Chess Olympiad R8: India miss chance to close in as Gukesh draws

D Gukesh and Savitha Shri (Photos/FIDE)

NEW DELHI: India had a smooth sail in the open section of the 2026 Chess Olympiad until their Round 6 game against hosts Uzbekistan in Samarkand. We all know what happened there.With the other three boards drawn, Nihal Sarin had an advantage against Nodirbek Yakubboev, only to blunder his queen, the match slipped from India's grip, handing Uzbekistan the lead in the title race.

While Sarin's blunder dominated the post-match discussion in chess circles, some also asked whether world champion Dommaraju Gukesh could have pushed his own game a little further instead of settling for a draw.Vidit Gujrathi, briefly joining ChessBase India's commentary panel on his rest day, brushed the suggestion aside. "Gukesh plays his own game," he said. "If he feels there is a chance, he pushes till the very end."

India needed exactly that in the Round 8 match-up against Azerbaijan's Mahammad Muradli.

With the other three boards ending in draws, Gukesh needed a win to settle the match and keep India's title defence alive, a defence that had looked bleak even a day earlier.As Germany beat Uzbekistan at the other end of the hall on Thursday, a win for Gukesh would have put India within touching distance of the new leaders. He pushed for one, right until the position simplified into a draw he couldn't avoid.

Playing white in a Najdorf Sicilian, Gukesh went for the ambitious 7.Qf3, and Muradli responded accurately with 7...h6 and some active queen manoeuvres. Both sides simplified quickly in the early middlegame, with 16.Bxc4 Qxc4 17.Qd3 Qxd3 leading into a queenless position. Gukesh carved out some queenside space with 27.b4 and 28.b5, while Muradli locked down the centre and activated his king in response.

The game turned into a fierce time-pressure battle from there.By move 35, both players had under two minutes each, but Gukesh kept the position balanced. Even after the time control, the resulting rook-and-bishop ending proved impossible to crack — Muradli's active rook checks, starting with 48...Rb2+, forced Gukesh's king into a repeating sequence, and neither side could make further progress.The players shook hands on a draw after 56...Rb2+, a resilient defensive display from Muradli against sustained pressure from the world champion.As things stand, Uzbekistan and Germany lead the standings with 14 points apiece. A chasing pack on 13 includes China, Azerbaijan, the United States, India, Armenia and France, with all hoping for further slip-ups at the top that they can pounce on.

Savitha Shri saves Indian women's day again

Savitha Shri's dominant run on Board 4 continued into Thursday, stretching her winning streak to seven as India's women held Kazakhstan to a 2-2 draw. It was Savitha, once again, who came to her side's rescue after the team fell behind when Alua Nurman beat Vaishali Rameshbabu on Board 2.With Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy having already drawn their games against Meruert Kamalidenova and Bibisara Assaubayeva, respectively, India needed a win on Board 4 to stay in the title hunt, and Savitha delivered.It was a hard-fought battle against Elnaz Kaliakhmet, played out through an Italian Game (Giuoco Piano) that turned into a long strategic grind. After the quiet opening moves, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6, both sides manoeuvred patiently before the middlegame tension picked up.Savitha's unusual 11.Ra4 and the rook manoeuvres that followed showed a willingness to play the long game, and the position tipped in her favour after 25.Nf5 gave White a more comfortable structure. Queens came off soon after, leading into a demanding rook-and-pawn endgame.

With both players deep into time trouble, Savitha's technique held up under pressure. Moves like 52.Rd5+ and 54.dxe4 kept her ahead practically, while 59.Rxd3 simplified the position into a winning king-and-rook ending.

Kaliakhmet resigned after 62.Ra2.India remain in the chasing pack in the women's section too, with China leading on 15 points, Kazakhstan and Mongolia on 14, and India on 13. With three rounds still to go, the race for both titles is far from settled. If anything, it feels like it's only just beginning.