India's perfect start at the 45th Chess Olympiad continued after the rest day and both the men's and women's team won their seventh-round ties in cinematic fashion to stay unbeaten. The men overcame China in a tricky tie while the women's team beat Georgia coming back from two early draws in Budapest on Wednesday.
India's D Gukesh was the story of the day even though the much-anticipated World Championship preview did not take place at the 45th Chess Olympiad as China rested reigning world champ Ding Liren in the crucial match. Gukesh still had a battle on his hands as he played Wei Yi in a match that lasted a whopping six hours. But the World Championship challenger prevailed, getting his chance after over 70 moves.
The win was vital for India as it sealed the tie against China after the other three matches were all draws.
R Praggnanandhaa played out a quick draw as black against Yangyi Yu of China while P Harikrishna pushed for some time before the position petered out to be equal in the ensuing rook and pawns endgame.
The other big story of the day from an Indian perspective was Arjun Erigaisi's winning streak coming to an end, as he played out a draw with Bu Xiangzhi in a terrific match. It was a fascinating encounter, but the Indian chose to go for a draw considering the team's position. "If the situation on the other two boards was different, I might have needed to risk, but my teammates were doing fine," he was quoted as saying by the official website. He still has an unbeaten streak in Budapest.
In the women's section, R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal's victories after D Harika and Divya Deshmukh's draws ensured India's unbeaten record remained.
The results of Team India in the 7th round of Chess Olympiad 2024. The Indian Open Team defeated China 2-1, and the Indian Women's Team defeated Georgia 3-1!
In the 8th round, Team India (Open) will face Iran, and Team India (Women) take on Poland. #chessolympiad pic.twitter.com/ayUAHRS2E5
- ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) September 18, 2024
Vantika was particularly standout as she handled her time pressure extremely well to play almost 20 moves with just about a minute left on her clock to win her game to beat Bella Khotenashvili. Vaishali then recorded a fine technical win over Lela Javakhishvili.
Divya, who has won 5.5 points in 6 games, had a tough match against Nino Batsiashvili but held on for draw. Harika, on the other hand, had to settle for a draw against Nana Dzagnidze.
Up next, India men will take on Iran while the women play Poland as the both look to stay unbeaten after a tricky Wednesday.
(With inputs from PTI)