbaijan (28.5), United States of America (28.5) beat Indonesia (27), Netherlands(22.5) lost to India 2 (28), Cuba (23.5) lost to Slovakia (22.5), Mongolia (26) drew Bulgaria (26.5), India 3 (25.5) beat Sweden (25), Hungary (26) beat Italy (24), Spain (28) beat Peru (24.5), Serbia (25.5) beat Iran (24).
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