The gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai was decided in one game: the duel between rising stars Dommaraju Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. And we come to a similar showdown at the Chess Olympiad 2024. Gukesh and Abdusattorov will play on board 1 in the India – Uzbekistan clash.
India are leaders in the Open section of the Chess Olympiad 2024 with 14 MP, but if Uzbekistan wins tomorrow places will be swapped. One of the key bids for India is swapping the board order – Arjun Erigaisi, who is firmly headed to 2800 is playing at the lower boards, successfully tackling lower rated players.
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While the Indian team is dominating the open section, winning against Iran with an impressive 3.5-0.5 score in Round 8, their compatriots in the women’s competition experienced a setback. India women’s team suffered their first defeat at the hands of Poland.
Poland struck with victories by Alina Kashlinskaya against Harika Dronavalli and Monica Socko against Vaishali R on the top boards. Divya Deshmukh, on board 3, bounced back with a win against Aleksandra Maltsevskaya. The pressure was on Vantika Agrawal, who found herself in a must-win situation.
She had a winning position against Alicja Sliwicka, but after a blunder on move 56, Vantika let her advantage slip away and had to settle for a draw. Vantika’s disappointment was clear, but her teammate Divya Deshmukh, the best player on the team with 7/8, remained hopeful, saying to commentator Peter Svidler: “If we lose this, I think we will for sure bounce back.”
The up-and-coming team of Kazakhstan narrowly defeated France in a match that was far from clear. The teams exchanged blows on the top boards: Assaubayeva defeated Daulyte-Cornette and Nurman won against Guichard for Kazakhstan, while Millet brought a point to France by beating Kamalidenova. It was up to Benmesbah to convert her advantage against Kairbekova to secure a draw in the match. However, it was not meant to be as Benmesbah let the advantage slip, and with a draw in this game, Kazakhstan shares the lead!
India, Poland, and Kazakhstan jointly lead the women’s tournament with 14 match points each. The USA, Armenia, and Ukraine are trailing by one point. The USA won by a big score against Uzbekistan, as did Armenia against Mongolia, while Anna Ushenina clinched the victory for Ukraine against Hungary. The women’s tournament is set for intriguing final rounds!
India is sweeping the field in the open tournament. The team hasn’t lost a single game so far. As Arjun Erigaisi won again (against Daneshvar, 2598), he is not only the best player on the team with 7.5/8 but also on his way to becoming a 2800+ player as he’s currently earning 14 points, elevating him to 2792! Gukesh D, who also won (against Maghsoodloo, 2723) and has 6.5/7, is gaining even more, 20 points, which currently translates to 2784 for him.
In round 9, the amazing Indian squad is going to face Uzbekistan – a key match for the medals. Uzbekistan narrowly won against Serbia thanks to Nodirbek Abdusattorov’s excellent endgame technique in his game vs. Alexandr Predke. If the defending champions want another shot at the gold, they have to grit out a victory over India.
Hungary is also following closely. In round 8, Benjamin Gledura secured the hosts’ victory over Armenia, defeating Robert Hovhannisyan while all other games finished in draws. The team of Richard Rapport and Peter Leko is eager to show their best on home soil, and so far their only loss was to India. In round 9, they will be put to the test by the tournament’s rating favorites, team USA.
Written by WGM Anna Burtasova
Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova
