Chess Olympiad: India Men Beat Holland as Women Lose to Poland

India’s men continued their perfect start at the 46th Chess Olympiad with a 3-1 victory over Holland in the fifth round, powered by wins for R Praggnanandhaa and world champion D Gukesh. The Indian women, however, suffered a 2.5-1.5 defeat to Poland after R Vaishali lost the only decisive game of their tie.

The men’s result delivered a fifth consecutive match victory and kept India in contention for a second straight Olympiad gold medal after their triumph in Budapest in 2024. India, Germany and Uzbekistan share the lead on 10 match points after five rounds, with six rounds still to be played.

Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh deliver decisive wins

Praggnanandhaa, playing on the top board, defeated Anish Giri in 58 moves. The Indian had begun the event with three draws against lower-ranked opponents, but produced when India needed a breakthrough against the in-form Dutch player.

With the white pieces, Praggnanandhaa chose a closed Ruy Lopez. Giri briefly held an advantage after sacrificing his rook for a minor piece, but the Dutchman soon let that opportunity go and entered an inferior endgame. Praggnanandhaa then converted the position to give India an important full point.

Gukesh added the other victory for India, defeating Erwin L’Ami with black in 53 moves. The game arose from a Sicilian Rossolimo, and L’Ami made what was described as an optical blunder from a tenable position. The encounter remained highly complex before Gukesh reached a winning endgame to claim his fourth win in five games.

The other two boards were drawn. Arjun Erigaisi drew with Jorden Van Foreest on board two, while Nihal Sarin shared the point with Loek Van Wely on board three. Those results completed India’s 3-1 success over Holland.

The outcome underlined the value of India’s strength across the four boards. Praggnanandhaa’s top-board win and Gukesh’s fourth-board victory supplied the decisive points, while Erigaisi and Sarin ensured Holland could not force a recovery through the remaining games.

India women edged by Poland

The Indian women entered the round as the top-ranked team but were beaten by a minimal margin against Poland. Koneru Humpy drew with Oliwia Kiolbasa on the first board, Divya Deshmukh drew with Klaudia Kulon on the third, and Vantika Agrawal drew with Monika Socko on the fourth.

The decisive result came on board two, where Vaishali lost to Aleksandra Maltsevskaya. With the other three games ending level, Poland took the match 2.5-1.5 and moved to 10 match points, while India remained on eight.

The defeat represents an early setback for the Indian women, but six rounds remain in the competition. Their next results will determine how quickly they can respond after a tie that was settled by a single loss.

Three teams share the men’s lead

India’s win placed them alongside Germany and Uzbekistan at the top of the men’s standings on 10 match points. Germany upset top-seeded USA, with Frederik Svane scoring the lone win over Hans Moke Niemann. Vincent Keymer drew with Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum drew with Wesley So, and Alexander Donchenko drew with Levon Aronian.

Uzbekistan produced the most emphatic score of the round, beating eighth-seeded Hungary 4-0. For India, the immediate significance is clear: the men remain unbeaten and level with the other leading teams, while the women have time to rebuild after their first narrow loss.