Gukesh powers India past Germany as both Indian teams win at Chess Olympiad

The Indian men’s match was decided on the fourth board, where world champion Gukesh used the black pieces to turn around an inferior position and win in 54 moves. R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin drew their games against Germany, giving India the narrow team victory.

The result put the open team on 15 points, in a joint second-place group with Uzbekistan’s second team and Armenia. Uzbekistan leads with 16 points. Two rounds remain in the tournament.

India’s women beat host Uzbekistan 3-1. Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal won, while Koneru Humpy and B. Savitha Shri drew. Savitha Shri’s draw ended a run of seven consecutive wins in the competition.

The women’s team also has 15 points and shares second place with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. China leads on 17 points. Both Indian teams entered the ninth round needing wins after drawing their previous matches, and both remain in contention with two rounds to play.