New Delhi [India], September 11 : The Top Division of the Online Olympiad got over after three days of intense top-level chess. A total of 1717 players, are playing from 150 countries all over the world. This includes 888 titled players, including 209 Grand Masters and 244 International Masters. The quarterfinals will run from Monday (September 13) to Wednesday, September 15th (final).
Each duel will consist of two matches. n the event of a tie it shall be broken with one 3/2 blitz match. This will be followed by Armageddon if needed.The pairings are as follows
:Duel 1: Kazakhstan vs the USA. Duel 2: Ukraine vs India Duel 3: Russia vs Hungary and Duel 4: China vs Poland.
India defeated Hungary by 4-2 in the first round and consolidated their lead. A 5-1 win over Moldovawas seen. Following this an exciting last-round draw against Slovenia was made. This gave the Indian team a 16/18 score and first place. Hungary joined them in second place with 15/18, three points ahead of Azerbaijan. conceded the top position to India in the first round of the day. Despite this they continued to play strong and defeated Sweden and Moldova.The Indian squad had launched its campaign on Wednesday.
The team boasts of Grandmasters Vidit Gujrathi, P Harikrishna, and Adhiban B in the Open category. Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and D Harika and Woman Grandmasters Tania Sachdev and R Vaishali in the Women’s category. Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and R Praggnanandhaa in the Juniors Open . Woman Grandmaster Vaishali R and Woman Fide Master Savitha Shri in the Junior Girls.
image credits: Wikimedia
