BUDAPEST, SEPT 18: The Indian women’s chess team continued its unbeaten streak at the 45th Chess Olympiad with a 3-1 victory over Georgia on Wednesday, marking its seventh consecutive win. Grandmasters R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal led the charge, defeating Lela Javakhishvili and Bella Khotenashvili, respectively.
On board two, D Harika drew with Nana Dzagnidze, while Divya Deshmukh was held to a draw by Nino Batsiashvili despite being in a better position. Vantika Agrawal showed remarkable composure under time pressure, playing nearly 20 moves with just one minute left on the clock to secure her win.
Vaishali sealed the victory for India with a fine technical win, taking the team’s score to a perfect 14 points out of 14. The Indian women remain at the top of the leaderboard, ahead of their closest competitor, Poland, which was nearing a victory over Ukraine.
In the open section, Indian men drew their games on the last three boards after some intense battles. World Championship finalist D Gukesh was still pushing for a win in a drawn endgame against Wei Yi of China.
There had been speculation about a possible clash between Gukesh and reigning World Champion Ding Liren, but China opted to rest Ding, surprising chess pundits. R Praggnanandhaa played a quick draw against Yangyi Yu of China, while P Harikrishna pressed for a win but ultimately settled for a draw in a rook and pawn endgame. Arjun Erigaisi attempted to go for a win against Bu Xiangzhi, but the Chinese Grandmaster’s clever piece sacrifice forced a draw through repetition. (PTI)
