Tania Sachdev Triumphs in India's Women's Team's Olympic Chess Championship Victory

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 2 August 2022

In the fourth-round match of the women's section at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, Tania Sachdev fought valiantly for a priceless point, helping India A defeat Hungary 2.5-1.5. Sachdev performed outstandingly after Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, and R Vaishali's respective matches ended in draws. She thrashed Zsoka Gaal to earn a decisive point as well as the match for the team.

“It was a tough position and I was aware that our two boards had ended in a draw. We had a strong opponent and now it is the time we have to play stronger teams. So, I think we need to be ready for the competition. We are looking forward to the next game," Sachdev said after the match.

“The teams are well balanced and it is very important to take one round at a time. All the games today were well fought," said Abhijit Kunte, coach of India women’s A team. With a similar 2.5-1.5 score, the 11th-seeded Indian women's B team defeated Estonia. Vantika Agrawal, extending her winning run, clinched the winning point for the team while the other three games ended in draws.

Meanwhile, Nodirbek Abdusattaarov of Uzbekistan defeated former World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana of the USA on Day 4. The top-seeded, star-studded United States was held to a 2-2 draw by Uzbekistan thanks to the efforts of 17-year-old prodigy Abdusattaarov.

India B defeated Italy 3-1 in the other fourth-round match in the open section. R Praggnanandha and Raunak Sadhwani gave up draws, while Gukesh and Nihal Sarin triumphed.

Daniele Vocaturo, who had held Magnus Carlsen to a draw on Sunday, was defeated by Gukesh thanks to an outstanding performance. Gukesh pocketed the point in a Queen's Gambit Declined game after 34 moves when his queen, rook, and bishop surrounded his opponent's king after going on a pawn-grabbing rampage. The second-seeded India A, on the other hand, was able to hold France to a 2-2 draw with all four board splitting points, whilst India C was defeated by Spain by a score of 1.5-2.5.