Uzbekistan became the first team to halt India's winning run at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in open section as both scored two points each with four draws in their round 9 match.
Meanwhile, Vantika Agrawal scored a crucial win for India women as they drew their match against the USA to stay in contention for the gold medal.
Despite the draw, Indian men still have a two-point lead, scoring 17 out of 18 with two more rounds to go while the women's team are behind Kazakhstan in overall points --15 out 18.
Vidit Gujrathi played out the first draw of the match between India and Uzbekistan, who are also the defending champions. He faced Jakhongir Vakhidov and drew the match with black pieces. D Gukesh was up against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and there was nothing much to separate the two.
R. Praggnanandhaa was in a spot of bother against Javokhir Sindarov but the Indian defended well to secure a draw. Arjun Erigaisi gained an early advantage against Shamsiddin Vokhidov and had his chance in the final moves but couldn't press through.
India will next play top seeds USA in their next match and if they avoid a loss, they will be a step closer to winning the gold medal. USA are ranked second after India with 15 points followed by Uzbekistan and China who also have 15 points each.
Round 10 is going to be ��! #ChessOlympiad
We have the top 2 seeds, ���� India (#2) and ���� USA (#1), playing against each other, and ���� Uzbekistan (#4) facing ���� China (#3)!
India are the sole leaders after 9 rounds with 17 points (8 wins and one draw); USA, Uzbekistan and China... pic.twitter.com/jXasKiXScf
- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 20, 2024
Meanwhile, Vantika Agrawal delivered when it mattered most as she defeated Irina Krush, helping India secure a 2-2 draw against the United States of America.
India had rested D Harika but it did not change the fortunes much on the top board as R Vaishali went down to Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova while Divya Deskhmukh played out a draw against Carissa Yip.
On the fourth board, Tania Sachdev, who had a position of strength, could not find the best attacking moves to force matters and ended up sharing points with Alice Lee. This left Vantika to equalise the score and the youngster played with a lot of heart and commitment to beat her higher-rated opponent with black.
The draw took India to 15 points behind Kazakhstan who scored 16 in total. As many as nine teams are on 14 points each, including the likes of China, Poland, USA and Georgia. In the next round, the women are up against China.
(With inputs from PTI)