Chess Olympiad 2024, Round 9 Highlights: Solid Gukesh, Arjun help men draw 2-2 vs defending champion Uzbekistan; Vantika’s win rescue women vs USA

India holds its sole lead position after nine rounds in the open section. Women’s team stays afloat after drawing with USA.

And Shamsiddin agrees to a draw against Arjun. It’s a 2-2 draw between India and Uzbekistan. 

It’s rook bishop vs rook knight endgame in Arjun vs Vokhidov. 

Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa also drew his game against Sindarov. This round is also heading for a 2-2 draw as Arjun vs Vokhidov game is equal at the moment.

What a turnaround from Vantika! She managed to beat Krush, helping the women’s team draw 2-2 with USA.

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Vantika wasn’t able to find the winning move knight to f4 and the position has equalled from a plus-six advantage for the Indian. 

Vantika has a plus-three advantage according to the engines with the black pieces against Irina Krush. Can she salvage a draw for the women’s team by beating Krush?

Vaishali loses her second game in a row and things are looking grim for the women’s team. Only a win from Vantika can draw the match now. India 1-2 USA

Quick results coming in as Divya also shakes hands with Carissa Yip. It’s 1-1 now and India will need Vaishali to somehow swindle things here if it wants to take a point out of this round. 

Three-fold repetition draw in the top board of Gukesh and Abdusattorov. Both players fought hard but the position was objectively equal after 27 moves. 

Not a good sign for India in the women’s section as Tania was held for a draw on board no. four by Alice Lee. The US is gunning for a win here with Vaishali losing and Vantika and Divya having an equal position. 

Vaishali, who was a pawn down, sacks another pawn to create more imbalance in an inferior position. 

Arjun thought for 29 minutes to play his 18th move -- g pawn push. 

Board No. 1 Vaishali is in serious trouble against Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova. While Vaishali’s rook pair and dark-squared bishop are tied up, Tokhirjonova has a free-flowing position now. This is not looking promising for the women’s team. 

India is low on time on all three boards in the open section. The reigning champion Uzbekistan is looking for a big kill in this round. 

Tania is playing a sharp position against USA’s Alice Lee with white. She has gone for long castle for Lee’s short castle. 

Praggnanandhaa is under tremendous time pressure against Sindarov. For his 32 minutes, his Uzbeki counterpart has over 1 hour and 20 minutes on the clock. 

Arjun, playing with white pieces, has a slight advantage after the first 15 moves. He has exchanged two pawns, a knight and a dark-squared bishop. 

All four boards in the women’s section are roundabout equal as players are still in their opening preparations. 

Wow, the match between Vidit Gujrathi and Jakhongir Vakhidov ended in a draw already! Both players repeated moves as Uzbeki had 1 hour 35 minutes on the clock, five minutes more than where he started the match. 

It is the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense opening in the game between Gukesh and Abdusattorov. 

The Indian women’s team has decided to go without their top board Harika Dronavalli for this round against the USA. R. Vaishali moves to board no. 1 while Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev take the second, third and fourth boards respectively. 

Picture Credit: Chess.com

Picture Credit: Chess.com

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Chess Olympiad 2024, Round 9: Indians in action, board pairings, rankings, live streaming info

Chess Olympiad 2024, Round 9: Indian men’s and women’s teams will take on Uzbekistan and USA, respectively in Budapest on Friday.

OPEN SECTION - India 3.5-0.5 Iran

WOMEN’S SECTION - India 1.5-2.5 Poland

The ninth round will start at 15:00 local (Hungary) time, 18:30 IST. 

Board 1: Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova 

Board 2: Divya Deshmukh vs Carissa Yip 

Board 3: Vantika Agrawal vs Irina Krush 

Board 4: Tania Sachdev vs Alice Lee

Board 1: D. Gukesh vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Board 2: R. Praggnanandhaa vs Javokhir Sindarov

Board 3: Arjun Erigaisi vs Shamsiddin Vokhidov

Board 4: Vidit Gujrathi vs Jakhongir Vakhidov

Where to watch the live stream of the Chess Olympiad 2024?

The live streaming of the Chess Olympiad 2024 will be available on the FIDE YouTube channel.

Which TV channel will broadcast the Chess Olympiad 2024 chess?

There has been no official announcement for the broadcasting of the Chess Olympiad 2024 in India.

Hello and Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of round 9 of the Chess Olympiad 2024 played at the SYMA Sports and Conference Centre in Budapest, Hungary on Friday. 

Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates.