India beats Thailand but Arjun loses; women have it easy in Chess Olympiad

It wasn’t quite the perfect start for India at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Wednesday. The women won 4-0 against Dominican Republic alright, but the men’s team, though expectedly victorious against Thailand, suffered a shock loss on the top board.

Arjun Erigaisi was humbled by Prin Laohawirapap, who is rated 396 Elo points below him. That meant India could win only 3-1.

Arjun, with white pieces, was struggling against the clock, and after he took his queen to the wrong square on the 50th move and was doomed. He resigned just four moves later.

There were wins, however, for Nihal Sarin, D. Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi. R. Praggnanandhaa, India’s top-board player, was benched for the match.

In the women’s match against Dominican Republic, Koneru Humpy, R. Vaishali, Vantika Agrawal and B. Savitha Shri won their games.

India is the defending champion in both the open and women’s sections.

The opening day also saw Pakistan making a political move.

It refused to play against Israel and gave a walkover (0-4).

Important results: Open: India bt Thailand 3-1 (Arjun Erigaisi lost to Prin Laohawirapap; Nihal Sarin bt Thanadon Kulpruethanon; D. Gukesh bt Faris Alriyami; Vidit Gujrathi bt Tupfah Khumnarokaew).

USA bt Iraq 3.5-0.5; Uzbekistan bt Jamaica 4-0; China bt Uganda 4-0; Germany bt Faroe Islands 4-0; Azerbaijan bt Morocco 4-0; Hungary bt Malta 2.5-1.5; France bt Tunisia 4-0.

Women: India bt Dominican Republic 4-0 (Koneru Humpy bt Franchesca Ramirez Luzon; R. Vaishali bt Miguelina De La Rosa Martinez; Vantika Agrawal bt Mary Loly Gonzalez Peguero; B. Savitha Shri bt Karla Mya Nunez Diaz).

Uzbekistan bt Uganda 4-0; Georgia bt Tunisia 4-0; Kazakhstan bt Botswana 4-0; China bt Zambia 4-0; Ukraine bt Iraq 4-0; Azerbaijan bt Guatemala 4-0; France bt Morocco 4-0; Poland bt Zimbabwe 4-0.