It was a wonderful day for India at the 45th Chess Olympiad as both the Indian men's and women's team continued their unbeaten start to emerge as sole lead with a 12/12 score after Round 6 in Budapest.
Arjun Erigaisi registered his sixth victory in as many games as India men defeated hosts Hungary 3-1 while Divya Deshmukh was the only player to get a win in the women's section but it was enough as India beat Armenia, who had stunned China the day before, 2.5-1.5.
Erigaisi - the only unbeaten player in the open section (men's) - highlighted his red-hot form beating Russian-turned-Hungarian Sjugirov Sanan in a terrific game with black pieces.
On the top board, D Gukesh played out a straightforward draw as black against Richard Rapport while Praggnanandhaa had a task on his hands to not go down and drew with Peter Leko.
Vidit Gujrathi wrapped it up with a win Benjamin Gledura, which gave India the sole lead as China were held to a draw by a spirited Vietnamese team that scored another great 2-2 result.
In the women's section, Divya's win over Elena Danielian with white pieces gave India the early lead which helped maintain the unbeaten start. D Harika played out a draw with Lilit Mkrtchian on the first board while R Vaishali followed suite against Mariyam Mkrtchyan.
With the team leading by 2-1 margin, Tania Sachdev could not convert her position of strength and drew on the fourth board with Anna Sargasyan.
In the next round, after a rest day, India men will face China while India women will face Georgia, both of who are joint-second with 11 points. Interestingly, we could have a glimpse of the World Championship match as Gukesh could face Ding Liren in the India vs China encounter.
(With inputs from PTI)