45th Chess Olympiad: Indian Men's and Women's teams start with wins

The Indian men’s and women’s teams kicked off the 45th Chess Olympiad, currently underway in Hungary, with impressive wins in Round 1, on Thursday.

All four players from the Indian men’s team, competing in the open section, including R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Arjun Erigaisi, emerged victorious against their Moroccan opponents.

Praggnanandhaa gave India an early lead with a 30-move knockout against Tissir Mohamed, applying constant pressure and cornering the opponent's king.

Vidit followed suit forcing his opponent, Ouakhir Mehdi Pierre, to resign after 28 moves. Pentala Harikrishna then delivered an impressive checkmate against Moayad Anas, extending India’s lead to 3-0. Finally, Arjun Erigaisi sealed India's 4-0 victory by defeating Elbilia Jacques.

In the women’s section, the Indian team secured a 3.5-0.5 win over Jamaica. R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, and Divya Deshmukh all won their games, while Vantika Agarwal drew against her opponent.

Chess Olympiad

A total of 196 teams compete in the open section, while 184 teams compete in the women’s section. The tournament follows a Swiss-system format with 11 rounds, with each player competing in 11 matches during the Olympiad.

The teams in the open section are vying for the Hamilton-Russell Cup, while the women’s teams will compete for the Vera Menchik Cup. The combined event winners will receive the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy.