Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa saved the day for India 2 against Azerbaijan in the ninth round of the 44th Chess Olympiad at Hotel Four Points by Sheraton, Mamallapuram, Chennai here today. Uzbekistan defeated leader Armenia moving into top spot with 16 match points. India 2 and Armenia share the second spot with 15 match points. In fourth place with 14 match points were team India, USA, Netherlands, Azerbaijan among others. Poland, India, Kazakhstan and Georgia shared the lead in the Women’s section with 15 match points.
Indian women lost their first match in nine rounds. GMs Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and International Master Tania Sachdev drew their games comfortably. With Poland and India scores remaining even, it all came down to the Vaishali – Kiolbasa game. The in-form Woman International Master Kiolbasa Oliwia from Poland came up with a win taking Poland to the top of the leader-board. Kiolbasa Oliwia is the only player in this Olympiad to have scored 9/9.
India 2 survived anxious moments before holding Azerbaijan to a 2-2 draw. Grandmasters Gukesh Dommaraju and Nihal Sarin drew their games in the first two boards. GM Raunak Sadhwani went down to GM Abasov Nijat in the fourth board. Facing a must win situation, GM Praggnanandhaa defeated GM Durarbayli Vasif in a very complicated game. The win brought relief to the Indian camp, keeping medal hopes alive.
The young Uzbekistan team led by World Rapid Champion Abdusattorov Nodirbek brought Armenia down with a heavy 3-1 defeat. The big victory margin was possible when GMs Sindarov Javokhir and Vakhidov Jakhongir won their games in the last two boards.
Team India recovered from yesterday’s shock to defeat Brazil 3-1 today. Grandmaster Harikrishna Pentala and Vidit Santhosh Gujrathi drew their games in the first and second boards. With the score remaining 1-1 the bottom board players shone for India. GMs Erigaisi Arjun and Sasikiran Krishnan, the youngest and oldest in the team, won their games. The twin victories gave India the much wanted win. And, the medal hunt is still on thanks to Erigaisi Arjun and Sasikiran Krishnan.
The results of the final two rounds matter the most. All the teams in line for the medal are aware of this situation. In view of the above, one can expect a head on fight in the next two rounds. In stake are the team gold, silver and bronze medals, individual board prizes and the title of the strongest chess playing nation.
The tenth and penultimate round is scheduled to start by 3pm IST on Monday, 8th August, 2022.
Key tenth round pairings: Open section: India 2 (15) – Uzbekistan (16), Azerbaijan (14) – Armenia (15), USA (14) – Turkey (14), Iran (14) – India (14), Serbia (14) – Netherlands (14). In the women’s section it is: India (15) – Kazakhstan (15), Georgia (15) – Poland (15), Germany (14) – Ukraine (14), Armenia (14) – Azerbaijan (14), USA (13) – Indonesia (14).
Open section : Main Results Round 9: India 2 (27.5) drew Azerbaijan (24), Uzbekistan (28.5) beat Armenia (23), Netherlands (25.5) drew Iran (24), Greece (23.5) lost to United States of America (21.5), India (24.5) beat Brazil (22), Lithuania (22) drew Germany (22.5), Turkey (25.5) beat Peru (20.5), Kazakhstan (22.5) lost to Serbia (23), Denmark (23.5) lost to Spain (24.5), Australia (22) lost to Ukraine(24), Argentina(24) lost to England(23.5), France(24) beat Cuba(21.5).
Women: Main Results Round 9: Poland (27) beat India (24.5), Ukraine(25) drew Georgia (24), Bulgaria (24.5) lost to Kazakhstan (25), Azerbaijan (24.5) beat Mongolia (24), Germany (25) beat England (20.5), Armenia (26) beat Romania (21), Indonesia (26) beat Spain (25), Sweden (24) drew Netherlands (21.5), Slovakia (20) beat France (22), Greece (22) lost to United States of America (25.5), India 2 (25) beat Switzerland (20), Czech Republic (21) lost to Cuba (22).
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