Chess Olympiad Round 3: Gukesh, Nihal guide India past Italy; women beat Greece

File Image: Nihal won the game and has won each of his first three games at the Olympiad. | Photo Credit: Michal Walusza/FIDE

India continued its winning run at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad on Friday, beating Italy 3-1 in the Open section, while the women’s team registered a commanding 3.5-0.5 victory over Greece in Round 3.

The defending champion Open team was powered by wins from D Gukesh and Nihal Sarin. Gukesh, playing with Black against Sabino Brunello, collected the full point, while Nihal defeated Francesco Sonis.

On the top two boards, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi were held to draws. Praggnanandhaa shared the point with Lorenzo Lodici, while Arjun drew with Luca Moroni Jr. The two victories on the lower boards were enough to give India the match.

Women’s section result

India’s women had a stronger outing against Greece, winning three of the four games.

File Image: Divya Deshmukh drew with Anastasia Avramidou in the third round of the Chess Olympiad. | Photo Credit: Michał Walusza/FIDE

Koneru Humpy defeated Stavroula Tsolakidou, while Vantika Agrawal beat Ekaterini Pavlidou. Savitha Shri B added another full point by overcoming Antonia Hristodoulaki.

Divya Deshmukh was the only Indian player not to win, drawing with Anastasia Avramidou to complete the 3.5-0.5 result.

The victories kept both Indian teams unbeaten after three rounds. India’s Open team had earlier beaten Thailand and Indonesia, while the women had defeated the Dominican Republic and Finland in its opening two matches.