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.

Time flies. It has been two years since those beautiful images from Budapest caught India’s imagination — the country’s young chess players, men and women, posing for photographs after their twin success at the Chess Olympiad. It was one of the country’s greatest days in its sporting history.

Chess Olympiad is an event as huge and competitive as the name suggests. It is even huger this time.

The 46th edition of the biggest team event in chess — it is like tennis’ Davis Cup or badminton’s Thomas Cup — starts in Samarkand on Wednesday.

In the fray are 208 in the open section and 191 in the women’s.

India is certainly among the favourites in both categories, despite some changes in the squads and the big dip in form of one of the key players.

There is no denying the fact that the way D. Gukesh has struggled after becoming the youngest World champion has raised concerns. That, however, doesn’t mean he cannot regain his form.

Remember, he was an absolute beast for India in the last two Olympiads. He was brilliant against some of the world’s strongest players and won the individual gold medal.

Gukesh may not be going into the Olympiad in perfect shape, but R. Praggnanandhaa is. He has been winning just about everything. India also banks heavily on Arjun Erigaisi. Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi complete the team.

The host Uzbekistan, which features two of the world’s best young players in Javokhir Sindarov (Gukesh’s opponent in the upcoming World title match), and the United States, the top seed, could be India’s strongest rivals. The Indian men are seeded second.

The women are seeded first. The return of Koneru Humpy, one of the best players of all time in the women’s game, has strengthened the team. Her class and experience should help. She hadn’t played in Budapest, and told The Hindu how excited she was to play in this Olympiad and help her team defend the title.

India needs Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali, two young women who have been gaining in strength, to perform well, too. Vantika Agrawal should be hoping for another solid show for India while the 19-year-old B. Savitha Shri is making her debut.

India could face strong challenges from the likes of Georgia, Kazakhstan and China.

The tournament, to be played over 11 rounds in the Swiss system, concludes on September 27.

Anemone Kulczak seems like a constant at Norway Chess. The Frenchwoman, who made a smooth transition from playing to being an arbiter, is enjoying the role.

“I played many tournaments after having learnt the game from my father when I was very young and at some point I wanted to know the regulations,” Kulczak, who has been the chief arbiter at several editions of the Norway Chess, told The Hindu.

There’s been no looking back since she decided to take an arbiter’s course and obtained certifications and is at home officiating in top-flight events, including the Chess Olympiad.

The 31-year-old said the modern generation of players were disciplined and easier to handle. She was all praise for the Indians and said players like World champion D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, who are taking part in this year’s event, were an arbiter’s delight as they consistently followed the rules.

Kulczak was full of admiration of the manner in which Indian chess had evolved over the years and felt that the new generation is talented and there would be more world champions.

“India is the future of chess… India will continue to have world champions. Gukesh is an exceptionally talented player and there are many others too like Pragg. It is good for world chess,” she added.

Kulczak, who was at the helm during the tournament in Stavanger in 2025 when Magnus Carlsen famously banged the table after losing to Gukesh, said arbiters had to be more careful these days as there is intense scrutiny and ensure that rules matter more than reputations.

The action may be taking place on the board but there’s a lot going on inside a chess player’s mind. After four days of competition at Norway Chess that had its share of thrills and spills, the players enjoyed a rest day, during which they got to take time off the 64 squares and be their own self.

Ten of the 12 participants were split into two teams and took part in a friendly sailing contest on the Oslofjord on Friday, the first of the two rest days.

It was also an occasion to celebrate the birthday of D. Gukesh, who turned 20 on Friday. The usually reticent World champion appeared to soak in the cheerful mood as he was actively involved in the competition around the fjord (a long, narrow channel or wide bodies of open water and lakes in Norway) with enthusiasm. He also tried his hand at navigating the speed boat.

Incidentally, after watching Gukesh handle the speed boat with aplomb, fellow Indian Grandmasters R. Praggnanandhaa and Divya Deshmukh hopped on to it to see how they would do.

Gukesh, who hasn’t had the best of time at Norway Chess — having won only once in the four rounds — seemed to be in a fairly relaxed frame of mind, accepting birthday wishes from the other players. The 20-year-old, bracing for tougher challenges ahead, had admitted that his performances had dipped since winning the World title but said that he was ready to defend the crown against Javokhir Sindarov.

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess).

World champion D. Gukesh appeared flustered yet showed remarkable defensive skills to deny Vincent Keymer before turning the tables on his opponent in the Armageddon after securing a draw in the Classical game to open his campaign in Norway Chess 2026 with a victory, here in Oslo on Monday (May 25, 2026).

Gukesh’s compatriot R. Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, attacked with intent to prevail over American Wesley So to start on a winning note.

It was French Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja, who pulled off a surprise victory over World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the classical game. Carlsen appeared comfortable for a large part of the game, but made an error under severe time, allowing his opponent to grab the initiative.

World champion D. Gukesh during his match against Vincent Keymer
| Photo Credit:
Norway Chess

Firouzja, who suffered an ankle injury at the recent Grand Chess Tour event in Bucharest and playing while resting his right leg on a chair, played accurately to register his first win against the Norwegian in a classical game.

The highly-rated Frenchman is in the lead with three points after a rare defeat in the classical format for the world’s top player.

In the Gukesh-Keymer match, the former worked his way to winning position but couldn’t find a way to pick up full points. The Indian made a wrong 50-move draw claim, handing Keymer two extra minutes in a time scramble. Yet, Keymer could not manage to find the win. Gukesh made a second 50-move claim, and the game ended in a draw.

In the Armageddon, however, it was a decisive move on the 15th turn that dashed the hopes of the German GM.

Divya Deshmukh
| Photo Credit:
Norway Chess

In the Women’s event, Indian GM Divya Deshmukh came up with an impressive performance to surprise World champion Ju Wenjun in the Armageddon after the classical match ended in a draw. Koneru Humpy, the other Indian in the fray, however, fell to a defeat against

Bibisara Assaubayeva, who capitalised on the opportunities in the middlegame before converting her advantage with precision to take the lead with three full points for victory in the classical.

First round results

Open: D. Gukesh bt Vincent Keymer (Ger), R. Praggnanandhaa bt Wesley So (USA), Alireza Firouzja (Fra) bt Magnus Carlsen (Nor).

Women: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz) bt Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh bt Ju Wenjun (China), Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) lost to Zhu Jiner (China).

(The writer is in Oslo at the invitation of Norway Chess.)