Tania Sachdev guides Indian women's team to victory at Chess Olympiad

Tania Sachdev fought hard as India A recorded a 2.5-1.5 win against Hungary in the women’s section fourth-round match at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai on Monday (August 1).

After experienced campaigners Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R Vaishali ended up with a draw in their respective encounters, Tania Sachdev rose fiercely to the occasion. The 35-year-old Tania outwitted Zsoka Gaal to earn the decisive points as well in the match for the team.

“It was a tough position and I was aware that our two boards had ended in a draw. We had a strong opponent and now it is time for us to play stronger teams. I think we need to be ready for the competition. We are looking forward to the next game,” Tania said after the match.

Abhijit Kunte, coach of India women’s A team, stressed the need to take one round at a time after the victory. He said:

“The teams are well balanced and it is very important to take one round at a time. All the games today were well fought."

The 11th seeded Indian women B team also defeated Estonia with a similar 2.5-1.5 score. Teenage sensation Vantika Agrawal, extending her excellent run, clinched the winning point for the team while the other three games ended in draws.

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Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek stuns former World Chess Championship Challenger Caruana in open section

Meanwhile, in a major upset on Day 4, former World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana of the USA was beaten by Nodirbek Abdusattaarov of Uzbekistan. With the help of the 17-year-old prodigy Abdusattaarov's efforts, Uzbekistan held the top-seeded star-studded USA to a 2-2 draw.

In another open section fourth-round match, India B emerged victorious by 3-1 against Italy. Gukesh and Nihal Sarin scored victories, while R Pragnanandhaa and Raunak Sadhwani conceded draws.

Gukesh played a fantastic game against Daniele Vocaturo, who held Magnus Carlsen to a draw on Sunday. In a Queen’s Gambit Declined game, Gukesh went on a pawn grabbing spree with tactical strokes and pocketed the point after 34 moves when his queen, rook and bishop surrounded his opponent’s king.

Second-seeded India A, on the other hand, were held to a 2-2 draw by France with all four boards splitting points. It was a surprising result as India A is considered to be among the hot favorites to win a medal for the country.

In another disappointing result, India C lost to Spain by a 1.5-2.5 score.