India to face Uzbekistan Team 2, Women take on China in Penultimate Round

India’s two teams face important challenges in the penultimate round of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand in about half an hour. The Open team will meet Uzbekistan 2, while the Women's team will face the tournament leader, China.

In the Open section, India enters Round 10 on 15 match points, tied with Uzbekistan 2 and Armenia and one point behind leaders Uzbekistan. India reached second place after defeating Germany 2.5–1.5 in Round 9, with Gukesh Dommaraju scoring the decisive win against Alexander Donchenko. Uzbekistan 2, meanwhile, won 3.5–0.5 against the Netherlands.

India has retained the same lineup from Round 9, with Praggnanandhaa facing Jakhongir Vakhidov on the top board. Arjun Erigaisi will take on Abdimalik Abdisalimov on Board 2, while Nihal Sarin faces M. Suyarov on Board 3. Gukesh will play Nigmatov on Board 4.

Board Pairings:

The Indian team is coming off a 2.5–1.5 victory over Germany, while Uzbekistan 2 enters the clash after crushing the Netherlands 3.5–0.5

Women's Team to face China

The Indian women face an even bigger points-table clash against China. China lead the section with 17 match points, while India are second on 15, alongside Kazakhstan and Mongolia. India come into the match after a convincing 3–1 victory over Uzbekistan in Round 9, while China defeated Armenia by the same score.

Koneru Humpy is set to face Zhu Jiner on the top board, while Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri complete India’s lineup. Savitha has been particularly impressive in the tournament, having scored 7.5 points from eight games so far.

Board Pairings-Women.

Round 10 starts at 3:30 PM IST. To follow along, join our upcoming livestream.