India is the sole leader of Chess Olympiad 2024

India has long been dubbed to be one of the favorites for the gold of the Chess Olympiad 2024. Captained by Srinath Narayanan and Abhijit Kunte, Indian teams boast a strong bid both in the open and women sections. The two teams have the highest combined ELO of the Chess Olympiad 2024. Now both the open and women teams are sole leaders of their respective sections.

Srinath Narayanan shared in a recent interview, “With each edition the Indian team definitely seems to be having a step up. […] I think being the seeding number of the team hardly matters. It comes down to individual matchups, and Olympiad is like an open event. I think having a young team is a bit of an advantage here, as the experience of playing opens is still fresh in their memories.”

In the next round the open team of India will meet China, with a possible Gukesh – Ding game. They just played in Saint Louis (replay here) and depending on board order and sit-outs we might see yet another clash. The chess community considers Gukesh a favorite for the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore. Even Ding Liren considers Gukesh favorite for the World Championship. One of the few to be on the opposite pole is Peter Heine Nielsen, coach of many times World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who says Ding Liren is favorite for the match with Gukesh.

The women team of India will meet the historically strong team of Georgia. Here the surprising star is IM Deshmukh Divya, who currently has 5,5/6 and is on her way to cross 2500 ELO.

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

FIDE – Chess Olympiad 2024 has India as sole leaders

India is going to the only rest day of the 45th Chess Olympiad as the sole leader, having won all matches in both the open and women’s sections. Both teams have been winning confidently, without experiencing tough matches so far—a strong statement on their path to the gold medals.

Argentinian chess prodigy Faustino Oro, with a current rating of 2434 at just ten years old, made the first move in Round 6 for world champion Ding Liren, setting the games in motion.

India continued their pursuit of gold medals, defeating Hungary 3-1. Arjun Erigaisi remains the only player with a perfect score in the open section. In Round 6, he won against Sanan Sjugirov, a recent addition to the Hungarian team. Erigaisi is gaining 13 rating points in the Olympiad, elevating him to a career-high of 2791. The second win in the match was delivered by Vidit Gujrathi, while the games on first two boards ended in draws.

Incredible Vietnam halted China, tying the match 2-2. Wang Yue beat Tuan Minh Tran on the last board, but the leader of the Vietnamese team, Le Quang Liem, retaliated by defeating world champion Ding Liren.

“This is the first time that after the first half of the tournament, we are among the leaders,” commented Liem on the official broadcast. “I am very happy with the result and proud of my teammates. We are playing fantastically this time. Coming into this tournament, we had no expectations. We were initially ranked #21. We have never been this close to the medals before. We will enjoy the games and see what happens.”

Iran prevailed over Norway in a close match, thanks to a win on the fourth board, where Pouya Idani gained the upper hand over Frode Urkedal. Magnus Carlsen had a significant advantage in the middlegame against Parham Maghsoodloo but could only achieve a draw.

Uzbekistan had a tough match against Israel, as Sindarov blundered and lost to Nabaty. However, thanks to the wins of Abdusattorov and Yakubboev, the defending champions clinched the match victory. The USA continues to struggle, with four draws against Romania despite being the favorites on every board—a result that is hardly satisfying for the team of Fabiano Caruana.

After 6 rounds, India is the sole leader with 12 points, closely pursued by Vietnam, China, and Iran with 11 match points.

In the women’s section, India continues to delight their fans too. A convincing victory over Armenia was secured by Divya Deshmukh, who defeated Elina Danielian. Draws on the other boards cemented the result.

China, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive loss. Poland pulled off this important victory by 2½-1½, thanks to Oliwia Kiolbasa, the heroine of the previous Olympiad, who beat Guo Qi. The other three games ended in draws. Georgia narrowly won against Mongolia, thanks to Melia Salome’s victory on the fourth board.

After six rounds, India leads with 12 match points, followed by Georgia and Poland with 11.

The tournament halts for a one-day break and the competition will resume on September 18 with Round 7.

Written by WGM Anna Burtasova

Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova