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Defending champions India were held to a tough outing against Indonesia in the second round of the Chess Olympiad, with reigning World Champion D Gukesh among three Indian players forced to settle for half a point before Nihal Sarin secured the team's lone win.
Indonesia put up determined resistance throughout the Open section match, with Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa all being held to draws, according to the FIDE website. Nihal, however, produced a strong performance to claim the only win for India and keep the defending champions among the leading teams in the standings. One of the highlights of the match came on the top board, where Indonesian teenager Satria Duta held Gukesh to a draw. India were among several leading teams that faced tougher-than-expected opposition in the second round, despite the top seeds largely fielding their strongest line-ups. Uzbekistan, led by World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov, secured a convincing 3.5-0.5 victory over Peru. Sindarov produced a spectacular tactical finish, sacrificing his queen with 31...Kf7!! before following it up with 32...Rh3!! to create an unavoidable mating threat. The United States also secured a match victory against Mongolia after Fabiano Caruana made his debut on board one with a strong performance. Levon Aronian added a narrow win, and Hans Niemann drew, while Mongolia registered a surprise on board four as Khuyagtsogt Itgelt, rated 2435, defeated Awonder Liang, rated 2693. China defeated Chile 3-1 despite former World Champion Ding Liren being held to a draw by Rodrigo Vsquez Schroeder. Wei Yi made his debut on board two and produced a strong performance, including a trademark exchange sacrifice, to help China secure the win. Germany recorded a 3.5-0.5 victory over Uzbekistan 3, with world number six Vincent Keymer making his debut and defeating Saidakbar Saydaliev. Keymer finished the game with the tactical 33.Bc7!, after which his opponent resigned. Other leading open-section teams, including the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, France, Armenia, England, Ukraine, Poland and Spain, also registered victories, although several dropped a point or point and a half, according to the FIDE Website. In the Women's section, defending champions India comfortably defeated Finland 3.5-0.5, with Vaishali held to a draw on board one. Local favourites Uzbekistan crushed Ecuador 4-0, matching the score recorded by the United States against Belgium. Afruza Khamdamova and Carissa Yip both made their Samarkand debuts on board one for their respective teams and marked the occasion with convincing victories. Third seeds Kazakhstan defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1, while China beat Colombia 3.5-0.5. Ukraine and Azerbaijan also registered convincing 4-0 victories. The biggest upset in the Women's section came as Montenegro held second-seed Georgia to a 2-2 draw. Alena Skvortsova defeated Bella Khotenashvili on board two, while Aleksandra Milovic overcame Lela Javakhishvili on board three. Elsewhere, Sweden defeated Paraguay, with veteran Pia Cramling continuing her remarkable Olympiad career. The 63-year-old has participated in 16 Olympiads, while her daughter Anna Cramling also represents Sweden and plays on board four.(ANI)
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