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India’s women’s team, spearheaded by B Savitha Shri, secured a vital 2-2 draw against Kazakhstan, while the men’s team also held Azerbaijan to a draw, keeping their medal hopes alive in the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
Key Points
- India’s women’s team drew 2-2 with Kazakhstan, thanks to B Savitha Shri’s crucial seventh victory.
- The Indian men’s team also drew 2-2 against Azerbaijan, with D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa securing draws.
- Germany defeated Uzbekistan in the open section, creating a tie at the top with India and Holland close behind.
- China leads the women’s section, making India’s title defence challenging with three rounds remaining.
- Savitha Shri’s late comeback saved the women’s team from a potential loss after R Vaishali’s defeat.
Coming back from an equal position, India’s B Savitha Shri yet again provided the crucial blow as she embarked on her seventh victory to eke out 2-2 draw against Kazakhstan in the women’s chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Thursday.
Indian Teams Face Tough Competition
On a day when the men were held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan, the apparently unstoppable Uzbeks were dumped by Germany by a minimal 2.5-1.5 margin.
This threw the event open yet again, as Germany joined team Uzbek at the top on 14 points, followed by India and Holland on 13 points each.
In the women’s section, China remained atop the table with 13 points in their bag, sharing the lead with Kazakhstan girls’.
Not far behind is team India, a half point adrift with three rounds still to be played in the biggest biennial chess event.
Challenging Road Ahead for India
While the open section is likely to be fought hard, the Chinese eves have seemed to cracked the code for this year. The point of contention could be the next round when they take on Kazakhstan but by and large it seems that the defending champion India will find it hard to defend the title.
For the Indian men, it’s a similar story especially after Thursday’s all-drawn affair. Even though he tried hard, World champion D Gukesh could not really pass the efficient iron bar from his Azerbaijani opponent Muhammad Muradli and had to settle for a draw.
On the top board, R Praggnanandhaa shared the point with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov while the remaining two games also ended in draws.
Savitha Shri’s Heroics Secure Draw
The women’s team almost had a scare, as R Vaishali lost to Alua Nurman, but it was a late onslaught by Savitha Shri that saw the team draw level from what looked like a hopeless situation.
Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy had drawn early, leaving the team in a drawn situation before Vaishali lost her game.
