45th Chess Olympiad R6: India beats Hungary and Armenia, scores a double hat-trick, emerges sole leader
One could not have asked for a better start for the Indian teams at the 45th Chess Olympiad 2024. India scored a double hat-trick of wins to emerge sole leader in both Open and Women events. Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi scored the key victories over Sanan Sjugirov and Benjamin Gledura respectively. D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa held the fort by making solid draws against Richard Rapport and Peter Leko respectively. IM Divya Deshmukh scored the sole win for her team against GM Elina Danielian. It helped the Indian Women's team beat Armenia 2.5-1.5. IM Tania Sachdev is the only one who had a winning chance against IM Anna Sargsyan. Today is the sole rest day of the event. India will face China in the Open and Georgia in Women in Round 7. This can prove to be the most critical round of the event to have serious implications for Gold. Round 7 starts tomorrow Wednesday 18th September at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Abhyudaya Ram
Arjun wins six in-a-row, Divya delivers the decisive win for Indian Women
World no.4, GM Arjun Erigaisi scored his sixth consecutive win. He is phenomenal form and his live rating is now 2791.3. He is certainly storming towards 2800 and doing it at the best event possible. Vietnam, China and Iran are trailing India by one point at 11/12 each. Vietnam drew with China 2-2 and Norway lost to Iran 1.5-2.5. Ten teams are at 10/12 each. Uzbekistan is at the top of them. Thus, top five teams in the Open section are all from Asia.
India defeated the formidable Armenia 2.5-1.5. Armenia defeated China in the previous round. So this was a huge win for India. Georgia and Poland defeated Mongolia and China respectively by a minimum margin 2.5-1.5 each. They are the only two teams trailing India by one point 11/12 each.
Open: Hungary - India: 1-3
The game between GM Richard Rapport (2715) and GM D Gukesh (2764) was a relatively quiet draw. Before we witness Ding Liren and D Gukesh face each other, this was definitely an important match. Rapport was part of Ding's team and played a key role in him becoming the world champion. So it goes without saying that there is a good chance Rapport might once again be in the world champion's corner, this November.
GM R Praggnanandhaa (2750) could not manage to find a breakthrough against GM Peter Leko (2666). Only one minor piece was exchanged in a 45-move battle.
The last time GM Sanan Sjugirov (2644) and GM Arjun Erigaisi (2778) faced each other in a Classical rated game was back in December 2023 at Chennai Grand Masters. Arjun won that game.
Sanan - Arjun
Sanan made a slight inaccuracy in an equal rook and minor piece endgame 41.Nb4? Arjun seized his chance Kd7 42.Rd3+ Rxd3 43.Nxd3 Kc6 44.Kd2 Bd4 45.f3 Kd5 and Black won the game in another dozen moves.
Over six years ago, GM Vidit Gujrathi (2720) played his sole Classical rated game against GM Benjamin Gledura (2628). It ended in a draw.
Vidit - Gledura
31.Rc8 is a good move by White. Exchanging the rook lands White in a favorable endgame. Black needed to decline the exchange 31...Rd6 to continue the fight. 31...Rxc8 32.Bxc8 Nd6 33.Bf5 h6 34.h4 Ne6 35.Bg4 Ng7 36.Kf4 f6 37.b4 Kf7 38.e5 fxe5+ 39.Kxe5 White went on to convert his advantage into a win.
Ding - Liem
The world champion, GM Ding Liren (CHN, 2736) made the grave mistake 47.Ra4?? GM Liem Quang Le (VIE, 2741) had no trouble seizing his chance Rb6 48.Ke2 d4 49.f3 f5 50.Ra5+ Kf4 and Black won the game in few more moves.
Upsets:
USA - Romania: 2-2
Poland - Austria: 2-2
Azerbaijan - Lithuania: 1.5-2.5
Georgia - Spain: 2.5-1.5
Denmark - Czech Republic: 2-2
Canada - Turkiye: 2-2
Bangladesh - Hungary B: 2-2
Women: India - Armenia: 2.5-1.5
IM Divya Deshmukh (2483) scored the decisive victory over GM Elina Danielian (2393). GM Harika Dronavalli (2502), GM R Vaishali (2498) and IM Tania Sachdev (2386) drew with IM Lilit Mkrtchian (2366), WIM Mariam Mkrtchyan (2328) and IM Anna M Sargsyan (2364) respectively. Tania had a tiny window of opportunity in the endgame. However, she missed it.
Divya - Elina
16...Bc6? ignoring the h7-pawn was a bad idea. Divya seized her chance 17.Nxh7 Be7 18.Qg4 g6 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Kd7 21.c4 breaking the center is definitely a great idea for White as the black king is on d7. 21...dxc4 22.Bxg6! Black cannot take as Rbd1+ not only retrieves the sacrficed bishop but also wins the game immediately. 22...Rcf8 23.Be4 Kc8 24.Bf6 Rhg8 25.Qf3 White won the game eventually without much difficulty.
Replay India - Armenia games
Upsets
Hungary - Peru: 2-2
Bulgaria - Austria: 2-2
Netherlands - Uzbekistan: 2-2
Australia - Israel: 2.5-1.5
Sweden - Portugal: 2-2
Croatia - Malaysia: 1-3
Replay live stream
Video Gallery
Schedule
Everyday round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST from 11th to 22nd September 2024. The final round on 22nd September starts 11 a.m. IST. Rest day is on 17th September.
Replay Round 6 Open games
Replay Round 6 Women games
Round 6 Open results
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | CHN | China | 15½ | 10 | 2 | : | 2 | 10 | 16 | Vietnam | VIE | 21 | ||
| 2 | 9 | HUN | Hungary *) | 15 | 10 | 1 | : | 3 | 10 | 18 | India | IND | 2 | ||
| 3 | 6 | NOR | Norway | 15 | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 9 | 15 | Iran | IRI | 10 | ||
| 4 | 1 | USA | United States of America | 15½ | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 13½ | Romania | ROU | 18 | ||
| 5 | 20 | ISR | Israel | 14½ | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 15 | Uzbekistan | UZB | 4 | ||
| 6 | 5 | NED | Netherlands | 13½ | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | 14½ | Croatia | CRO | 27 | ||
| 7 | 28 | ITA | Italy | 13½ | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 13 | England | ENG | 8 | ||
| 8 | 11 | POL | Poland | 14 | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 13 | Austria | AUT | 31 | ||
| 9 | 12 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 14 | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 14½ | Lithuania | LTU | 29 | ||
| 10 | 32 | GEO | Georgia | 15½ | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 15 | Spain | ESP | 13 | ||
| 11 | 46 | ISL | Iceland | 13½ | 8 | ½ | : | 3½ | 8 | 14 | France | FRA | 14 | ||
| 12 | 15 | UKR | Ukraine | 14 | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 13 | Montenegro | MNE | 36 | ||
| 13 | 47 | CHI | Chile | 13½ | 8 | 0 | : | 4 | 8 | 12 | Serbia | SRB | 16 | ||
| 14 | 51 | PHI | Philippines | 15 | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 14 | Armenia | ARM | 17 | ||
| 15 | 30 | DEN | Denmark | 11½ | 7 | 2 | : | 2 | 7 | 15½ | Czech Republic | CZE | 19 | ||
| 16 | 50 | CAN | Canada | 11½ | 7 | 2 | : | 2 | 7 | 12½ | Turkiye | TUR | 22 | ||
| 17 | 43 | SVK | Slovakia | 12½ | 7 | 1 | : | 3 | 7 | 13½ | Greece | GRE | 23 | ||
| 18 | 7 | GER | Germany | 13 | 6 | 4 | : | 0 | 7 | 12½ | Venezuela | VEN | 67 | ||
| 19 | 24 | BUL | Bulgaria | 12 | 6 | 3 | : | 1 | 6 | 12½ | Mongolia | MGL | 63 | ||
| 20 | 65 | BAN | Bangladesh | 11½ | 6 | 2 | : | 2 | 6 | 12 | Hungary B | HUN | 25 |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | IND | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 145,5 | 21 | 43 | |
| 2 | 21 | VIE | Vietnam | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 123 | 18 | 45 | |
| 3 | 3 | CHN | China | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 119 | 17,5 | 45 | |
| 4 | 10 | IRI | Iran | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 112,5 | 17,5 | 41 | |
| 5 | 4 | UZB | Uzbekistan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 115 | 17,5 | 43 | |
| 6 | 14 | FRA | France | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 108,5 | 17,5 | 39 | |
| 7 | 15 | UKR | Ukraine | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 105,5 | 16,5 | 43 | |
| 8 | 17 | ARM | Armenia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 104,5 | 16,5 | 43 | |
| 9 | 9 | HUN | Hungary | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 104 | 16 | 46 | |
| 10 | 8 | ENG | England | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 104 | 16 | 42 |
Round 7 pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | IND | India | 21 | 12 | : | 11 | 17½ | China | CHN | 3 | ||||
| 2 | 29 | LTU | Lithuania | 17 | 10 | : | 10 | 16 | Hungary *) | HUN | 9 | ||||
| 3 | 10 | IRI | Iran | 17½ | 11 | : | 11 | 18 | Vietnam | VIE | 21 | ||||
| 4 | 4 | UZB | Uzbekistan | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 16½ | Ukraine | UKR | 15 | ||||
| 5 | 16 | SRB | Serbia | 16 | 10 | : | 10 | 16½ | Netherlands | NED | 5 | ||||
| 6 | 17 | ARM | Armenia | 16½ | 10 | : | 10 | 16 | England | ENG | 8 | ||||
| 7 | 14 | FRA | France | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18 | Georgia | GEO | 32 | ||||
| 8 | 23 | GRE | Greece | 16½ | 9 | : | 9 | 17½ | United States of America | USA | 1 | ||||
| 9 | 31 | AUT | Austria | 15 | 9 | : | 9 | 16½ | Norway | NOR | 6 | ||||
| 10 | 18 | ROU | Romania | 15½ | 9 | : | 9 | 16 | Poland | POL | 11 | ||||
| 11 | 40 | SWE | Sweden | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 17 | Germany | GER | 7 | ||||
| 12 | 12 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 15½ | 8 | : | 8 | 16½ | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 41 | ||||
| 13 | 13 | ESP | Spain | 16½ | 8 | : | 8 | 14½ | Latvia | LAT | 42 | ||||
| 14 | 44 | COL | Colombia | 16½ | 8 | : | 8 | 17½ | Czech Republic | CZE | 19 | ||||
| 15 | 20 | ISR | Israel | 16 | 8 | : | 8 | 14 | Iceland | ISL | 46 | ||||
| 16 | 22 | TUR | Turkiye | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 13½ | Chile | CHI | 47 | ||||
| 17 | 48 | EGY | Egypt | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 15 | Bulgaria | BUL | 24 | ||||
| 18 | 26 | SLO | Slovenia | 17 | 8 | : | 8 | 13½ | Canada | CAN | 50 | ||||
| 19 | 27 | CRO | Croatia | 15½ | 8 | : | 8 | 16½ | Philippines | PHI | 51 | ||||
| 20 | 52 | MEX | Mexico | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 14½ | Italy | ITA | 28 |
Round 6 Women pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IND | India | 16 | 10 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 10 | 16½ | Armenia | ARM | 11 | ||
| 2 | 14 | HUN | Hungary *) | 16½ | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 15 | Peru | PER | 39 | ||
| 3 | 2 | GEO | Georgia | 14½ | 9 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 10 | 14½ | Mongolia | MGL | 18 | ||
| 4 | 3 | POL | Poland | 16 | 9 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 17 | China | CHN | 4 | ||
| 5 | 5 | UKR | Ukraine | 13 | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | 14 | Serbia | SRB | 19 | ||
| 6 | 20 | VIE | Vietnam | 15½ | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 14 | Azerbaijan | AZE | 6 | ||
| 7 | 7 | USA | United States of America | 16 | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 15 | Switzerland | SUI | 21 | ||
| 8 | 8 | GER | Germany | 14½ | 8 | 3½ | : | ½ | 8 | 13 | Italy | ITA | 24 | ||
| 9 | 26 | ARG | Argentina | 15 | 8 | ½ | : | 3½ | 8 | 15 | Spain | ESP | 9 | ||
| 10 | 29 | CUB | Cuba | 14½ | 8 | 0 | : | 4 | 8 | 13½ | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 10 | ||
| 11 | 12 | BUL | Bulgaria | 14½ | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 13 | Austria | AUT | 30 | ||
| 12 | 13 | FRA | France | 14 | 8 | 3½ | : | ½ | 8 | 14½ | Hungary B | HUN | 31 | ||
| 13 | 17 | NED | Netherlands | 13 | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 13½ | Uzbekistan | UZB | 34 | ||
| 14 | 16 | TUR | Turkiye | 13 | 7 | 2 | : | 2 | 7 | 13 | Slovenia | SLO | 28 | ||
| 15 | 32 | SVK | Slovakia | 12½ | 7 | 2 | : | 2 | 7 | 14 | Romania | ROU | 22 | ||
| 16 | 44 | COL | Colombia | 13 | 7 | 1 | : | 3 | 7 | 12½ | Greece | GRE | 23 | ||
| 17 | 46 | AUS | Australia | 13½ | 7 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 7 | 13½ | Israel | ISR | 25 | ||
| 18 | 48 | BEL | Belgium | 13 | 7 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 7 | 12 | Canada | CAN | 27 | ||
| 19 | 15 | ENG | England | 12½ | 6 | 3½ | : | ½ | 6 | 12 | Moldova | MDA | 61 | ||
| 20 | 33 | SWE | Sweden | 12½ | 6 | 2 | : | 2 | 6 | 11 | Portugal | POR | 63 |
Standings after Round 6
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IND | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 137 | 18,5 | 46 | |
| 2 | 2 | GEO | Georgia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 130,5 | 17 | 44 | |
| 3 | 3 | POL | Poland | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 110 | 18,5 | 39 | |
| 4 | 7 | USA | United States of America | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 126 | 18,5 | 44 | |
| 5 | 11 | ARM | Armenia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 114 | 18 | 43 | |
| 6 | 10 | KAZ | Kazakhstan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 112 | 17,5 | 43 | |
| 7 | 18 | MGL | Mongolia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 110 | 16 | 47 | |
| 8 | 9 | ESP | Spain | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 107 | 18,5 | 39 | |
| 9 | 13 | FRA | France | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 107 | 17,5 | 43 | |
| 10 | 6 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 107 | 16,5 | 43 |
Round 7 pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IND | India | 18½ | 12 | : | 11 | 17 | Georgia | GEO | 2 | ||||
| 2 | 30 | AUT | Austria | 15 | 9 | : | 9 | 18½ | Hungary *) | HUN | 14 | ||||
| 3 | 5 | UKR | Ukraine | 16 | 10 | : | 11 | 18½ | Poland | POL | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 6 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 16½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 10 | ||||
| 5 | 11 | ARM | Armenia | 18 | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | United States of America | USA | 7 | ||||
| 6 | 18 | MGL | Mongolia | 16 | 10 | : | 10 | 18 | Germany | GER | 8 | ||||
| 7 | 9 | ESP | Spain | 18½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | France | FRA | 13 | ||||
| 8 | 27 | CAN | Canada | 14½ | 9 | : | 9 | 16½ | Bulgaria | BUL | 12 | ||||
| 9 | 39 | PER | Peru | 17 | 9 | : | 9 | 15 | Netherlands | NED | 17 | ||||
| 10 | 23 | GRE | Greece | 15½ | 9 | : | 9 | 15½ | Uzbekistan | UZB | 34 | ||||
| 11 | 4 | CHN | China | 18½ | 8 | : | 9 | 16 | Australia | AUS | 46 | ||||
| 12 | 36 | LAT | Latvia | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 16 | England | ENG | 15 | ||||
| 13 | 38 | EST | Estonia | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 15 | Turkiye | TUR | 16 | ||||
| 14 | 19 | SRB | Serbia | 15 | 8 | : | 8 | 18 | Iran | IRI | 37 | ||||
| 15 | 20 | VIE | Vietnam | 17 | 8 | : | 8 | 15 | Czech Republic | CZE | 41 | ||||
| 16 | 42 | MNE | Montenegro | 16 | 8 | : | 8 | 16½ | Switzerland | SUI | 21 | ||||
| 17 | 22 | ROU | Romania | 16 | 8 | : | 8 | 15 | Lithuania | LTU | 45 | ||||
| 18 | 24 | ITA | Italy | 13½ | 8 | : | 8 | 14 | Luxembourg | LUX | 53 | ||||
| 19 | 26 | ARG | Argentina | 15½ | 8 | : | 8 | 17 | Philippines | PHI | 47 | ||||
| 20 | 28 | SLO | Slovenia | 15 | 8 | : | 8 | 13 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | BIH | 56 |
