45th Chess Olympiad: USA sets up clash with India; Kazakhstan grabs the lead in women’s event

The highlight of the day was the game between Gukesh D and Nodirbek Abdusattorov on board one of the India vs. Uzbekistan match. Both young prodigies have impressive track records, competing for the individual gold medal on the top board. Gukesh had 6.5/7 with a 3085 performance rating, while Abdusattorov stood at 7.5/8 with a 3021 performance rating. The first ceremonial move was made by Zoltán Gera, a former professional Hungarian football player. Unfortunately, the game ended in an uneventful draw due to a threefold repetition on move 32. This set the tone for the whole match, as all other games were also drawn, resulting in a 2-2 tie.

The result was disappointing for India, as Arjun Erigaisi missed a chance to score against Shamsiddin Vokhidov when the latter blundered on move 37. It was the case of mutual oversight, as Erigaisi also failed to find the winning continuation and played differently, missing his opportunity.

Team USA triumphed over Hungary thanks to Leinier Dominguez’s defeating Sanan Sjugirov and leapfrogged their opponents in the tournament standings. We are now set for a thrilling USA vs. India clash in the penultimate round of the competition. If Fabiano Caruana’s team wants a shot at gold, they must do their best to win this match.

China narrowly defeated Iran, with Wei Yi beating Amin Tabatabaei. The score could have been more convincing had Ding Liren converted a decisive advantage against Parham Maghsoodloo, but it was not meant to be. In round 10, China will face Uzbekistan in one of the key matches of the event.

Vladimir Fedoseev, playing on the first board for Slovenia, achieved the seemingly impossible by defeating Magnus Carlsen in the endgame. During the live broadcast, Vladimir reacted to the commentators’ observation that they couldn’t lure a smile out of him: “It’s hard to smile after such a game, simply no emotions left.” Slovenia prevailed over Norway 3-1, practically shattering Norway’s hopes for medals.

In the women’s section, the top match between Kazakhstan and Poland saw the ceremonial first move made by Tahir Taghi-Zadeh, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Hungary, in the presence of Mahir Mamedov, FIDE Vice President and President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation.

The three games on the top boards ended in draws, leaving the outcome to be decided by the game between Alicja Sliwicka and Alua Nurman. Whoever won would secure victory for their team and lead the women’s event. Before move 40, things looked promising for Sliwicka, but after the time control, Black slowly outplayed her opponent. After an excruciating 86-move battle, 17-year-old Nurman gained the upper hand and pushed team Kazakhstan to the top of the standings.

The match between former leaders India and the tournament’s #7 seed, USA, ended in a fighting draw. Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova defeated Vaishali R on the top board, and with draws on boards 2 and 4, the match looked promising for the USA. However, Irina Krush blundered in time trouble, and Vantika Agrawal seized her chance to level the score. India is now trailing the leader by one point.

Position of the day:

Arjun Erigaisi (India, 2778) – Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzbekistan, 2650)

Black just terribly blundered with 37…Nd6-e8. White to play.

With 38.Bxf7! White could have won this game, resulting in a match victory for India: 38…Qxf7 39.Qd4 Nf6 40.Qd8+ Qe8 41.Qxc7. Erigaisi missed this opportunity and played 38.Re3 instead. The game and the match ended in a draw.

Results of the top matches:

Open:

(16) India 2-2 Uzbekistan (14)
(13) USA 2.5-1.5 Hungary (14)
(13) China 2.5-1.5 Iran (13)
(12) Norway 1-3 Slovenia (12)
(12) Armenia 2.5-1.5 Germany (12)

Women:

(14) Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5 Poland (14)
(13) USA 2-2 India (14)
(13) Ukraine 2-2 Armenia (13)
(12) France 0.5-3.5 Georgia (12)
(12) China 3-1 Turkiye (12)

Top standings after 9 rounds:

Open:

1. India – 17
2-4. USA, Uzbekistan, China – 15
5-9. Slovenia, Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, Armenia – 14

Women:

1. Kazakhstan – 16
2. India – 15
3-11. China, Armenia, Poland, USA, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Georgia, Vietnam – 14

Full results: Chess-results.com – 45th Chess Olympiad

Written by WGM Anna Burtasova

Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova

See more Round 9 photos on FIDE Flickr

Official website: chessolympiad2024.fide.com