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45th Chess Olympiad R7: World champion ducks Gukesh, his masterpiece crumbles the infallible China

by Shahid Ahmed - 19/09/2024

Those who were eagerly waiting to see D Gukesh face off Ding Liren will have to wait a little longer. The world champion was given a rest in the crucial battle against India. Gukesh is always determined to deliver his best. That was evident in the seventh round battle against Wei Yi. He played fantastic chess to beat his nemesis, a rivalry which has been building since the beginning of the year. The remaining three games ending in draws meant Gukesh's win gave India their first win over China in decades. Iran is the only team trailing them at 13/14. GM R Vaishali and IM Vantika Agrawal scored the crucial victories over IM Lela Javakhishvili and GM Bella Khotenashvili respectively, to increase India Women's lead by two points. Poland, Kazakhstan and France are at 12/14 each. Iran will take on Indian men and Poland against Indian women in Round 8. It begins today at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Vaishali and Vantika victories overcome Georgia, Indian Women increase their sole lead by two points

"Everybody suspected it could happen at least. For me it was not clear whether he should duck this one or come and play. Only he knows how he feels. I think losing with white (pieces) against Liem (Le Quang) also, he might be slightly annoyed. Maybe he just took the day off. Again, you know, Wei Yi is no slouch by any measure." - Vishy Anand on Ding Liren's absence in the crucial Round 7 encounter against India. Iran is going to be a formidable foe for India as they defeated Norway and Vietnam in consecutive rounds. So their confidence is at a very high. All five players are undefeated just like India.

D Gukesh played a masterpiece against Wei Yi | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India winning 3-1 against Georgia was an emphatic victory. It was an encore of last edition's sixth round result and score was the same too. Only the wins occured on different boards this time. Poland, Kazakhstan and France are trailing by two points at 12/14 each. Poland is also yet to lose a single match as they drew two.

45th Chess Olympiad 2024 Official logo | Photo: Official site

Open: India - China: 2.5-1.5

The first result of the match came in the form of a quick 17-move draw between GM R Praggnanandhaa (2750) and GM Yangyi Yu (2703). Then GM Arjun Erigaisi (2778) was held to a draw by GM Xiangzhi Bu (2693). Arjun wanted to launch a brutal attack on the kingside by sacrificing an exchange. However, his opponent found a way to force a draw via perpetual check.

Both Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa drew their respective games | Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

GM Pentala Harikrishna (2686) played a solid draw against GM Wang Yue (2637).

GM Pentala Harikrishna was rock solid against GM Wang Yue | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

GM D Gukesh (2764) has had quite a bit of rivalry against GM Wei Yi (2762) in 2024. At the beginning of the year, Gukesh defeated Wei in the second round of 86th Tata Steel Masters, only to lose in the playoffs and Wei won the tournament. Nearly 4.5 months later, Gukesh lost to Wei in Rapid, then beat him in Blitz and against lost in their second Blitz game at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 of Grand Chess Tour. It goes without saying that Gukesh had a score to settle against Wei. Also, the world champion, Ding Liren not playing against Gukesh meant that he also needed to send a message before their World Championship. After all, it is a cerebral sport.

Gukesh - Wei

Position after 33...Rd1

One would imagine that a draw after 34.Rxg8+ Kxg8 35.Nxc3 is the natural result. Not when Gukesh is playing with the game with white pieces.

Position after 63...f4

63...f4 is not a wrong move by any means. Black wanted to try and create some chances. Something he would probably regret after his game. 64.Nfg1 Rh1 65.gxf4 Rxh4 and now it is a race between f and h-pawns.

Position after 71...h3??

71...h3?? was the final mistake by Black. It did not happen suddenly. Gukesh grinding the endgame for hours caused it, something the World no.1, Magnus Carlsen is known for. 72.f7 Rf1 73.Ng5 h2 74.Ngf3 Ke7 Black promoting the pawn would have prolonged the battle 75.Nxh2 Ra1 76.Nhg4 Ra3+ 77.Kd2 Rxa4 78.Nh6 Ra2+ 79.Ke3 Ra3+ 80.Ke4 and White won. It would not be an understatement to say that this is Gukesh's best win of the year so far. The timing of it is certainly perfect.

Final moments: D Gukesh - Wei Yi | Video: ChessBase India
D Gukesh - Wei Yi, Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

All eyes on Gukesh-Wei's board before the ceremonial first move | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

László Bekefi, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, and Mr. Alexey Dmitrenko, Supply Chain Leader at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, made the first move on Gukesh-Wei's board | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

D Gukesh scored a crucial victory over Wei Yi | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

D Gukesh climbed back to World no.5 which means India once again has two players in World top 5 | Source: 2700chess.com

India - China: 2.5-1.5 | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Captains of the India nand China after the match - GM FST Srinath Narayanan and GM FST Yang Wen | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India - China: 2.5-1.5

D Gukesh is trending on twitter for more than over 12 hours

Replay India - China games

GM Valentin Dragnev (AUT) - GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR), Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Upsets:

Serbia - Netherlands: 3-1

Armenia - England: 2.5-1.5

France - Georgia: 2-2

Romania - Poland: 3-1

Women: India - Georgia: 3-1

GM Harika Dronavalli (2502) and IM Divya Deshmukh (2483) drew their respective games against GM Nana Dzagnidze (2508) and GM Nino Batsiashvili (2461). GM R Vaishali (2498) and IM Vantika Agrawal (2370) scored the wins over IM Lela Javakhishvili (2446) and GM Bella Khotenashvili (2432) respectively.

GM Harika Dronavalli - GM Nana Dzagnidze: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

IM Divya Deshmukh - GM Nino Batsiashvili: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Bella - Vantika

Position after 23.Rh7

23.Rh7 allowed Black to trade queens and reduce the attack Qxb5 24.Nxb5 Ke7 25.Ke2 Nac4 26.g3? Rgd8 White needed to get rid of one of the knights 26.Bg3 Vantika used her knights beautifully to outplay her opponent Bella.

IM Vantika Agrawal breaks down her win against GM Bella Khotenashvili | Video: ChessBase India

IM Vantika Agrawal scored a crucial victory over GM Bella Khotenasvili | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Lela - Vaishali

Position after 38...Rd3!

Lela's misplacement of rook allowed Vaishali to offer an exchange sacrifice 38...Rd3! White of course cannot take it as it would result in an unstoppable passed pawn on d3. 39.Rb6 Rd6 things could have ended earlier if Black took the c3-pawn immediately. Eventually, she did and the c-pawn played a key role in earning the victory.

Vaishali on her game and an important decision | Video: ChessBase India

GM Vaishali scored her fourth win of the event | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India - Georgia: 3-1 | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Replay India - Georgia games

India - Georgia: 3-1

Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Hussein Abdullah Khoury, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club, made the ceremonial first move on GM Harika Dronavalli and GM Nana Dzagnidze's board | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Magnus Carlsen and Peter Leko signs autographs for their fans | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

The legend - GM Vishy Anand and FIDE World Cup 2011 winner - GM Peter Svidler joined IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja in the live commentary | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Upsets

Mongolia - Germany: 2-2

Greece - Uzbekistan: 1.5-2.5

Serbia - Iran: 2-2

Romania - Lithuania: 1.5-2.5

Argentina - Philippines: 1.5-2.5

Turkmenistan - Cuba: 1.5-2.5

Malaysia - Hungary B: 2.5-1.5

Norway - Sri Lanka: 2-2

Replay live stream

Replay Round 7 Live Commentary by Amruta Mokal, IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja | Video: ChessBase India

Video Gallery

Round 7 recap by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India
Magnus Carlsen with fans | Video: ChessBase India
Fans love Gukesh | Video: ChessBase India
Vishy Anand on Ding Liren not facing Gukesh at the Olympiad | Video: ChessBase India
Interview with WFM Anna Cramling | Video: ChessBase India
Interview with team Thailand | Video: ChessBase India
From the land of Usain Bolt and Bob Marley - Ian Wilkinson on Jamaican Chess | Video: ChessBase India
Fans Love Rapport And Leko | Video: ChessBase India
The sim card conundrum at the 45th Chess Olympiad featuring Fair Play team | Video: ChessBase India

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 7 Open games

Replay Round 7 Women games

Round 7 Open results

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
12
INDIndia2112:1117½ChinaCHN
3
229
LTULithuania1710:1016Hungary *)HUN
9
310
IRIIran17½11:1118VietnamVIE
21
44
UZBUzbekistan17½103:11016½UkraineUKR
15
516
SRBSerbia16103:11016½NetherlandsNED
5
617
ARMArmenia16½10:1016EnglandENG
8
714
FRAFrance17½102:21018GeorgiaGEO
32
823
GREGreece16½91:3917½United States of AmericaUSA
1
931
AUTAustria1591:3916½NorwayNOR
6
1018
ROURomania15½93:1916PolandPOL
11
1140
SWESweden14½81:3817GermanyGER
7
1212
AZEAzerbaijan15½83:1816½KazakhstanKAZ
41
1313
ESPSpain16½8:814½LatviaLAT
42
1444
COLColombia16½81:3817½Czech RepublicCZE
19
1520
ISRIsrael1683:1814IcelandISL
46
1622
TURTurkiye14½84:0813½ChileCHI
47
1748
EGYEgypt14½8½:815BulgariaBUL
24
1826
SLOSlovenia1783:1813½CanadaCAN
50
1927
CROCroatia15½8:½816½PhilippinesPHI
51
2052
MEXMexico14½81:3814½ItalyITA
28

Details

Standings after Round 7

Rk.SNoFED TeamGames  +   =   -  TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
12IND
India77001419923,562
210IRI
Iran7610131592059
34UZB
Uzbekistan76011216420,559
49HUN
Hungary76011214318,562
517ARM
Armenia760112141,51957
616SRB
Serbia7601121341958
71USA
United States of America75111116520,559
83CHN
China7511111561965
921VIE
Vietnam75111115219,561
1032GEO
Georgia7430111492059

Details

Round 8 pairings

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
110
IRIIran2013:1423½IndiaIND
2
29
HUNHungary *)18½12:1219ArmeniaARM
17
316
SRBSerbia1912:1220½UzbekistanUZB
4
41
USAUnited States of America20½11:1119½FranceFRA
14
53
CHNChina1911:1118½RomaniaROU
18
621
VIEVietnam19½11:1119½NorwayNOR
6
732
GEOGeorgia2011:1017½NetherlandsNED
5
87
GERGermany2010:1019CroatiaCRO
27
98
ENGEngland17½10:1018½LithuaniaLTU
29
1028
ITAItaly17½10:1018½AzerbaijanAZE
12
1113
ESPSpain1910:1017DenmarkDEN
30
1233
ARGArgentina17½10:1017½UkraineUKR
15
1319
CZECzech Republic20½10:1017½MoldovaMDA
34
1435
CUBCuba17½10:1019IsraelISR
20
1536
MNEMontenegro17½10:1018½TurkiyeTUR
22
1624
BULBulgaria18½10:1018½BrazilBRA
39
1761
ANDAndorra16½10:1020SloveniaSLO
26
1811
POLPoland179:1021North MacedoniaMKD
62
1945
SGPSingapore17½9:917½GreeceGRE
23
2025
HUNHungary B17½9:916½BelgiumBEL
49

Details

Round 7 Women pairings

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
11
INDIndia18½123:11117GeorgiaGEO
2
230
AUTAustria1591:3918½Hungary *)HUN
14
35
UKRUkraine16102:21118½PolandPOL
3
46
AZEAzerbaijan16½101:31017½KazakhstanKAZ
10
511
ARMArmenia18102:21018½United States of AmericaUSA
7
618
MGLMongolia16102:21018GermanyGER
8
79
ESPSpain18½10:1017½FranceFRA
13
827
CANCanada14½9:916½BulgariaBUL
12
939
PERPeru1791:3915NetherlandsNED
17
1023
GREGreece15½9:915½UzbekistanUZB
34
114
CHNChina18½84:0916AustraliaAUS
46
1236
LATLatvia14½8½:816EnglandENG
15
1338
ESTEstonia14½81:3815TurkiyeTUR
16
1419
SRBSerbia1582:2818IranIRI
37
1520
VIEVietnam178:½815Czech RepublicCZE
41
1642
MNEMontenegro1681:3816½SwitzerlandSUI
21
1722
ROURomania168:815LithuaniaLTU
45
1824
ITAItaly13½8:½814LuxembourgLUX
53
1926
ARGArgentina15½8:817PhilippinesPHI
47
2028
SLOSlovenia158:813Bosnia & HerzegovinaBIH
56

Details

Standings after Round 7

Rk.SNoFED TeamGames  +   =   -  TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
11IND
India770014190,521,564
23POL
Poland75201215920,556
310KAZ
Kazakhstan760112152,520,558
413FRA
France7601121422058
57USA
United States of America751111168,520,562
611ARM
Armenia7511111582062
72GEO
Georgia7511111521861
88GER
Germany743011151,52057
914HUN
Hungary75111114621,552
105UKR
Ukraine7430111431860

Details

Round 8 pairings

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
13
POLPoland20½12:1421½IndiaIND
1
214
HUNHungary *)21½11:1118UkraineUKR
5
310
KAZKazakhstan20½12:1220FranceFRA
13
42
GEOGeorgia1811:1119BulgariaBUL
12
534
UZBUzbekistan1811:1120½United States of AmericaUSA
7
617
NEDNetherlands1811:1120GermanyGER
8
711
ARMArmenia2011:1118MongoliaMGL
18
828
SLOSlovenia17½10:1022½ChinaCHN
4
96
AZEAzerbaijan17½10:1017ItalyITA
24
109
ESPSpain2010:1017½SlovakiaSVK
32
1115
ENGEngland19½10:1017½LithuaniaLTU
45
1216
TURTurkiye1810:1019½PhilippinesPHI
47
1370
MASMalaysia1810:1020½VietnamVIE
20
1421
SUISwitzerland19½10:1020TurkmenistanTKM
73
1539
PERPeru189:917SerbiaSRB
19
1637
IRIIran209:917GreeceGRE
23
1744
COLColombia179:918½IsraelISR
25
1846
AUSAustralia169:916CanadaCAN
27
1948
BELBelgium179:916AustriaAUT
30
2062
BANBangladesh17½9:917½SwedenSWE
33

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations


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