Chess Olympiad Day 1 Highlights: India completes clean sweep on opening day; No losses for host
Follow live updates, commentary and news from day 1 of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram.
Updated : Jul 29, 2022 21:48 IST
Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram. Track the Indians in action and all other major results here | Photo Credit: FIDE
Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram. Track the Indians in action and all other major results here.
Here’s the complete breakdown of results wrt the Indian contingent from day 1. Open section:
| FIDE OLYMPIAD DAY 1 | OPEN CATEGORY | RESULTS |
| INDIA | TAJIKISTAN | SCORE/RESULT |
| Vidit Gujrathi | Makoto Rodwell | 1-0 |
| Arjun Erigaisi | Masango Spencer | 1-0 |
| Narayanan S.L. | Mushore Emarald Takudzwa | 1-0 |
| Sasikiran Krishnan | Zhemba Jemusse | 1-0 |
| INDIA | UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | SCORE/RESULT |
| D Gukesh | Al Hosani Omran | 1-0 |
| Nihal Sarin | Sultan Ibrahim | 1-0 |
| Adhiban B | Mohamed Saeed Laily | 1-0 |
| Raunak Sadhwani | Abdulrahman Mohammad Al Taher | 1-0 |
| INDIA C | SOUTH SUDAN | SCORE/RESULT |
| Sethuraman S.P. | Rehan Deng Cypriano | 1-0 |
| Abhijeet Gupta | Ajak Mach Duany | 1-0 |
| Karthikeyan Murali | Gong Thon Gong | 1-0 |
| Abhimanyu Puranik | Peter Majur Manyang | 1-0 |
The Women’s category saw a few difficult matches with the likes of Koneru Humpy and Tania Sachdev facing trouble in their games. All’s well that ends well as the women also cruised to wins to finish a triumphant day for the host.
| FIDE OLYMPIAD DAY 1 | WOMEN'S CATEGORY | RESULTS |
| INDIA | TAJIKISTAN | SCORE/RESULT |
| Koneru Humpy | Nadezhda Antonova | 1-0 |
| Vaishali R | Sabrina Abrorova | 1-0 |
| Tania Sachdev | Rukhshona Saidova | 1-0 |
| Bhakti Kulkarni | Mutriba Hotami | 1-0 |
| INDIA B | WALES | SCORE/RESULT |
| Vantika Agrawal | Olivia Smith | 1-0 |
| Soumya Swaminathan | Kimberly Chong | 1-0 |
| Mary Ann Gomes | Hiya Ray | 1-0 |
| Divya Deshmukh | Khushi Bagga | 1-0 |
| INDIA C | HONG KONG | SCORE/RESULT |
| Eesha Karavade | Sigappi Kannappan | 1-0 |
| Nandhidhaa P V | Deng Jing Xin Crystal | 1-0 |
| Varshini Sahithi M | Li Joy Ching | 1-0 |
| Pratyusha Bodda | Lam Ka Yan | 1-0 |
6PM: Results have started coming in from Mahabalipuram.
- Raunak Sadhwani from Team B was the first player to register a victory with the White pieces against Abdulrahman M in a Sicilian Defence game lasting 41 moves. Enjoying space advantage, Raunak broke through on the King’s side after the exchange of minor pieces and dragged the King into a checkmating net with the queen and rooks combining efficiently.
- Koneru Humpy came back from an inferior position to defeat Nadezhda Antonova, much to the relief of the India A team. She was expected to win the encounter; she is among the world's strongest female players and is rated 754 Elo points above her rival from Tajikistan. Humpy, with black pieces, won in 41 moves. Antonova could not recover from her unwise 24th move; she lost a piece and, before long, the game.
We have all the boards of the Indians in action today. Check out each of them in our live coverage. Stay with us for exclusive analysis from our reporters at the venue and from Viswanathan Anand.
New to chess? Wondering how to understand or read the chess board? Here’s some assistance:
INDIANS IN ACTION:
India A vs Zimbabwe
GM Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi 2714 - IM Makoto, Rodwell 2346 GM Erigaisi, Arjun 2689 - Masango, Spencer 2170 GM Narayanan, S.L. 2659 - Mushore, Emarald Takudzwa 2153 GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2638 - Zhemba, Jemusse 2162
The Chess Olympiad is being held in India for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1927 with the honour coming to Chennai, considered the chess capital of the country. This is also the first time in 30 years that the Olympiad is coming to Asia.
If you’ve missed the Olympiad hype train, we have you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about the biggest event in the game in brief:
- The event will see the highest number of countries participating in an Olympiad
- Nearly 350 teams in the Open and women’s sections from 187 countries will be in fray. Of these, 188 teams are in the Open section and 162 in the women’s.
- Previously, the Batumi Olympiad in 2018 had set the record with 184 and 150 teams in the Open and women’s sections, respectively, from 179 countries.
- India’s 30-member squad will be their biggest squad ever.
- Given Russia and China’s non-participation, India Team A is seeded second while the USA tops the ranking list.
No pressure at all, huh? | Photo Credit: FIDE
The first moves will be made today by:
Anurag Thakur, Indian Minister of Sport - First IND board (open)
Sanjay Kapoor, president All India Chess Federation - First board IND WOMEN team
Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President - USA board