Crucial result: Praggnanandhaa held his own against the Netherlands’ Anish.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
History repeated itself at the Chess Olympiad on Sunday.
Poland defeated the top-seeded India in the women’s event 2.5-1.5 at Samarkand; it was the exact scoreline in Budapest two years ago. That loss had come in the eighth round. India, however, bounced strongly back to win the title. This time around, it happened in the fifth round, and the defeat is indeed a setback to the defending champion.
After the games involving Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal were all drawn, the fate of the match rested on the second-board clash between R. Vaishali and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya. The Chennai Grandmaster, with black pieces, was three pawns down when she resigned on the 57th move.
Vaishali’s younger brother R. Praggnanandhaa, however, scored an important win for India in the open section. He defeated Anish Giri, as the reigning champion won the match against the Netherlands 3-1.
D. Gukesh also won, while there were draws for Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin. The open event also saw Germany pull off a shocking 2.5-1.5 win over top-seeded United States.
Important results (fifth round): Open: India bt Netherlands 3-1 (R. Praggnanandhaa bt Anish Giri; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Jorden van Foreest; Nihal Sarin drew with Loek van Wely; D. Gukesh bt Erwin L’Ami); Uzbekistan bt Hungary 4-0; Germany bt USA 2.5-1.5; Armenia drew with China 2-2; France bt Czechia 2.5-1.5; England bt Georgia 2.5-1.5; Iran bt Lithuania 3-1; Ukraine bt Montenegro 3.5-0.5; Turkiye bt Latvia 3.5-0.5; Serbia bt Cuba 3-1; Poland bt Vietnam 2.5-1.5.
Women: Poland bt India 2.5-1.5 (Koneru Humpy drew with Oliwia Kiolbasa; R. Vaishali lost to Aleksandra Maltsevskaya; Divya Deshmukh drew with Klaudia Kulon, Vantika Agrawal drew with Socko Monika); USA drew with Uzbekistan 2-2; Kazakhstan bt Germany 2.5-1.5; China bt Bulgaria 3-1; Azerbaijan bt Serbia 3-1; Netherlands drew with Switzerland 2-2; Georgia bt Indonesia 2.5-1.5; Ukraine bt Austria 2.5-1.5; France bt Slovakia 3-1; Mongolia bt Croatia 2.5-1.5; Armenia bt Peru 3-1; Hungary bt Brazil 3-1.
Published – September 20, 2026 10:49 pm IST
