Vantika.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
After winning eight games consecutively, the Indian men had to settle for a draw in the ninth round of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
The second-seeded India and defending champion Uzbekistan were involved in a fierce battle, which ended 2-2. India, however, has maintained its sole lead position, with just two rounds remaining.
It was a 2-2 draw for the top-seeded Indian women, too, with the United States. That match proved much more dramatic, and it was Vantika Agrawal’s win over Irina Krush on the third board that gave the Indians a draw.
India had a setback on the top board, where R. Vaishali was shocked by Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, who is rated 118 Elo points below. Divya Deshmukh and Tania Sachdev drew their games against Carissa Yip and Alice Lee, respectively.
With India trailing 1-2, Vantika was in a must-win situation, and this time she won, something she wasn’t able to do in the previous round, which her team thus lost to Poland.
In the Open section, D. Gukesh faced Nodirbek Abdusattorov — just two Elo points separate the two — and they drew in 32 moves from Sicilian Najdorf.
R. Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi also drew, with Javokhir Sindarov and Jakhongir Vakhidov, respectively. The third-board decider between Arjun Erigaisi and Shamsiddin Vokhidov too ended in a draw after 70 moves.
The day also saw the World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen losing to Slovenia’s Vladimir Fedoseev. Slovenia stunned Norway 3-1 in the match.
Published – September 21, 2024 03:03 am IST
