44th Chess Olympiad: What will it take for India to recover from Sunday's losses?

With his back to the wall, R Praggnandhaa won a difficult match against Azerbaijan on Sunday. Monday’s tenth and penultimate round could potentially become the decider, as the youngsters of India 2 take on leaders Uzbekistan. (Screengrab from video shared by @TheRathore3 on Twitter)

Sunday turned out to be a day of massive reversals for the Indian squads at the 44th World Chess Olympiad, as a 22-year-old Polish woman stole the limelight from local star Dommaraju Gukesh, whose giant-killing winning streak came to an end in the ninth round.

While Gukesh, after eight consecutive wins, was held to a tame draw by Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Poland’s Oliwia Kiolbasa beat India’s R. Vaishali in the women’s section to take her score to a perfect 9/9 points.

Kiolbasa's hard-earned victory on Sunday also resulted in India 1 conceding their first match defeat of the tournament, and Poland leapfrogging to the pole position in the women’s section.

With two rounds to go, the contest is wide open in both the open and women’s section. In the open section, Uzbekistan grabbed the lead from overnight leaders Armenia by thrashing them 3:1, while India 2 struggled to squeeze a tie out of an almost lost match against Azerbaijan. India 2 and Armenia are now tied for the second position with 15 match points each, one point behind Uzbekistan. In the women’s section, Poland and India 1 are part of a four-way lead with 15 match points apiece.

After his brilliant victory against World No.5 Fabiano Caruana on Saturday, Gukesh’s performance in Sunday’s ninth round was rather underwhelming: he allowed his opponent Mamedyarov to easily neutralize things very early in the game. Gukesh pushed on but couldn’t ever create any real winning chances for himself.

The game between Nihal Sarin and Rauf Mamedov in the India 2-Azerbaijan match also ended in a draw, and after Raunak Sadhwani lost on the fourth board, only R. Praggnanandhaa was left fighting to salvage the situation. His opponent Vasif Durarbayli had a commanding position, and could have easily settled for a draw to win the match for Azerbaijan, but pressed hard for a win.

It wasn’t a wrong decision in view of the position on the board at that time, but eventually cost Durarbayli dearly as Praggnanandhaa, with his back against the wall, pulled off an astounding defence. After Praggnanandhaa had outmaneuvered his opponent to wriggle out of his difficulties, Durarbayli blundered to squander the game. The tie gave India 2 the much-needed match point, without which their chances of winning the Olympiad could almost be written off.

In the women’s section, India’s top performer Vaishali, who remained unbeaten till the eighth round, was up against another giant-killer: Poland’s Kiolbasa, who turned up for Sunday’s match with a winning streak equal to Gukesh’s.

Kiolbasa had a significant advantage going into the endgame, but it wasn’t immediately clear if she could convert it into a win. Vaishali has in this tournament defended well in uncomfortable situations and given her higher rating it was expected that she would pull off a draw. But Vaishali missed her chances as Kiolbasa, driven by the momentum of eight consecutive wins, slowly ground her way to victory. The other three games had ended in draws, giving Poland two match points from round nine.

Monday’s tenth and penultimate round could potentially become the decider in both the sections. The youngsters of India 2 are to take on leaders Uzbekistan, an equally prodigious and young side. Sixteen-year-old Gukesh with 8.5/9 individual points is to take on Nodirbek Abdusattarov, who is only a year older and has so far scored 7/9 points. He has drawn two and lost only one game, against India 1’s Pentala Harikrishna. Eighteen-year old Nihal Sarin is paired against 20-year old Nodirbek Yakubboev, both going into the match unbeaten and with an individual score of 7/9 points apiece.

On third board, Praggnanandhaa, 16, will take on Javokhir Sindarov of the same age, while on board four India 2 are fielding B. Abidhan against Jakhongir Vakhidov, aged, respectively, 29 and 27. Abidhan comes in after a two-round break, replacing Sadhwani. On all four boards, the Indian players are ahead of their Uzbek opponents by international rating, but in this contest among youngsters, everyone is punching way above his weight.

The Indian women are to take on joint leaders Kazakhstan, while Poland are paired against Georgia—these four countries share the lead with two rounds to go. The Indian women have already defeated Georgia convincingly in the sixth round, and if they could pull off a win against Kazakhstan on Monday, they will not only retain the pole position, but will enter the last round as favourites to win the title.

In the open section, India 1 aren’t far behind. They have 14 match points and share the third spot in the league table with six other countries including the US. India 1 are paired against Iran, which has turned out to be a very competitive side in this tournament. India 1 trounced Brazil 3:1 on Sunday, and if they can repeat their performance in the tenth round, they, too, will have a fighting chance for a podium finish.