Budapest, On a roll after six consecutive victories, the Indian men's and women's teams will take on China and Georgia respectively in the seventh round of the 45th Chess Olympiad here on Wednesday, aiming to consolidate their lead and get a little closer to his first gold medals in the prestigious event.
After the halfway stage, the Indian teams have shown strength, controlled aggression and the necessary resilience and seem to be on their way to the script story.
In the open section, Arjun Erigaisi and World Championship challenger D Gukesh have been the mainstay of the Indian team with the former scoring a staggering six points in his six games and the latter amassing 4.5 points in his five games played until now.
Vidit GUjrathi's contribution is also immense on the fourth board as he scored five points in his six games, while R Praggnanandhaa scored 3.5 points in his allotted five games. P Harikrishna also has two wins in two rounds.
The match against China will be a key matchup for India as other formidable opponents like top-seeded United States and defending champions Uzbekistan are far behind in the standings with nine and 10 points respectively.
In the next rounds, the Indian team is likely to face Iran and Vietnam, but the first big obstacle for them is China.
The match against China could also see defending champion Ding Liren take over the top board against Gukesh as this would be their last match-up before the World Championship clash in Singapore at the end of October.
In the women's section, the Indian eves face their biggest clash yet against second-seeded Georgia.
Experience may be on Georgia's side in this competition, but players like Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and R Vaishali have proven beyond a doubt that this young Indian team is ready to take on anyone.
Early in the sixth round, backed by Erigaisi and Gujrathi, the Indians cruised to a 3-1 victory over local favorites Hungary.
Erigaisi scored on Russian-turned-Hungarian Sjugirov Sanan on what turned out to be a hard-fought day for the Indians. On the top board, Gukesh achieved an easy draw with black against Hungarian Richard Rapport.
Erigaisi won in the fifth hour of play, before Praggnanandhaa decided to make peace and tied with the great Peter Leko.
Gujrathi had to work harder but his impeccable technique ensured that nothing went wrong in his quest against Benjamin Gledura.
In other important matches of the sixth round, China drew against a spirited Vietnamese team who scored another great 2-2 result.
In the women's section, Divya Deshmukh scored the much-needed victory over Elena Danielian to help her team take an early lead against Armenia.
Harika tied with Lilit Mkrtchian on the first board, while R Vaishali did the same against Mariyam Mkrtchyan.
With the team leading by a 2-1 margin, Tania Sachdev played it safe from a position of strength and secured a fourth board tie with Anna Sargsyan to ensure the team won by a 2.5 margin. -1.5.
Results
Open Round 6: Hungary (10) lost to India (12) 1-3 (Richard Rapport tied with D Gukesh; R Praggnanandhaa tied with Peter Leko; Sjugirov Sanan lost to Arjun Erigaise; Vidit Gujrathi beat Benjamin Gledura); China (11) tied with Vietnam (11) 2-2; Norway (9) lost to Iran (11) 1.5-2.5; The United States (9) tied with Romania (9); Israel (8) lost to Uzbekistan (10) 1.5-2.5; Italy (8) lost to England (10) 1-3.
Women: India (12) beat Armenia (10) 2.5-1.5 (D Harika tied with Lilit Mkrtchian; Mariyam Mkrtchiyan tied with R Vaishali; Divya Deshmukh beat Elena Danielian; Anna Sargsyan tied with Tania Sachdev); Georgia (11) beat Mongolia (10) 2.5-1.5; Poland (11) beat China (8) 2.5-1.5; Ukraine (10) beat Serbia (8) 3-1; Vietnam (8) lost to Azerbaijan (10) 1.5-2.5; The United States (10) beat Switzerland 2.5-1.5. or PM PM
P.M
After the halfway stage, the Indian teams have shown strength, controlled aggression and the necessary resilience and seem to be on their way to the script story.
In the open section, Arjun Erigaisi and World Championship challenger D Gukesh have been the mainstay of the Indian team with the former scoring a staggering six points in his six games and the latter amassing 4.5 points in his five games played until now.
Vidit GUjrathi's contribution is also immense on the fourth board as he scored five points in his six games, while R Praggnanandhaa scored 3.5 points in his allotted five games. P Harikrishna also has two wins in two rounds.
The match against China will be a key matchup for India as other formidable opponents like top-seeded United States and defending champions Uzbekistan are far behind in the standings with nine and 10 points respectively.
In the next rounds, the Indian team is likely to face Iran and Vietnam, but the first big obstacle for them is China.
The match against China could also see defending champion Ding Liren take over the top board against Gukesh as this would be their last match-up before the World Championship clash in Singapore at the end of October.
In the women's section, the Indian eves face their biggest clash yet against second-seeded Georgia.
Experience may be on Georgia's side in this competition, but players like Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and R Vaishali have proven beyond a doubt that this young Indian team is ready to take on anyone.
Early in the sixth round, backed by Erigaisi and Gujrathi, the Indians cruised to a 3-1 victory over local favorites Hungary.
Erigaisi scored on Russian-turned-Hungarian Sjugirov Sanan on what turned out to be a hard-fought day for the Indians. On the top board, Gukesh achieved an easy draw with black against Hungarian Richard Rapport.
Erigaisi won in the fifth hour of play, before Praggnanandhaa decided to make peace and tied with the great Peter Leko.
Gujrathi had to work harder but his impeccable technique ensured that nothing went wrong in his quest against Benjamin Gledura.
In other important matches of the sixth round, China drew against a spirited Vietnamese team who scored another great 2-2 result.
In the women's section, Divya Deshmukh scored the much-needed victory over Elena Danielian to help her team take an early lead against Armenia.
Harika tied with Lilit Mkrtchian on the first board, while R Vaishali did the same against Mariyam Mkrtchyan.
With the team leading by a 2-1 margin, Tania Sachdev played it safe from a position of strength and secured a fourth board tie with Anna Sargsyan to ensure the team won by a 2.5 margin. -1.5.
Results
Open Round 6: Hungary (10) lost to India (12) 1-3 (Richard Rapport tied with D Gukesh; R Praggnanandhaa tied with Peter Leko; Sjugirov Sanan lost to Arjun Erigaise; Vidit Gujrathi beat Benjamin Gledura); China (11) tied with Vietnam (11) 2-2; Norway (9) lost to Iran (11) 1.5-2.5; The United States (9) tied with Romania (9); Israel (8) lost to Uzbekistan (10) 1.5-2.5; Italy (8) lost to England (10) 1-3.
Women: India (12) beat Armenia (10) 2.5-1.5 (D Harika tied with Lilit Mkrtchian; Mariyam Mkrtchiyan tied with R Vaishali; Divya Deshmukh beat Elena Danielian; Anna Sargsyan tied with Tania Sachdev); Georgia (11) beat Mongolia (10) 2.5-1.5; Poland (11) beat China (8) 2.5-1.5; Ukraine (10) beat Serbia (8) 3-1; Vietnam (8) lost to Azerbaijan (10) 1.5-2.5; The United States (10) beat Switzerland 2.5-1.5. or PM PM
P.M
