The Indian men's team earned another comprehensive win in the open section of the 2024 Chess Olympiad as D. Gukesh and co. beat Iceland 4-0, while the women's team led by Harika Dronavalli defeated Czechia 3.5-0.5.
Having being rested for the opening round, Gukesh began his campaign with a win against Vignir Stefansson. In an equal middle game, the 18-year-old made a bold decision to sacrifice a pawn in a move that spelled danger initially. But Gukesh broke through in a style reminiscent of the legendary Garry Kasparov on the other flank.
With R. Praggnanandhaa rested in the second round, Vidit Gujrathi took charge and notched up a win against Caro Kann, while Arjun Erigaisi got the better of Hannis Stefansson. P. Harikrishna was the only Indian stretched as he had to work hard to get past Helgi Gretarsson.
This marks the second emphatic win for the Indian men's team - two of whom were part of the bronze-winning team at the 2022 Olympiad - as they opened their campaign with a 4-0 win over Morocco.
The World Championship Challenger @DGukesh wins his first game at the 45th Chess Olympiad#chess #chessbaseindia #gukesh #india #hungary #fide pic.twitter.com/aZtO98Kf9L
- ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) September 13, 2024
Over in the women's section, Harika, playing white, defeated Julia Movsesian, while debutant Vantika Agrawal scored a win against Tereza Rodshtein. Fellow debutant Divya Deshmukh beat Natalie Kanakova with black pieces, while Tania Sachdev played out a draw with Martina Korenova.
The Indian women's team, who had also finished third in 2022, are the top-ranked team in the women's division. The team consists of three members from that winning team - Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali and Tania Sachdev - but are missing the services of Koneru Humpy. They had beaten Jamaica 3.5-0-5 on the opening day.
(With inputs from PTI)