D Gukesh finally lifted the lid on why he was featuring on Board 4 at the ongoing chess Olympiad. Post his commanding win with the black pieces against Italy's Sabino Brunello on Friday, the world champion, in an interview to FIDE, said: "It was my idea and the whole also thought the same. This is the (board) order that gives us the best chance of winning the tournament.
"It's pretty clear that Pragg (R Praggnanandhaa) and Arjun (Erigaisi) have been in really good shape; the rating also says the same." When the 20-year-old, who has two wins and a draw from his opening three games at the Olympiad, was asked about how the world has perceived the world champion on Board 4, he said: "(smiles) I mean, if the team needs it, I would even rest all the games. We are here playing for India. I'm just happy to do whatever it takes for the team to do well."
On Day Three of the tournament in Samarkand, the team did well against Italy, a team with GMs on all four boards. But Gukesh and Nihal Sarin delivered the wins while Pragg remained rock solid for his draw on the first board. Erigaisi was a bit shaky but eventually drew. This means the holders continued their winning start to the tournament with three wins.
The women's team also kept alive their winning streak in another polished performance, this time over Greece. Koneru Humpy played a controlled match to take down their main player, Stavroula Tsolakidou while there were further wins for Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri. The latter was meant to be a reserve but the way she has started — three wins in as many rounds with a performance rating of 2724 — it may be difficult for the captain and management to bench her. However, stiffer tests await both teams in the days leading into the first and only rest day.
Results
Open: India 2-0 Italy (R Praggnanandhaa drew with Lorenzo Lodici, Arjun Erigaisi drew with Luca Moroni Jr, Nihal Sarin bt Francesco Sonis, D Gukesh bt Sabino Brunello)
Women: India 2-0 Greece (Koneru Humpy bt Stavroula Tsolakidou, Divya Deshmukh drew with Anastasia Avramidou, Vantika Agrawal bt Ekaterini Pavlidou, B Savitha Shri bt Antonia Hristodoulaki)