Samarkand: Reigning World Classical Chess Champion Dommaraju Gukesh secured a clutch win to help India beat overnight joint-topper Germany 2.5-1.5 in the ninth round of the Open section of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, moving up to second position in the standings.
With this win, India roared back into title contention as they are in good position to challenge table toppers Uzbekistan for the title.
In the crucial clash on table 2, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin were held to draws on the first three boards before Gukesh secured the lone victory of the match against Germany as India moved to 15 points, sharing the second spot with Uzbekistan 2 and Armenia. The main team of hosts Uzbekistan, who defeated top-seeded United States in the ninth round, lead the standings with 16 points.
Praggnanandhaa, playing white, was held to a draw by top German GM Vincent Keymer, while Arjun Erigaisi drew with Bluebaum Matthias. With Nihal Sarin also being held by Frederik Svane on the third board, it appeared that India would drop points in the second successive round.
But Gukesh pulled out a grand Houdini act from a seemingly lost position to turn things in India’s favour with a fine performance to secure a crucial win on the fourth board.
Playing with black against Alexander Donchenko, Gukesh was in trouble and heading for defeat before he staged a comeback with precise moves to win the day for India.
In the women’s section, B Savitha Shri’s incredible run of seven successive wins came to an end but remained unbeaten after a draw against Karimova Guldona of Uzbekistan on the top table.
Koneru Humpy, playing with white pieces, was held by top Uzbek Afruza Khamdamova. But Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh and Ventika Agrawal won their games to secure a 3-1 win for India.
The victory took them to 15 points from nine rounds as they shared the second spot with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Armenia went down 1-3 to leaders China while Mongolia drew 2-2 with Kazakhstan.
China extended their lead to two points as they lead with 17 points, and Saturday’s 10th-round clash with defending champions India will make things clear.
(IANS)
