Chess Olympiad: On day one, sevens wins and a draw for India

India's strong start in Chess Olympiad with wins in open and women's sections, despite a draw costing half a point.

India’s campaign in the Chess Olympiad got off to a fine start in Budapest on Wednesday (September 11. 2024)/.

In the open section, India crushed Morocco 4-0, while in the women’s event, it could not quite make a perfect score against Jamaica. The women won 3.5-0.5.

It was Vantika Agrawal’s draw that cost India the half point. She was held to a draw by Raehanna Brown on the third board. It was no doubt a fine result for Brown, who has a rating of 1910 Elo points -- a whopping 460 below Vantika’s 2370.

But it was normal service on other boards, with R. Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Tania Sachdev all posting wins, against Adani Clarke, Rachel Miller and Gabriella Watson, respectively. The Indian women are the top seeds, though their best player and World No. 6 Koneru Humpy did not make it to Budapest.

The Indian men are seeded second. They breezed past Morocco, seeded 93rd.

On the top board, R. Praggnanandhaa defeated Mohamed Tissir, while on the second, Arjun Erigaisi, India’s highest rated player, beat Jacques Elbilia. On the third and fourth boards, Vidit Gujrathi and Pendyala Harikrishna scored wins over Mehdi Ouakhir and Anas Moayad.

The top seed in the open section, the United States had it easy against Panama, winning the match 3.5-0.5. The surprise came on the top board, where Wesley So was held to a draw by Roberto Alvarez.