Defending champions India missed an opportunity to move into the sole lead as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan in the eighth round of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Thursday.
In the women’s section, B Savitha Shri continued her impressive run, securing her seventh consecutive victory as India were held to a 2-2 draw by Kazakhstan.
The Indian men’s team remained in joint second place in the Open section with 13 match points, while table-toppers Uzbekistan were stunned 2.5-1.5 by Germany and now share the lead with the hosts on 14 points.
R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, who returned to the team in place of Nihal Sarin, were all held to draws by their Azerbaijani opponents.
Germany’s upset win over Uzbekistan came through victories by Frederik Svane and Rasmus Svane over Nodirbek Yakubboev and Shamsiddin Vokhidov, respectively.
The highlight for India in the 2-2 draw was the third-board clash between reigning World Classical champion Gukesh and Muradli Mahammad, in which the Indian missed an opportunity to press home his advantage.
Playing with the white pieces in a Sicilian Najdorf, Gukesh opted for an ambitious queen move, but Muradli responded accurately and countered with some resourceful queen manoeuvres. In the queenless endgame, the Azerbaijani locked down the centre and activated his king, while Gukesh tried to create attacking chances by advancing on the queenside.
Both players battled under severe time pressure before agreeing to a draw after 56 moves, with Muradli mounting a strong defence.
On the other boards, Praggnanandhaa drew with experienced campaigner Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Arjun Erigaisi was held by Aydin Suleymanli with the white pieces, while Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew with Rauf Mamedov.
After eight rounds, Uzbekistan and Germany share the top spot with 14 match points, while eight teams, including India, China, the Netherlands and the United States, are joint second with 13 points.
In the women’s section, defending champions India remained in joint second place after being held to a 2-2 draw by Kazakhstan.
On the top board, Koneru Humpy drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva, while Divya Deshmukh was also held by Meruert Kamalidenova, with both Indian players having the black pieces.
Savitha Shri defeated Elnaz Kaliakhmet to keep India in the contest after Vaishali Rameshbabu lost to Nurman Alua, denying the defending champions a chance to move into the lead.
The victory took Savitha Shri’s tally to seven wins from seven games and gave her a rating performance of 2,955.
In another top-table clash, hosts Uzbekistan defeated the Netherlands 3-1, while China remained atop the standings with a 2.5-1.5 win over Georgia. Mongolia also defeated Bulgaria 2.5-1.5.
(IANS Inputs)
