Indian men beat El Salvador, women blank New Zealand

Tania Sachdev was a late winner on the second board in the ladies section, where India won 4-0.

Sasikiran settled for a draw with Carlos Burgos Figueroa after 52 moves.

As expected, fifth seed India made a winning start to its campaign in the Chess Olympiad , by beating El Salvador 3.5-0.5 with Viswanathan Anand being rested and K. Sasikiran dropping half-a-point here on Monday.

On a day when all the leading teams were triumphant, P. Hari Krishna and B. Adhiban won from the white side while Vidit Gujarati looked dominating with black pieces to set up the winning margin. Sasikiran, rated 2672, battled against Carlos Burgos Figueroa, with a modest rating of 2222, for 52 moves before settling for a draw.

Among the ladies, where India blanked New Zealand 4-0, Tania Sachdev was a late winner on the second board after the troika of K. Humpy, Eesha Karavade and Padmini Rout won with ease. D. Harika was rested.