Three-time Olympic champions Armenia scored a huge win this afternoon in the 4 Points Sheraton Convention Centre, defeating India B by 2.5-1.5 in a very exciting top-board match of the Open section. Despite losing on board one – Sargissian was steamrolled by Gukesh – the Armenians were stronger on the lower boards, and GMs Samvel Ter-Sahakyan and Robert Hovhannisyan (pictured below) won their games. Round 6 results open section
Going into the rest day, they are the sole leaders of the open section with a perfect twelve match-point score.
However, the man of the day was once again 16-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh D, who scored his sixth win in a row. The feat is reminding many of us of the brilliant performance of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik at the 1992 Manila Olympiad. Read more: 16-year-old Gukesh D shines in Chennai with 5/5 points!
Barely known internationally, Vladimir scored 8.5/9, notching up a 2958 rating performance, and winning the gold medal on board five. Kramnik was only 17 at the time…
Of course, both performances are not totally comparable – Gukesh is already a well-known grandmaster and the Olympiad is only halfway – but even so, his performance is already outstanding.
The round began with a double-move opening ceremony. The Director of Citi Bank, Mr. Pradeep Sekar opened the Women’s India vs Georgia match while veteran Indian IM K. Murugan – representing NLC – played the ceremonial move on the India B vs Armenia first board. Murugan has been an Olympic team member for India on a few occasions and is highly respected in the national chess community.
In addition to the key India B vs Armenia match, all eyes were focused on team India A. Would they be able to keep up the pace of the youngsters, against Uzbekistan, arguably an even younger team?
A tough day in the office; a very focused Harikrishna defeated Abdusattorov with Black on board one, when the young Uzbek misplayed a topical Italian opening.
On board four, Sasikiran was having trouble facing his young opponent’s attack, and in the end, it came crashing through: Vokhidov Shamsiddin scored a massive win putting the tie on the score boards.
On board two Vidit drawed effortlessly but on board three Erigaisi was on the verge of losing. All in all, a lucky save for India A – 2-2 in the end – who now have the same points as India B.
Fabiano Caruana went from villain to hero. His clear win this afternoon over Iran’s top player Parham Maghsoodloo – 2.5-1.5 was the final score for USA – leaves the Americans in prime position to continue climbing up the standings ladder. They are now clear second with 11/12 points and things are looking brighter for them every day. Replay the match here
Spain – Cuba ended in a 2-2, probably leaving the Spaniards slightly disappointed. Board two and elite player Vallejo Pons was unable to play again due to a slight throat infection: many players are suffering the outside heat combined with the air conditioning inside the playing hall.
These results on the top matches have permitted none less than ten teams to tie for third place with 10/12 and although there are still five rounds to go, these teams will clearly be medal contenders. France, the Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Peru … and the list goes on.
The Netherlands are clearly an up and going team. Sporting first board Anish Giri, they seem to be on a roll after their unexpected loss against Israel. First a 4-0 win against Canada and this afternoon they defeated the always dangerous Georgian team by 2.5-1.5 with two wonderful exchange sacrifices on boards one and two. Replay all the games here
In his short postgame interview with FIDE Press Officer IM Michael Rahal, Giri was kind enough to offer some insight into the game.
India A team, Georgia and Romania, lead the standings of the Women’s Chess Olympiad with 10 points each after the 5th round, closely followed by Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhastan on 9 points apiece. Fifteen teams are on 8 points each in the joint third place. India A team preserved their leading position thanks to the victory on the 4th board in the match with France: Tania Sachdev defeated Andreea Navrotescu on the white side of the Cambridge Springs QGD. Round 6 results women’s section
In the remaining results, GM Humpy Koneru drew with GM Hoang Thanh Trang; GM Harika Dronavalli split a point with WGM Gara Ticia, and IM Vaishali drew with IM Szidonia Lazarne Vajda. Replay the match here
Georgia also rallied up to the lead with 10 points after defeating a young India 2 team by a dominating 3-1 score.
On the top board, Vantika Agarwal escaped to a hard-fought draw against the experienced Nana Dzagnidze, while Padmini Rout drew with Nino Batsiashvili. Georgia hit with a tail: Lela Javakhishvili outplayed Soumya Swaminathan on board 3, while Meri Arabidze bested Divya Deshmukh on board 4 to seal 3-1 victory for the Caucasian team.
Ukraine and Azerbaijan proved to be worthy opponents drawing a very exciting match. Mariya Muzychuk put Ukraine on the scoreboard after winning against Gunayon Mammadzada on the top board, but Ulviyya Fataliyeva retaliated on board four, beating Buksa Nataliya. The games on boards two and three ended in draws. Replay the games
Team Romania produced a minor sensation by defeating a very strong Poland 2.5 – 1.5 and jumped to the joint lead. Mihaela Sandu beat Monika Socko on board 2 and Elena-Luminita Cosma defeated Michalina Rudzinska on board 4 for Romania. Oliwia Kiolbasa snatched the sole victory for Poland on board three, but it was not enough to outweigh two losses.
Kazakhstan and Germany defeated Cuba and Mongolia respectively by identical 3-1 score. The seventh board match saw a major upset as team Peru scored a win over the fancied USA. Ann Chumpitaz beat experienced GM Irina Krush on board two while Paredes Bustamante Paula outplayed Yip Carissa on the third.
Hungary trounced Sweden 3.5-.5, with only the experienced grandmaster Pia Cramling scoring a half point for the team on the top board against Hoang Thanh Trang. Replay all games here
Players will enjoy tomorrow’s day off and games will continue on August 5th according to schedule. India A vs India C will be the main dish on the menu of the Open section, although all eyes will be on Armenia vs USA for first place. In the Women’s section, India meets Azerbaijan. Round 7 team pairings
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