On a day when Tania Sachdev helped the hosts to a commanding 3.5-0.5 win over Kazakhstan, all the drama and tension was reserved for the match between India B and Uzbekistan in the Open section. R Praggnanandhaa, with a pawn and rook end game, had delivered a win after two draws on the 2nd and 4th boards.
On the first board, the unbeaten D Gukesh, 16, was involved in a titanic tussle with Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 17. There was a lot of hype coming into the match — the Uzbekistani is the reigning World Rapid champion while the Indian is one of the youngest ever to breach the 2700 ratings mark — and it lived up to it. For a vast majority of the match, Gukesh, with white pieces, enjoyed a good position while Abdusattorov, who was playing at rapid speed early on, was playing catch up.
But a few questionable moves in the end cost Gukesh the game, India the tie as well as the lead at the top with one round to go. What transpired at the end was heartbreaking to watch. In an okay position, Gukesh had moved the knight to f3. As soon as he made that move, the engines gave Abdosattorov the advantage as long as he spotted the queen to b2. He did that for a check. It was a blunder because
Gukesh would have lost his knight, giving his opponent more attacking pieces on the board.
As soon as the opponent made this move, Gukesh, realising his blunder, was so distraught he preferred to bury his head in his hands. Already running short on time, he ran out of it and the Uzbek pointed out that he had no time remaining to respond.
Splitting two points means Uzbekistan remain top with 17, where they have been joined by Armenia. India B, India A and US are third, fourth and fifth respectively, with 16 points (India B have the advantage on tie-breaks).
If it was a disappointing day for India B in the Open section, the women's India A team recovered from Sunday's disappointments to regain sole lead. Facing Kazakhstan, the trio of Koneru Humpy, Bhakti Kulkarni and Sachdev returned with drama-free wins. While it was a welcome return to form for the seasoned Humpy after two draws and one loss in her last three games, the 35-year-old Sachdev is the one powering the top seeds. Her victory over Xeniya Balabayeva was her sixth in ten games. That she hasn't been given a rest while the likes of Humpy and D Harika, who didn't feature on Monday, have been given an off day reflects her importance to the set-up (R Vaishali, who drew, is another who has played all 10 games so far).
What she has had to do, she has done with minimal fuss. Against Balabayeva, for example, she finished the match in 31 moves. Playing with white pieces, she went with a queen pawn opening. She was a bit loose at first, losing both a pawn and a knight. But her focus was on long-term positional integrity over short-term gains. She restored parity a few moves later before gradually making inroads into Balabayeva's half. They traded their rooks in the 23rd move but by that time, Sachdev's pieces had a better look to them. With the Kazakh blundering her way post this, the Indian once again cut out the mistakes from her own game to force the win.
Women face US with gold on line
India A in the women's category will know that a win against the US in the final round of the Olympiad will give them the first ever medal — a gold at that — in the event. In the open section, both India B and India A are in with a realistic chance of medalling. While the former face Germany, the latter will take on US.
Table (with one round to go, top three)
Women
India A 17
Poland 16
Azerbaijan 16
Open
Uzbekistan 17
Armenia 17
India B 16