Budapest (Hungary): World Chess Championship final challenger Domraju Gukesh performed brilliantly under time pressure to register India's only win over third seed China in the seventh round of the Open section of the 45th Chess Olympiad here on Wednesday.
India continued their winning streak in the women's section as well, with Vaishali Rameshbabu and Vantika Agrawal winning with black pieces to help the team beat a strong Georgia team 3-1, a former champion of the Chess Olympiad in 2008.
Both the Indian men's and women's teams maintained their unbeaten streak, taking their points tally to 14 and remaining the sole leaders in the standings after seven rounds.
In the open section, Uzbekistan, Iran and Hungary returned to the competition by winning their respective matches. Iran defeated Vietnam, who had beaten China in the previous round, 2.5-1.5, Hungary defeated Lithuania by the same margin while Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine 3-1.
However, when play resumed after a day's rest, all eyes were on the match between India and China. Fans' hopes of seeing a clash between World Championship final contenders Ding Liren and Gukesh ahead of the mega clash in Singapore were not fulfilled. The Chinese team rested the reigning world champions in this round and it seemed a wise move, especially after Ding Liren lost to Vietnam's Le Quang Lim in the sixth round.
Though he did not face the world champion, Gukesh was still the star performer for India as he defeated top Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi on the first board. In a contest between two players of almost equal rating, Gukesh emerged victorious in a game where he had a slight edge initially, but the Chinese GM came back valiantly and regained the lead.
However, Gukesh made some precise moves to gain the lead and eventually won the match in 80 moves, capitalising on some loose moves from the Chinese players.
In big news for Indian fans, Arjun Erigaisi's 100 per cent winning record came to an end in this round although he remained undefeated after a draw with one-time top-10 player Bu Xiangzhi.
R Praggnanandhaa drew with Yu Yangyi while Pentala Harikrishna, who replaced Vidit Gujrathi, was held to a draw by lower-rated Wang Yue.
In the women's category, the Indian team maintained its unbeaten streak with its seventh consecutive win by defeating the strong Georgia team.
Vaishali defeated International Master Lela Javakhishvili with black pieces while Vantika Agrawal defeated highly rated Bela Khotenashvili. Dronavalli Harika drew with Nana Dzagnidze on the first board while Divya Deshmukh was held to a draw by Nino Batsiashvili on the third board. But Vaishali and Vartika's wins ensured that the Indian women's unbeaten streak continued.
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– /city before newspaper
Image Credit: Khas-Khabar.