Chess Olympiad: India’s open and women’s teams win 3-1 in fourth round at Samarkand

India’s open and women’s teams each recorded 3-1 victories in the fourth round of the Chess Olympiad at Samarkand on Saturday.

Both Indian sides have now won all four matches so far in the tournament. Arjun Erigaisi returned to form with a win on the second board after losing his first game and drawing the second. World champion D. Gukesh also scored, defeating Alexei Shirov, while R. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin drew their games. In the women’s section B. Savitha Shri continued a perfect run and Divya Deshmukh contributed a crucial win.

The open match ended India bt Spain 3-1 (R. Praggnanandhaa drew with David Anton Guijarro; Arjun Erigaisi bt Maksim Chigaev; Nihal Sarin drew with Jaime Santos Latasa; D. Gukesh bt Alexei Shirov), with the men’s team advancing without prolonged resistance from Spain.

India’s women beat Mongolia 3-1 (Koneru Humpy drew with Bat-Erene Mungunzul; R. Vaishai drew with Turmunkh Munkhzul; Divya Deshmukh bt Khishigbayar Bayasgalan; B. Savitha Shri bt Batkhuyag Munguntuul), with B. Savitha Shri completing her fourth consecutive victory.

Other important open results in the fourth round included Uzbekistan bt Turkiye 2.5-1.5; USA bt Ukraine 3.5-0.5; China bt Serbia 3-1; Germany bt Poland 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan drew with Czech Republic 2-2; Hungary bt Israel 2.5-1.5; France drew with Romania 2-2; Armenia bt Argentina 2.5-1.5; Lithuania bt Croatia 3-1; England bt Singapore 3-1; Iran bt Moldova 4-0; Georgia bt Belgium 3-1; and Norway bt Kyrgyzstan 3.5-0.5.

Other notable women’s results in round four were Uzbekistan bt Argentina 3-1; Kazakhstan bt Armenia 3-1; USA bt Spain 3.5-0.5; China bt Hungary 3.5-0.5; Azerbaijan bt England 2.5-1.5; Poland bt Vietnam 3-1; Germany bt Israel 3-1; Bulgaria bt Romania 3.5-0.5; Serbia bt Iran 3.5-0.5; Georgia drew with Austria 2-2; Netherlands bt Estonia 2.5-1.5; Switzerland bt Czech Republic 3-1; and Greece drew with Singapore 2-2.

After four rounds in Samarkand, both India’s open and women’s teams sit on four match wins.