India maintains perfect record at Chess Olympiad with double victory

India’s chess contingent continued its dominant run at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Saturday, with both the open and women’s teams securing identical 3-1 victories in the fourth round. By maintaining their winning momentum, both squads have now successfully navigated their first four matches of the tournament without a single defeat.

The open team’s victory over Spain was highlighted by a significant return to form for Arjun Erigaisi. After a challenging start to the competition in Uzbekistan, which included an opening-round loss and a subsequent draw, Erigaisi delivered a decisive performance on the second board to overcome Maksim Chigaev. Meanwhile, world champion D. Gukesh, competing on the fourth board, added to the tally with a victory over Alexei Shirov, a veteran known for his historic run to the 2000 World Championship final against Viswanathan Anand. The remaining two boards saw R. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin secure draws against David Anton Guijarro and Jaime Santos Latasa, respectively, to seal the team result.

The top boards for the women’s team saw Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali play out draws against Bat-Erene Mungunzul and Turmunkh Munkhzul, respectively. The collective effort ensured that the Indian women kept pace with their male counterparts, both teams now boasting a perfect four-from-four record as the tournament progresses. Other notable results from the fourth round included the USA’s commanding 3.5-0.5 win over Ukraine in the open section, while China also maintained strong form with a 3-1 victory against Serbia.