The Indian women's and men's chess teams achieved victories on the first day of competition at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The Indian women's chess team commenced their campaign with a commanding 4-0 victory over the Dominican Republic. Top-ranked Indian Koneru Humpy made a winning start with a victory over Franchesca Ramirez Luzon, while R Vaishali had a smooth outing against Miguelina De La Rosa Martinez. Vantika Agrawal had to work harder for her victory over Mary Loly Gonzalez Peguero. B Savitha Shri, celebrating her Olympic debut, also notched up a win over Karla Mya Nunez Diaz.
In another match, the Indian men's team also began its campaign with a victory, securing a 3-1 win against Thailand. World champion D Gukesh was the first to win for India, defeating Thanadon Kulpruethanon. Nihal Sarin followed suit, producing a brilliant attacking display to beat Faris Rashid Alriyami. Vidit Gujrathi then completed a comfortable victory over Tupfah Khumnorkaew. However, Arjun Erigaisi went down to Prin Laohawirapap after being in a position of strength for much of the game.
The 46th World Chess Olympiad, one of the biggest events in the chess calendar, has attracted teams from across the world. Each team can have five players in its squad, with four featuring in each round.
Source:
Akashvani News
