India's men beat Spain 3-1 and women defeat Mongolia 3-1 at Chess Olympiad on Saturday

India's men's team beat Spain 3-1 and the Indian women's side downed Mongolia 3-1 at the Chess Olympiad on Saturday, with world champion D Gukesh and B Savitha Shri among the decisive performers.

The Indian men's team continued its fine performance, with Arjun Erigaisi providing an early advantage on board two and D Gukesh delivering a clean victory over Alexei Shirov on the top board, while R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin were held to draws. In the women's section, B Savitha Shri notched her fourth consecutive win and Divya Deshmukh also contributed a crucial victory as Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali drew later to complete the 3-1 scoreline.

Against Shirov, Gukesh faced a Sicilian Taimanov that the report said "never went according to plan," seizing the initiative early in the middlegame with firm control over the dark squares. Shirov sacrificed a rook for a minor piece during the complications but the compensation proved insufficient, and Gukesh opened up the centre to convert the advantage in a 42-move game. The coverage added that Gukesh "apparently put aside the thoughts of going a little below 2700 behind him just a couple of days ago, and this second victory on the trot proves the true mettle that the world champion possesses."

Arjun Erigaisi, playing White on the second board, reached a position from a Queen's Indian by transposition and built a kingside initiative in the middlegame. He launched a king-side attack that created weaknesses around Black's king and invaded with his queen on the seventh rank to finish the game. The scoreline lists Maksim Chigaev as the player Arjun defeated.

R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by David Anton Guijarro, and Nihal Sarin drew with Jaime Santos Latasa, completing the four-board matchline that produced the 3-1 victory for India. The official round summary reads: Indian results round 4 open: India (8) beat Spain (6) 3-1; (David Anton Guijarro drew with R Praggnanandhaa; Maksim Chigaev lost to Arjun Erigaisi; Jaime Santos Latasa drew with Nihal Sarin; Alexei Shirov lost to D Gukesh).

In the women's match, B Savitha Shri continued her run with a win over Munguntuul Batkhuyag and Divya Deshmukh defeated Bayasgalan Khishigbaatar to give India an unassailable lead, while R Vaishali and Koneru Humpy later drew their games. The tournament's round summary lists: Indian results round 4 women: India (8) beat Mongolia (6) 3-1; (Mungunzul Bat-Erdene drew with Koneru Humpy; Munkhzu Turmunkh drew with R Vaishali; Bayasgalan Khishigbaatar lost to Divya Deshmukh; Munguntuul Batkhuyag lost to B Savitha Shri).

Other notable round 4 open results included Uzbekistan (8) beating Turky (6) 2.5-1.5, United States of America (8) beating Ukraine (6) 3.5-0.5, China (8) beating Serbia (6) 3-1, and Germany (8) defeating Poland (6) 2.5-1.5, among several matches listed in the round summary. Important results round 4 open: Uzbekistan (8) beat Turky (6) 2.5-1.5; United States of America (8) beat Ukraine (6) 3.5-0.5; Serbia (6) lost to China (8) 1-3; Germany (8) beat Poland (6) 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan (7) drew with Czech Republic (7) 2-2; Israel (6) lost to Hungary (8) 1.5-2.5; France (7) drew with Romania (7) 2-2; Argentina (6) lost to Armenia (8) 1.5-2.5; England (7) beat Singapore (6) 3-1.

Key women's round 4 outcomes beyond India included Uzbekistan (8) beating Argentina (6) 3-1 and China (8) defeating Hungary (6) 3.5-0.5, with the tournament summaries listing several other fixtures. Important results round 4 women: Uzbekistan (8) beat Argentina (6) 3-1: Mongolia (6) vs India (6); Armenia (6) lost to Kazakhstan (8) 1-3; China (8) beat Hungary (6) 3.5-0.5; Spain (6) lost to United States of America (8) 0.5-3.5; England (6) lost to Azerbaijan (8) 1.5-2.5; Vietnam (6) lost to Poland (8) 1-3; Germany (8) beat Israel (6) 3-1; Romania (8) beat Bulgaria (6) 3.5-0.5; Serbia (8) beat Iran (6) 3.5-0.5.

All of the results reported above came in round 4 of the Chess Olympiad.