45th Chess Olympiad R7: World champion ducks Gukesh, his masterpiece crumbles the infallible China
Those who were eagerly waiting to see D Gukesh face off Ding Liren will have to wait a little longer. The world champion was given a rest in the crucial battle against India. Gukesh is always determined to deliver his best. That was evident in the seventh round battle against Wei Yi. He played fantastic chess to beat his nemesis, a rivalry which has been building since the beginning of the year. The remaining three games ending in draws meant Gukesh's win gave India their first win over China in decades. Iran is the only team trailing them at 13/14. GM R Vaishali and IM Vantika Agrawal scored the crucial victories over IM Lela Javakhishvili and GM Bella Khotenashvili respectively, to increase India Women's lead by two points. Poland, Kazakhstan and France are at 12/14 each. Iran will take on Indian men and Poland against Indian women in Round 8. It begins today at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza
Vaishali and Vantika victories overcome Georgia, Indian Women increase their sole lead by two points
"Everybody suspected it could happen at least. For me it was not clear whether he should duck this one or come and play. Only he knows how he feels. I think losing with white (pieces) against Liem (Le Quang) also, he might be slightly annoyed. Maybe he just took the day off. Again, you know, Wei Yi is no slouch by any measure." - Vishy Anand on Ding Liren's absence in the crucial Round 7 encounter against India. Iran is going to be a formidable foe for India as they defeated Norway and Vietnam in consecutive rounds. So their confidence is at a very high. All five players are undefeated just like India.
India winning 3-1 against Georgia was an emphatic victory. It was an encore of last edition's sixth round result and score was the same too. Only the wins occured on different boards this time. Poland, Kazakhstan and France are trailing by two points at 12/14 each. Poland is also yet to lose a single match as they drew two.
Open: India - China: 2.5-1.5
The first result of the match came in the form of a quick 17-move draw between GM R Praggnanandhaa (2750) and GM Yangyi Yu (2703). Then GM Arjun Erigaisi (2778) was held to a draw by GM Xiangzhi Bu (2693). Arjun wanted to launch a brutal attack on the kingside by sacrificing an exchange. However, his opponent found a way to force a draw via perpetual check.
GM Pentala Harikrishna (2686) played a solid draw against GM Wang Yue (2637).
GM D Gukesh (2764) has had quite a bit of rivalry against GM Wei Yi (2762) in 2024. At the beginning of the year, Gukesh defeated Wei in the second round of 86th Tata Steel Masters, only to lose in the playoffs and Wei won the tournament. Nearly 4.5 months later, Gukesh lost to Wei in Rapid, then beat him in Blitz and against lost in their second Blitz game at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2024 of Grand Chess Tour. It goes without saying that Gukesh had a score to settle against Wei. Also, the world champion, Ding Liren not playing against Gukesh meant that he also needed to send a message before their World Championship. After all, it is a cerebral sport.
Gukesh - Wei
One would imagine that a draw after 34.Rxg8+ Kxg8 35.Nxc3 is the natural result. Not when Gukesh is playing with the game with white pieces.
63...f4 is not a wrong move by any means. Black wanted to try and create some chances. Something he would probably regret after his game. 64.Nfg1 Rh1 65.gxf4 Rxh4 and now it is a race between f and h-pawns.
71...h3?? was the final mistake by Black. It did not happen suddenly. Gukesh grinding the endgame for hours caused it, something the World no.1, Magnus Carlsen is known for. 72.f7 Rf1 73.Ng5 h2 74.Ngf3 Ke7 Black promoting the pawn would have prolonged the battle 75.Nxh2 Ra1 76.Nhg4 Ra3+ 77.Kd2 Rxa4 78.Nh6 Ra2+ 79.Ke3 Ra3+ 80.Ke4 and White won. It would not be an understatement to say that this is Gukesh's best win of the year so far. The timing of it is certainly perfect.
D Gukesh is trending on twitter for more than over 12 hours
Replay India - China games
Upsets:
Serbia - Netherlands: 3-1
Armenia - England: 2.5-1.5
France - Georgia: 2-2
Romania - Poland: 3-1
Women: India - Georgia: 3-1
GM Harika Dronavalli (2502) and IM Divya Deshmukh (2483) drew their respective games against GM Nana Dzagnidze (2508) and GM Nino Batsiashvili (2461). GM R Vaishali (2498) and IM Vantika Agrawal (2370) scored the wins over IM Lela Javakhishvili (2446) and GM Bella Khotenashvili (2432) respectively.
Bella - Vantika
23.Rh7 allowed Black to trade queens and reduce the attack Qxb5 24.Nxb5 Ke7 25.Ke2 Nac4 26.g3? Rgd8 White needed to get rid of one of the knights 26.Bg3 Vantika used her knights beautifully to outplay her opponent Bella.
Lela - Vaishali
Lela's misplacement of rook allowed Vaishali to offer an exchange sacrifice 38...Rd3! White of course cannot take it as it would result in an unstoppable passed pawn on d3. 39.Rb6 Rd6 things could have ended earlier if Black took the c3-pawn immediately. Eventually, she did and the c-pawn played a key role in earning the victory.
Replay India - Georgia games
Upsets
Mongolia - Germany: 2-2
Greece - Uzbekistan: 1.5-2.5
Serbia - Iran: 2-2
Romania - Lithuania: 1.5-2.5
Argentina - Philippines: 1.5-2.5
Turkmenistan - Cuba: 1.5-2.5
Malaysia - Hungary B: 2.5-1.5
Norway - Sri Lanka: 2-2
Replay live stream
Video Gallery
Schedule
Everyday round starts at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST from 11th to 22nd September 2024. The final round on 22nd September starts 11 a.m. IST. Rest day is on 17th September.
Replay Round 7 Open games
Replay Round 7 Women games
Round 7 Open results
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | IND | India | 21 | 12 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 11 | 17½ | China | CHN | 3 | ||
| 2 | 29 | LTU | Lithuania | 17 | 10 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 10 | 16 | Hungary *) | HUN | 9 | ||
| 3 | 10 | IRI | Iran | 17½ | 11 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 11 | 18 | Vietnam | VIE | 21 | ||
| 4 | 4 | UZB | Uzbekistan | 17½ | 10 | 3 | : | 1 | 10 | 16½ | Ukraine | UKR | 15 | ||
| 5 | 16 | SRB | Serbia | 16 | 10 | 3 | : | 1 | 10 | 16½ | Netherlands | NED | 5 | ||
| 6 | 17 | ARM | Armenia | 16½ | 10 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 10 | 16 | England | ENG | 8 | ||
| 7 | 14 | FRA | France | 17½ | 10 | 2 | : | 2 | 10 | 18 | Georgia | GEO | 32 | ||
| 8 | 23 | GRE | Greece | 16½ | 9 | 1 | : | 3 | 9 | 17½ | United States of America | USA | 1 | ||
| 9 | 31 | AUT | Austria | 15 | 9 | 1 | : | 3 | 9 | 16½ | Norway | NOR | 6 | ||
| 10 | 18 | ROU | Romania | 15½ | 9 | 3 | : | 1 | 9 | 16 | Poland | POL | 11 | ||
| 11 | 40 | SWE | Sweden | 14½ | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 17 | Germany | GER | 7 | ||
| 12 | 12 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 15½ | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | 16½ | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 41 | ||
| 13 | 13 | ESP | Spain | 16½ | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 14½ | Latvia | LAT | 42 | ||
| 14 | 44 | COL | Colombia | 16½ | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 17½ | Czech Republic | CZE | 19 | ||
| 15 | 20 | ISR | Israel | 16 | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | 14 | Iceland | ISL | 46 | ||
| 16 | 22 | TUR | Turkiye | 14½ | 8 | 4 | : | 0 | 8 | 13½ | Chile | CHI | 47 | ||
| 17 | 48 | EGY | Egypt | 14½ | 8 | ½ | : | 3½ | 8 | 15 | Bulgaria | BUL | 24 | ||
| 18 | 26 | SLO | Slovenia | 17 | 8 | 3 | : | 1 | 8 | 13½ | Canada | CAN | 50 | ||
| 19 | 27 | CRO | Croatia | 15½ | 8 | 3½ | : | ½ | 8 | 16½ | Philippines | PHI | 51 | ||
| 20 | 52 | MEX | Mexico | 14½ | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 14½ | Italy | ITA | 28 |
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | IND | India | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 199 | 23,5 | 62 | |
| 2 | 10 | IRI | Iran | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 159 | 20 | 59 | |
| 3 | 4 | UZB | Uzbekistan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 164 | 20,5 | 59 | |
| 4 | 9 | HUN | Hungary | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 143 | 18,5 | 62 | |
| 5 | 17 | ARM | Armenia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 141,5 | 19 | 57 | |
| 6 | 16 | SRB | Serbia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 134 | 19 | 58 | |
| 7 | 1 | USA | United States of America | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 165 | 20,5 | 59 | |
| 8 | 3 | CHN | China | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 156 | 19 | 65 | |
| 9 | 21 | VIE | Vietnam | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 152 | 19,5 | 61 | |
| 10 | 32 | GEO | Georgia | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 149 | 20 | 59 |
Round 8 pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | IRI | Iran | 20 | 13 | : | 14 | 23½ | India | IND | 2 | ||||
| 2 | 9 | HUN | Hungary *) | 18½ | 12 | : | 12 | 19 | Armenia | ARM | 17 | ||||
| 3 | 16 | SRB | Serbia | 19 | 12 | : | 12 | 20½ | Uzbekistan | UZB | 4 | ||||
| 4 | 1 | USA | United States of America | 20½ | 11 | : | 11 | 19½ | France | FRA | 14 | ||||
| 5 | 3 | CHN | China | 19 | 11 | : | 11 | 18½ | Romania | ROU | 18 | ||||
| 6 | 21 | VIE | Vietnam | 19½ | 11 | : | 11 | 19½ | Norway | NOR | 6 | ||||
| 7 | 32 | GEO | Georgia | 20 | 11 | : | 10 | 17½ | Netherlands | NED | 5 | ||||
| 8 | 7 | GER | Germany | 20 | 10 | : | 10 | 19 | Croatia | CRO | 27 | ||||
| 9 | 8 | ENG | England | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Lithuania | LTU | 29 | ||||
| 10 | 28 | ITA | Italy | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Azerbaijan | AZE | 12 | ||||
| 11 | 13 | ESP | Spain | 19 | 10 | : | 10 | 17 | Denmark | DEN | 30 | ||||
| 12 | 33 | ARG | Argentina | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Ukraine | UKR | 15 | ||||
| 13 | 19 | CZE | Czech Republic | 20½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Moldova | MDA | 34 | ||||
| 14 | 35 | CUB | Cuba | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 19 | Israel | ISR | 20 | ||||
| 15 | 36 | MNE | Montenegro | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Turkiye | TUR | 22 | ||||
| 16 | 24 | BUL | Bulgaria | 18½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Brazil | BRA | 39 | ||||
| 17 | 61 | AND | Andorra | 16½ | 10 | : | 10 | 20 | Slovenia | SLO | 26 | ||||
| 18 | 11 | POL | Poland | 17 | 9 | : | 10 | 21 | North Macedonia | MKD | 62 | ||||
| 19 | 45 | SGP | Singapore | 17½ | 9 | : | 9 | 17½ | Greece | GRE | 23 | ||||
| 20 | 25 | HUN | Hungary B | 17½ | 9 | : | 9 | 16½ | Belgium | BEL | 49 |
Round 7 Women pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IND | India | 18½ | 12 | 3 | : | 1 | 11 | 17 | Georgia | GEO | 2 | ||
| 2 | 30 | AUT | Austria | 15 | 9 | 1 | : | 3 | 9 | 18½ | Hungary *) | HUN | 14 | ||
| 3 | 5 | UKR | Ukraine | 16 | 10 | 2 | : | 2 | 11 | 18½ | Poland | POL | 3 | ||
| 4 | 6 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 16½ | 10 | 1 | : | 3 | 10 | 17½ | Kazakhstan | KAZ | 10 | ||
| 5 | 11 | ARM | Armenia | 18 | 10 | 2 | : | 2 | 10 | 18½ | United States of America | USA | 7 | ||
| 6 | 18 | MGL | Mongolia | 16 | 10 | 2 | : | 2 | 10 | 18 | Germany | GER | 8 | ||
| 7 | 9 | ESP | Spain | 18½ | 10 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 10 | 17½ | France | FRA | 13 | ||
| 8 | 27 | CAN | Canada | 14½ | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 9 | 16½ | Bulgaria | BUL | 12 | ||
| 9 | 39 | PER | Peru | 17 | 9 | 1 | : | 3 | 9 | 15 | Netherlands | NED | 17 | ||
| 10 | 23 | GRE | Greece | 15½ | 9 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 9 | 15½ | Uzbekistan | UZB | 34 | ||
| 11 | 4 | CHN | China | 18½ | 8 | 4 | : | 0 | 9 | 16 | Australia | AUS | 46 | ||
| 12 | 36 | LAT | Latvia | 14½ | 8 | ½ | : | 3½ | 8 | 16 | England | ENG | 15 | ||
| 13 | 38 | EST | Estonia | 14½ | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 15 | Turkiye | TUR | 16 | ||
| 14 | 19 | SRB | Serbia | 15 | 8 | 2 | : | 2 | 8 | 18 | Iran | IRI | 37 | ||
| 15 | 20 | VIE | Vietnam | 17 | 8 | 3½ | : | ½ | 8 | 15 | Czech Republic | CZE | 41 | ||
| 16 | 42 | MNE | Montenegro | 16 | 8 | 1 | : | 3 | 8 | 16½ | Switzerland | SUI | 21 | ||
| 17 | 22 | ROU | Romania | 16 | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 15 | Lithuania | LTU | 45 | ||
| 18 | 24 | ITA | Italy | 13½ | 8 | 3½ | : | ½ | 8 | 14 | Luxembourg | LUX | 53 | ||
| 19 | 26 | ARG | Argentina | 15½ | 8 | 1½ | : | 2½ | 8 | 17 | Philippines | PHI | 47 | ||
| 20 | 28 | SLO | Slovenia | 15 | 8 | 2½ | : | 1½ | 8 | 13 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | BIH | 56 |
Standings after Round 7
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | IND | India | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 190,5 | 21,5 | 64 | |
| 2 | 3 | POL | Poland | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 159 | 20,5 | 56 | |
| 3 | 10 | KAZ | Kazakhstan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 152,5 | 20,5 | 58 | |
| 4 | 13 | FRA | France | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 142 | 20 | 58 | |
| 5 | 7 | USA | United States of America | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 168,5 | 20,5 | 62 | |
| 6 | 11 | ARM | Armenia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 158 | 20 | 62 | |
| 7 | 2 | GEO | Georgia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 152 | 18 | 61 | |
| 8 | 8 | GER | Germany | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 151,5 | 20 | 57 | |
| 9 | 14 | HUN | Hungary | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 146 | 21,5 | 52 | |
| 10 | 5 | UKR | Ukraine | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 143 | 18 | 60 |
Round 8 pairings
| No. | SNo | FED | Team | Pts. | MP | Res. | : | Res. | MP | Pts. | Team | FED | SNo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | POL | Poland | 20½ | 12 | : | 14 | 21½ | India | IND | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 14 | HUN | Hungary *) | 21½ | 11 | : | 11 | 18 | Ukraine | UKR | 5 | ||||
| 3 | 10 | KAZ | Kazakhstan | 20½ | 12 | : | 12 | 20 | France | FRA | 13 | ||||
| 4 | 2 | GEO | Georgia | 18 | 11 | : | 11 | 19 | Bulgaria | BUL | 12 | ||||
| 5 | 34 | UZB | Uzbekistan | 18 | 11 | : | 11 | 20½ | United States of America | USA | 7 | ||||
| 6 | 17 | NED | Netherlands | 18 | 11 | : | 11 | 20 | Germany | GER | 8 | ||||
| 7 | 11 | ARM | Armenia | 20 | 11 | : | 11 | 18 | Mongolia | MGL | 18 | ||||
| 8 | 28 | SLO | Slovenia | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 22½ | China | CHN | 4 | ||||
| 9 | 6 | AZE | Azerbaijan | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17 | Italy | ITA | 24 | ||||
| 10 | 9 | ESP | Spain | 20 | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Slovakia | SVK | 32 | ||||
| 11 | 15 | ENG | England | 19½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Lithuania | LTU | 45 | ||||
| 12 | 16 | TUR | Turkiye | 18 | 10 | : | 10 | 19½ | Philippines | PHI | 47 | ||||
| 13 | 70 | MAS | Malaysia | 18 | 10 | : | 10 | 20½ | Vietnam | VIE | 20 | ||||
| 14 | 21 | SUI | Switzerland | 19½ | 10 | : | 10 | 20 | Turkmenistan | TKM | 73 | ||||
| 15 | 39 | PER | Peru | 18 | 9 | : | 9 | 17 | Serbia | SRB | 19 | ||||
| 16 | 37 | IRI | Iran | 20 | 9 | : | 9 | 17 | Greece | GRE | 23 | ||||
| 17 | 44 | COL | Colombia | 17 | 9 | : | 9 | 18½ | Israel | ISR | 25 | ||||
| 18 | 46 | AUS | Australia | 16 | 9 | : | 9 | 16 | Canada | CAN | 27 | ||||
| 19 | 48 | BEL | Belgium | 17 | 9 | : | 9 | 16 | Austria | AUT | 30 | ||||
| 20 | 62 | BAN | Bangladesh | 17½ | 9 | : | 9 | 17½ | Sweden | SWE | 33 |
