Gukesh's winning streak ends but Pragg comes to India B's rescue

A different day and a different Indian teenager came to the fore. While D Gukesh’s blazing eight-match winning streak in the 44th Chess Olympiad came to an end on Sunday with a draw against Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – defeat hasn’t been a part of his vocabulary until now – fellow sixteen-year-old R Praggnanandhaa produced a nerveless display against Vasif Durarbayli to clinch victory. Praggnanandhaa’s win was essential in India B managing a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan.

The result kept the hosts in the fray for a medal in the open section with two rounds remaining. They are currently second in the points table. Uzbekistan, who defeated Armenia 3-1, top the standings. India B will face the table-toppers in the tenth round on Monday.

Praggnanandhaa was aware of the importance that his game held once Raunak Sadhwani lost to Nijat Abasov. Nihal Sarin had drawn his game versus Rauf Mamedov.

Praggnanandhaa wasn’t having the best of runs either. His six games before Sunday had included one loss and two draws. With the pressure on and the clock ticking, the Chennai youngster had to be precise in his endgame. The culmination of the five-hour encounter was riddled with complexity. Much to his team’s relief, Praggnanandhaa managed to come up with some shrewd moves without blundering when it mattered.

“I was sure Praggnanandhaa will win because he has very good nerves in pressure situations,” India B captain RB Ramesh said on Sunday. “Even though both players were short of time, Praggnanandhaa managed some very clever moves and outplayed his opponent in a difficult situation. After the win against the US, I was hoping we will be able to beat Azerbaijan since our players were in terrific form. But we will take it as it comes.”

Gukesh, who has beaten the likes of Fabiano Caruana, Alexei Shirov and Gabriel Sargissian so far, has led India B’s challenge on the first board with tremendous composure. He came up against a tough opponent once again in world No 10 Mamedyarov. The man from Azerbaijan started the game on an aggressive note, initiating an exchange of queens off his seventh move. As the game progressed, though, neither player had the ammunition to push for a victory. With both players just having a knight remaining among their attacking pieces in the end game, a draw was the only foreseeable result. It played out as expected.

“Gukesh played a very decent game. He did not get much out of the opening. The draw is a fair result. It is a good result for Gukesh against a top 10 player,” said Ramesh.

India A, meanwhile, registered a much-needed 3-1 victory against Brazil, climbing to sixth in the standings and keeping their hopes of a medal alive. While P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi played out draws against their opponents from South America, Arjun Erigaisi and Krishnan Sasikiran posted victories.

In the women’s section, India A suffered a setback as they slipped from first to third after losing to Poland 1.5-2.5. With Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and Tania Sachdev sharing the spoils in their respective games, the contest came down to the match between 21-year-old R Vaishali and Oliwia Kiolbasa. It seemed as though another draw was on the cards for a majority of the game. Kiolbasa, though, managed to prevail in the end game with a two-pawn advantage. The Polish woman has won each of her nine matches at the Olympiad. Poland and Kazakhstan occupy the top two spots.

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