Bright start: Divya and Vaishali won their games while Vantika shared the honours.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
India’s campaign in the Chess Olympiad got off to a fine start in Budapest on Wednesday.
In the open section, India crushed Morocco 4-0, while in the women’s event, it could not make a perfect score against Jamaica. The women won 3.5-0.5.
It was Vantika Agrawal’s draw that cost India half a point. She was held by Raehanna Brown on the third board. It was no doubt a fine result for Brown, who has a rating of 1910 Elo points — a whopping 460 below Vantika’s 2370.
But it was normal service on other boards, with R. Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Tania Sachdev all posting wins, against Adani Clarke, Rachel Miller and Gabriella Watson respectively. The Indian women are the top seeds, though their best player and World No. 6 Koneru Humpy did not make it to Budapest.
The Indian men, seeded second, breezed past Morocco, seeded 93rd.
On the top board, R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Mohamed Tissir, while on the second, Arjun Erigaisi, India’s highest-rated player, beat Jacques Elbilia. On the third and fourth boards, Vidit Gujrathi and P. Harikrishna scored wins over Mehdi Ouakhir and Anas Moayad.
United States, the top seed in the open section, had it easy against Panama, winning 3.5-0.5. The surprise came on the top board, where Wesley So was held to a draw by Roberto Alvarez.
Published – September 12, 2024 12:23 am IST
