Chess Olympiad 2026: India Men and Women Win 3-1

India’s men defeated Spain 3-1 and the women registered an identical 3-1 victory over Mongolia at the Chess Olympiad 2026 on Saturday, keeping both defending champion teams unbeaten in the tournament.

World champion D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi delivered the decisive wins for the Indian men against Spain. In the women’s match, Divya Deshmukh and B Savitha Shri won their boards against Mongolia, while the remaining two games ended in draws.

The results continued a strong start for both Indian sides in the biennial team event. India’s men and women were each listed on eight points after their latest wins, and both teams secured their match victories by the same 3-1 margin.

Gukesh and Arjun secure India’s win over Spain

Arjun gave India an early advantage on the second board with White against Maksim Chigaev. The game reached a Queen’s Indian Defence by transposition, and the middlegame was described as dynamically balanced before Arjun built an attack on the kingside.

That pressure created weaknesses around Black’s king. Arjun then brought his queen onto the seventh rank and finished the game, giving India the first full point of the match.

On the other boards, R Praggnanandhaa drew with David Anton Guijarro, while Nihal Sarin also shared the point with Jaime Santos Latasa. Those two draws left Gukesh’s encounter with Alexei Shirov as the other decisive game.

Gukesh faced a Sicilian Taimanov from Shirov and seized the initiative early in the middlegame through control of the dark squares. Shirov later sacrificed a rook for a minor piece, but the compensation did not prove sufficient.

Gukesh opened the centre and converted the advantage in 42 moves. His win over the former world championship challenger completed India’s 3-1 result over Spain and marked his second victory in succession.

The men’s board-by-board score was: Praggnanandhaa drew with Guijarro; Arjun beat Chigaev; Nihal drew with Santos Latasa; and Gukesh beat Shirov.

Divya and Savitha Shri lead women past Mongolia

India’s women matched the men’s result against Mongolia. Savitha Shri continued her winning run by defeating Munguntuul Batkhuyag, recording her fourth victory in a row. Divya Deshmukh, identified as a World Cup winner, defeated Bayasgalan Khishigbaatar to give India an unassailable lead in the match.

Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali then drew their respective games, ensuring that India completed another 3-1 victory. Humpy drew with Mungunzul Bat-Erdene, while Vaishali drew with Munkhzu Turmunkh.

The women’s result is significant as India pursue a second gold medal in the biennial competition. With the win over Mongolia, the defending champions remained unbeaten alongside the Indian men.

Elsewhere in the men’s section, Uzbekistan beat Turkiye 2.5-1.5, the United States of America defeated Ukraine 3.5-0.5, China beat Serbia 3-1, and Germany overcame Poland 2.5-1.5. In the women’s results listed, Uzbekistan defeated Argentina 3-1, Kazakhstan beat Armenia 3-1, China defeated Hungary 3.5-0.5, and the United States of America beat Spain 3.5-0.5.

For India, the immediate takeaway was straightforward: both teams maintained unbeaten records, with the men’s side relying on the wins of Arjun and Gukesh and the women’s side powered by Divya and Savitha Shri.