India Stay in Chess Olympiad Medal Race After Round 8 Draws

India remained in the medal race at the 46th Chess Olympiad after both defending champions were held to draws in Round 8, while Germany ended hosts Uzbekistan’s perfect run in the Open section and China moved into sole first place in the women’s standings.

The Indian men were held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan, with all four games ending in draws. R Praggnanandhaa drew Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while Arjun Erigaisi shared the point with Aydin Suleymanli. D Gukesh was held by Mahammad Muradli and Vidit Gujrathi drew Rauf Mamedov. India moved to 13 match points and remained within one point of joint leaders Uzbekistan and Germany.

Gukesh continued his unbeaten campaign and now has 6 points from eight games, while Praggnanandhaa has 4 points from six games. Arjun has three points from six games, Nihal Sarin four from seven, and Vidit two from three games.

The major Open-section development came as Germany defeated Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5, ending the hosts’ perfect seven-match winning streak. Both teams now have 14 match points, although Uzbekistan remains first on the tiebreak with 241.5, ahead of Germany’s 208. China is third with 13 points, followed by the Netherlands and Azerbaijan on 13. The United States, India, France and Armenia are also among the teams on 13 points.

Other Round 8 results included the USA’s 3.5-0.5 win over Serbia, China’s 2.5-1.5 victory against Poland and a 2-2 draw between the Netherlands and Armenia.

In the women’s section, India drew 2-2 with Kazakhstan, with B Savitha Shri once again producing the crucial result. Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh drew, while R Vaishali lost to Alua Nurman before Savitha defeated Elnaz Kaliakhmet to register her seventh consecutive victory.

The result left India fifth with 13 points, while China moved into sole first place with 15 after beating Georgia 2.5-1.5. Kazakhstan, Armenia and Mongolia have 14 each. India’s 243.5 tiebreak is the highest among the top five.

India entered Samarkand as defending champions in both sections after their historic Budapest 2024 double gold. With three rounds remaining in the 11-round Olympiad, Gukesh’s unbeaten run and Savitha’s remarkable 7/7 keep India’s double-title defence alive.