BENGALURU: The Indian open team failed to take advantage on a day when leaders Uzbekistan suffered a loss against Germany at the ongoing chess Olympiad in Samarkand. When the day began, India, the defending champions, were hoping for the hosts to slip up.
But they themselves couldn't do the job against Azerbaijan, who remained rock solid on all four boards. All the open team managed in the end was draws across all four boards. D Gukesh had the chance to push in the endgame against Mahammad Muradli but an inaccuracy cost him the chance to blow the game open. The end result means they lie in seventh place with just three rounds remaining.
It was shaping up to be a disappointing day for the women's team as Alua Nurrman had beaten R Vaishali in the second board to score a vital win. But B Savitha Shri, one of the players of the tournament from an Indian perspective, restored parity with a win of her own in the fourth board.
In a game where both players had chances to convert a winning edge, the young IM blew the match open after the pivotal 51. Rb7 by Elnaz Kaliakhmet. As soon as the Kazakh WIM played that move on the board, the eval bar spiked in favour of white. From then on, it was a matter of playing precise moves to convert it into a win, something she did with aplomb. It also means she's now seven-for-seven in the tournament.
Results: Women: India 1-1 Kazakhstan (Koneru Humpy drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva, R Vaishali lost to Alua Nurman, Divya Deshmukh drew with Meruert Kamalidenova, B Savitha Shri bt Elnaz Kaliakhmet) India 1-1 Azerbaijan (R Praggnanandhaa drew with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Arjun Erigaisi drew with Aydin Suleymanli, D Gukesh drew with Mahammad Muradli, Vidit Gujrathi drew with Rauf Mamedov)