India Held by Azerbaijan in Chess Olympiad as Gukesh Misses Winning Chance
Samarkand — Defending champions India missed a chance to move into the lead after being held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan in the eighth round of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad on Thursday.
In the women’s section, India also drew 2-2 with Kazakhstan, while B. Savitha Shri continued her strong run with a seventh consecutive victory.
The Indian men remained tied for second place in the Open section with 13 match points. Uzbekistan, which entered the round in sole possession of first place with 14 points, was upset by Germany and now shares the lead.
R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, D. Gukesh and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi all drew their games against Azerbaijan. Vidit returned to the lineup in place of Nihal Sarin.
Germany defeated Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5, helped by victories from Frederik Svane and Rasmus Svane over Nodirbek Yakubboev and Shamsiddin Vokhidov, respectively.
For India, the key game came on the third board, where reigning World Classical Champion Gukesh missed an opportunity to convert against Muradli Mahammad.
Playing with the white pieces in a Sicilian Najdorf, Gukesh went for an ambitious queen move, but Mahammad responded accurately and found several resourceful queen moves of his own.
After the queens came off the board, Mahammad secured the center and activated his king while Gukesh pushed on the queenside in an effort to create attacking chances.
Both players faced severe time pressure before agreeing to a draw after 56 moves, with Mahammad successfully defending the position.
On the other boards, Praggnanandhaa drew with experienced Azerbaijani Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while Arjun Erigaisi was held by Aydin Suleymanli. Vidit drew with Rauf Mamedov.
After eight rounds, Uzbekistan and Germany share first place with 14 match points. Eight teams, including India, China, the Netherlands and the United States, are tied for second with 13.
In the women’s competition, defending champion India remained in joint second place after its 2-2 draw with Kazakhstan.
Koneru Humpy drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva on the top board, while Divya Deshmukh drew with Meruert Kamalidenova. Both Indian players had the black pieces.
Savitha Shri defeated Elnaz Kaliakhmet to keep India level after Vaishali Rameshbabu lost to Nurman Alua.
Savitha Shri has now won all seven of her games in the tournament, producing a rating performance of 2955.
Elsewhere in the women’s section, host Uzbekistan defeated the Netherlands 3-1. China stayed at the top of the standings with a 2.5-1.5 victory over Georgia, while Mongolia beat Bulgaria by the same score. (Source: IANS)
