Chess Olympiad: 7/7 Savitha Shri saves India the day

Bengaluru: Baskar was faced with a difficult choice. He could afford to back only one of his two chess-playing children. Eventually, he asked his son, Mugesh, to set chess aside and pursue academics, while the family placed its faith, and limited means, behind Savitha Shri.

Over the past week, Savitha Shri has been on a dream run at the Fide Chess Olympiad in Samarkand with seven wins from seven rounds (she was rested in Round 5 when India lost to Poland).

In Round 8 on Thursday, with Kazakhstan leading the match against India and the rest of the three games over, a draw on her board against Elnaz Kaliakhmet was as good as defeat. The 19-year-old international master went for an endgame grind in a position that appeared to be equal and eventually squeezed her seventh win and India’s great 2-2 draw escape out of it.

Savitha has easily been the most impressive Indian player across both the Open and women’s sections and is on course to win an individual gold medal on her board.

This marks her debut over-the-board Olympiad, having played the online Olympiad in 2021. This time, she found a spot in the team after Olympiad veteran, grandmaster Harika Dronavalli, chose not to play the tournament.

China are sole leaders in the women’s section at 15 points. India are at 13 points.

In the Open section, Germany – powered by a stellar performance by the Svane brothers, Rasmus and Frederick – shook up the standings by ending Uzbekistan’s unbeaten run and joined them at the top with 14 points. India played out a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan, with games on all four boards drawn. They are currently on 12 points.

Three rounds remain in the tournament and, should the Indian women finish on the podium, they will have Savitha Shri to thank in no small measure.