Chess Olympiad: Savitha Shri's Magnificent Seventh Saves Team India

Coming back from an equal position, India's B Savitha Shri once again provided the crucial blow as she registered her seventh victory to help her team eke out a 2-2 draw against Kazakhstan in the Women's Chess Olympiad on Thursday. On a day when the men were held to a 2-2 draw by Azerbaijan, the apparently unstoppable Uzbek team was stunned by Germany by a slender 2.5-1.5 margin. This threw the event open once again as Germany joined Uzbekistan at the top on 14 points, followed by India and the Netherlands on 13 points apiece.

In the women's section, China remained atop the standings with 13 points, sharing the lead with Kazakhstan. Not far behind was India, half a point adrift with three rounds still to be played in the biggest biennial chess event.

While the Open section is likely to be fiercely contested, the Chinese women seem to have cracked the code this year. The point of contention could be the next round when they take on Kazakhstan, but by and large, it appears that defending champions India will find it difficult to retain the title.

For the Indian men, it was a similar story, especially after Thursday's all-drawn affair. Even though he tried hard, world champion D Gukesh could not break down the solid defence of his Azerbaijani opponent Muhammad Muradli and had to settle for a draw.

On the top board, R Praggnanandhaa shared the point with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while the remaining two games also ended in draws.

The women's team had a scare as R Vaishali lost to Alua Nurman, but a late onslaught from Savitha Shri helped the team draw level from what looked like a hopeless situation.

Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy had drawn their games earlier, leaving the team level before Vaishali suffered defeat.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

CWG 2026 Weightlifting Gold Medallist, Mirabai Chanu Get Hero's Welcome in Delhi