The Indian team has made a tremendous comeback in the 46th Chess Olympiad going on in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Open and women's team have retained themselves in the top 3 by registering their sixth win. The Indian Open team has improved its position by defeating England and the women's team by defeating Germany in Round 7. In the next round, India's open team will face Azerbaijan and the women's team will face Kazakhstan.
This round was a relief for India because this round had become very important after the defeat at the hands of host Uzbekistan in the previous round. Nihal Sarin continues to be a worry for India as they lost for the second time in a row. At the same time, Arjin Erigaysi played a draw against Michael Adams.
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How was Round 7?
Playing for the Indian Open team in Round 7, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa won their respective matches. Praggnananda defeated Nikita Vituigov while playing on the top board. On the other hand, playing on board 4, D Gukesh achieved a spectacular win. At the same time, Nihal Sarin, playing on board 3, lost to Luke McShane. India won this round by 2.5-1.5.
The women's team defeated Germany in this round. On the strength of Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali and Savita Shri, Indian women gave a big defeat to Germany by a margin of 3.5-0.5.
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On this occasion, All India Chess Federation President Nitin Narang expressed hope that the Indian team will continue its good game. He wrote in a post on X, 'There are still 4 rounds left. You have to keep your fighting spirit high, remain calm and keep trying till the end.
How far has India reached?
Till Round 7, the Indian women's team has played a total of 7 matches and is now at third position with 12 points. Only China and Kazakhstan are ahead of them and all three have 13 points each. At the same time, India's open team is at third position and also has 12 points. Ahead of India are Uzbekistan with 14 points and Netherlands with 12 points.
India's open team will face Azerbaijan in round 8. At the same time, the women's team will face Kazakhstan.