As the 44th Chess Olympiad entered the fourth day, the atmosphere at the sprawling venue, Hotel Four Points by Sheraton, Mamallapuram, Chennai was electrifying. GMs Gukesh D and Nihal Sarin for team India 2 and IM Tania Sachdev for the Indian women did their bit, scoring crucial wins, as India kept their presence on top of the leader-board.
The top seeds in the Open section USA and India were held to 2-2 draws against Uzbekistan and France respectively. Sharing the lead in the Open section with 8 match points were India 2, Spain, England, Armenia and Israel. In the Women’s section the lead was shared with 8 match points by France, India, Spain, India 2, Azerbaijan among others.
For the hosts India, the top board match up against France ended 2-2 with all four boards ending in draws. The next board saw USA hung on for a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan. Former World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana (2783) of USA went down to current World Rapid Champion Abdusattorov Nodirbek (2688) in an exciting game. Wesley So’s brilliant win in the third board restored parity for the USA.
India 2 consisting of young guns scored a 3-1 win over giant killers Italy, where Grandmasters Gukesh D and Nihal Sarin won their games against GMs Vocaturo Daniele and Moroni Luca Jr, while the lower boards held on steadily for draws. India 3 lost to Spain by a narrow 1.5 – 2.5 score where the third board loss by GM Abhijeet Gupta against GM Anton Guijarro David cost us heavily, as the other three games ended in draws.
Led by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Norway lost one point with a 2-2 draw against Mongolia. Carlsen won on the top board against GM Batsuren Dambasuren while GM Urkedal Frode (2555) lost to lower-rated IM Gan-Erdene Sugar (2428) in the fourth board.
Here, something has to be said about top players. Magnus Carlsen is really a Magic Carlsen – one moment he appears to be planning for his next move, the next moment he is observing his team player’s board & a few seconds later, he is seen on the other half of the tournament hall witnessing a top board game. We know that he plays football but never imagined that he would be seen in every nook & corner of the room during the playing hours – like a vibrant centre forward in a football ground.
In another upset, 7th seeded Netherlands went down to 22nd ranked Israel. Led by Grandmaster Anish Giri, the Dutch lost the plot on the third board where GM L’Ami Erwin (2634) slid to defeat against veteran GM Smirin Ilia (2601). Draws in the other three boards saw them going down by a 1.5 – 2.5 score to Israel.
In the women’s section, the first and second Indian women’s teams scored similar 2.5 -1.5 wins against Hungary and Estonia respectively. With Humpy, Harika and Vaishali drawing their games, India’s fortunes leaned heavily on IM Tania Sachdev in the fourth board. Tania warmed the Indian hearts in a must win situation, bringing down WIM Gaal Zsoka (2313) in 53 moves. Further down, India 3 lost 1-3 to higher seed Georgia, where WGM Nandhidhaa P V was the lone winner.
The multiple lounges and the side activities related to chess that are being organised as part of the Chess Olympiad are at a different level. The guest players uniformly inform about their happiness with the Hotel, rooms, accommodation, the swimming pool, food, the lawn and the giant playing hall.
The fifth round is scheduled to start by 3pm IST on Tuesday, 2nd August, 2022.
Open section: Main Results Round 4:
France (13.5) drew with India (12.5), United States of America (11) drew with Uzbekistan(13), India 3 (11) lost to Spain (13), Poland (11.5) drew with Romania (12), Turkey (13) drew with Azerbaijan (12), Israel (14) beat Netherlands (12), Serbia (10.5) lost to England (13), India 2 (15) beat Italy (11.5), Armenia (12.5) beat Austria (10.5), Canada (12.5) drew with Iran (11.5), Slovakia (12) beat Ukraine (11.5), Cuba (13) beat Hungary(10).
Women: Main Results Round 4:
India (13) beat Hungary (11), Bulgaria (13) lost to Ukraine (13.5), Georgia (12) beat India 3 (10.5), Netherlands (11) lost to Poland (14), France (13.5) beat Serbia (11.5), Israel (10.5) lost to Azerbaijan (13.5), Romania (12) beat Germany (11.5), Mongolia (13) drew with Kazakhstan (12), India 2 (13) beat Estonia (11), Cuba (12) beat Sweden (12.5), Australia (10) lost to United States of America (11), Armenia (13.5) beat Ireland (8.5).
The press release is available in:
This press release/content is translated with Ailaysa: AI Translation Platform. You can translate your content instantly and edit and customize it with professional editors. Save time and money; publish your news faster! Translate FREE now!
