In the Open section of the Olympiad, India defeated China 2,5-1,5 with a key victory by World Chess Championship 2024 challenger Gukesh. India is with perfect 14 MP score, one point more than Iran, as the two teams are set to meet in a direct clash next round.

In the women section again India leads with perfect score of 14 MP, with two more than Poland, Kazakhstan and France. Next round will see Poland – India and Kazakhstan – France.

Replay games and follow round 8 live at the following links:More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympiad 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Chess Olympiad 2024 R7 – title by Susan Polgar

The title of today’s round report comes from a tweet by Susan Polgar. She says, “India’s two teams,Open and Women, are BOTH 7-0 in match play! They dominated when they could, and found ways to squeeze out wins when needed! And, they are playing so far like a team!”

Chess Olympiad round 7 report – FIDE press release

The first ceremonial move in the open section of 45th Chess Olympiad was made by Mr. László Bekefi, General Manager of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, and Mr. Alexey Dmitrenko, Supply Chain Leader at Coca-Cola HBC Hungary. Coca-Cola, the official beverage partner, supplies the Olympiad with free soft drinks and water for players, media, and the organising team.

This ceremonial move set in motion the most important match in the open section: India vs. China. The highly anticipated first board encounter between Gukesh D and Ding Liren did not happen. Although the two are set to play the world championship match in November, China allowed Ding Liren to rest for this match. Tournament commentator GM Peter Svidler had a strong opinion about this: “I don’t think you will find very many examples of the reigning World Champion not playing board 1 in an absolutely critical central match of the Chess Olympiad… If China wants to win this Olympiad, they need to win today. It is very difficult to take points off this Indian team. The fact that Ding Liren is not sitting down to play chess today after the rest day is, I think, quite significant.”

The first game to finish in the match was a draw between Praggnanandhaa R and Yu Yangyi on board two. One of the intrigues of the round was whether Arjun Erigaisi, with a perfect 6/6 record so far, would continue his winning streak. Following the crazy complications in the middlegame, which were “all just forced”, as Arjun said after the game, Erigaisi, playing White, ended his winning streak by drawing with Bu Xiangzhi. It is worth noting that before going for a threefold repetition through a perpetual check, Bu thought for some 15 minutes, constantly checking on the other two games, trying to consider whether he might continue the game. “It’s only White who could, in fact, push,” commented Erigaisi. “If the situation on the other two boards was different, I might have needed to risk, but my teammates were doing fine.”

As Pentala Harikrishna made a draw with Wang Yue, the game where India could hope for a win was Gukesh D vs. Wei Yi. For a long time, it looked like it would also finish in a draw. However, Black’s defending task was anything but easy. Finally, after an excruciating battle, on move 71, Black erred, and Gukesh didn’t let go of this chance. A narrow 2.5-1.5 win for India! “I thought I’ll press this forever and see what happens,” commented Gukesh after the game. “I couldn’t lose it, so there was no pressure on me.”

Iran stopped the Vietnam miracle, confidently defeating them by 2.5-1.5. Three draws and Pouya Idani’s win on the last board elevated Iran to a clear second place. The team, headed by Parham Maaghsoodloo and Amin Tabatabaei, initially seeded 10th, will meet India in the next round. “They are a strong team, so we’ll just come and play some good chess!” said Gukesh.

In the women’s section, the first move for Harika was made by H.E. Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Hussein Abdullah Khoury, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, will host the 47th Chess Olympiad in 2028. With this, the crucial match between India and Georgia started.

India has had an ideal tournament so far, winning all their matches. Divya Deshmukh, on board three, had been the hero of the team with 5.5 points in 6 games. This time, she made a draw, but her teammates Vaishali R and Vantika Agrawal took the flag and raised it high, winning their games.

An amazing 3-1 victory against one of the favorites, Georgia, leaves no doubt that India means serious business to improve on their bronze finish in 2022!

An important match between Poland and Ukraine in the women’s section ended in a draw. After Alina Kashlinskaya, on the first board, defeated Yuliia Osmak in a nerve-wracking time trouble, things looked bright for Poland. However, Ukraine struck back with a win by Nataliya Buksa against Oliwia Kiolbasa on the third board. It means that India is now two match points ahead of the pursuers.

Written by WGM Anna Burtasova

Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

One of the players affected is Ding Liren, who had to change hotel. This might have affected his decision not to play against Gukesh today

This only adds to the initial accommodation problems for delegations at the Chess Olympiad, reported by Monaco, Scotland and Germany / Turkey / England / Anish Giri / Croatia and will aggravate the transportation to the playing hall that made Carlsen among other players late for the games

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympiad 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Update: GM Ian Rogers with a calming message on Twitter/X, “Today the captains of the teams on Margaret Island received a message from the organisers saying the opposite of this. In part: “Friday/Saturday is the highest point of the flooding here in Hungary. However, there is no indication of moving guests out of Margaret Island.””

Vlad Ghita, reporting for Chessdom from the Olympiad venue said, “Team Hungary are giving conflicting account that the reports of the flooding may be exaggerated. The players I talked to live near Margaret Island, which is obviously low ground. They did not have to change hotels. Total of 4 Hungarian teams stay there.”

Developing story, stay tuned for updates

Emilia Castelao, CEO of Women In Chess Foundation, summed it up, “This Eman Sawan girl from Palestine is CRAZY good”

More: Eman Sawan made a video appearance in the 2022 Olympiad as well / Eman Sawan wins her WFM title

David Martinez asks, “Is waking up early after the Bermuda Party a sign of responsibility or old age?”

The story so far

Aug 21 Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation submits resolution to restore the full membership rights of RCF

Aug 22 David Llada talks about systematically to reward submission

Sept 1 Alexander Kamyshin is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation

Sept 7 Babur Tolbaev is among the candidates for FIDE Ethics Commission chairman

Sept 9 Russia most probably has the votes to pass the Kyrgyz resolution

Sept 9 Kamyshin: I will personally attend the FIDE General Assembly

Sept 12 Garry Kasparov supports Alexander Kamyshin

Sept 12 Malcolm Pein for BBC, “Russia’s control of FIDE is absolute”

Sept 16 Vasyl Ivanchuk and the Olympic teams of Ukraine protest against Kyrgyz motion

Potential IOC exclusion for chess

Chess is not going to be an Olympic sport any time soon. Yet, membership in IOC matters. The main funding of federations is state money. This money comes from chess being recognized as sport and as part of the IOC Olympic movement. Without this recognition no Ministry of Sports will agree to provide funding for a local federation. The big question here – are federations ready to lose their funding on a national level following a potential IOC exclusion?

George Mastrokouskos compares the situation of FIDE to the recently excluded IBA (International Boxing Association). In a post on his personal Facebook account, Mastrokoukos notes, “The IOC has fully withdrawn its recognition of IBA. The IBA no longer exists as a recognised sport federation and was removed permanently from the IOC list […] The decision to cancel the Kremlin-controlled IBA as a sport federation was passed in the IOC meeting with an overwhelming 69-1 vote and only 10 members abstaining.” He continues, “The IOC took over the sport in the Paris Olympics and organised the boxing events without the IBA […] A separate international boxing federation has been created, with the name “World Boxing” in direct competition to IBA. It has already attracted 42 national federations,” suggesting a possible scenario in FIDE, in case sanctions on the International chess federation are applied.

“If I was a FIDE delegate, I would have to think twice: With the outrageous Kyrgyz/Russian proposal to violate IOC recommendations, are we voting for the Kremlin’s interests or for the interests of chess and our national federations? Are we ready to jeopardize everything for a bunch of pro-Kremlin individuals?
Many governments fund chess as a sport due to its recognition by the IOC. It will be an open vote according to the FIDE statutes. And EVERY single vote carries HUGE responsibility for the future of our sport. I really hope that common logic will prevail in the end,” concludes Mastrokoukos.

Hot link between IBA and FIDE

The chief editor of Tribuna.com Oleg Scherbakov points to a hot link between FIDE and IBA. The Chairman of FIDE Ethics Commission Francois Strydom also holds the position of Chairman of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Dispute Resolution Chamber. Francois Strydom recently came into the spotlight with another decision on CFR. Scherbakov adds, “In June 2024 the Russian legal company SILA, which protects Russian sports in the courts, announced the creation of an educational course in sports law. One of the lecturers of this course became the same Francois Strydom.”

Secret vote to follow?

On Friday evening, on a phone call with a FIDE Congress attendant who wished to remain anonymous, Chessdom.com learned that supporters of the Kyrgyzstan Chess Federation motion are planning to propose secret vote. This, however, is not possible, as it will be infringement of FIDE Chapter 17.15. It states that all votes, except those for President, Zonal President, Commissions, or Olympiad, should be taken by open vote. Chessdom’s source claims that despite this rule, Kyrgyz motion supporters will still try to suggest secret voting.

Is there a good move in case of sanctions for FIDE?

In case of sanctions for FIDE, the organization will be de-legitimized in the majority of countries worldwide. That will automatically mean lost financial support from national Ministries of Sport, hitting organizers and players alike. The only logical option for chess will be the creation of a parallel federation, which can seek recognition. Such federation was created by Kasparov in 1993 and existed until the unification match in Elista. Kasparov has been active lately on the issue. Yet, it seems the bigger figure that can rally breakaway federations behind him is the new President of Ukrainian Chess Federation Alexander Kamyshin who already stepped up to fight the Kyrgyz motion.

Stay tuned for more news from the FIDE Congress

Srinath Narayanan shared in a recent interview, “With each edition the Indian team definitely seems to be having a step up. […] I think being the seeding number of the team hardly matters. It comes down to individual matchups, and Olympiad is like an open event. I think having a young team is a bit of an advantage here, as the experience of playing opens is still fresh in their memories.”

In the next round the open team of India will meet China, with a possible Gukesh – Ding game. They just played in Saint Louis (replay here) and depending on board order and sit-outs we might see yet another clash. The chess community considers Gukesh a favorite for the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore. Even Ding Liren considers Gukesh favorite for the World Championship. One of the few to be on the opposite pole is Peter Heine Nielsen, coach of many times World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who says Ding Liren is favorite for the match with Gukesh.

The women team of India will meet the historically strong team of Georgia. Here the surprising star is IM Deshmukh Divya, who currently has 5,5/6 and is on her way to cross 2500 ELO.

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

FIDE – Chess Olympiad 2024 has India as sole leaders

India is going to the only rest day of the 45th Chess Olympiad as the sole leader, having won all matches in both the open and women’s sections. Both teams have been winning confidently, without experiencing tough matches so far—a strong statement on their path to the gold medals.

Argentinian chess prodigy Faustino Oro, with a current rating of 2434 at just ten years old, made the first move in Round 6 for world champion Ding Liren, setting the games in motion.

India continued their pursuit of gold medals, defeating Hungary 3-1. Arjun Erigaisi remains the only player with a perfect score in the open section. In Round 6, he won against Sanan Sjugirov, a recent addition to the Hungarian team. Erigaisi is gaining 13 rating points in the Olympiad, elevating him to a career-high of 2791. The second win in the match was delivered by Vidit Gujrathi, while the games on first two boards ended in draws.

Incredible Vietnam halted China, tying the match 2-2. Wang Yue beat Tuan Minh Tran on the last board, but the leader of the Vietnamese team, Le Quang Liem, retaliated by defeating world champion Ding Liren.

“This is the first time that after the first half of the tournament, we are among the leaders,” commented Liem on the official broadcast. “I am very happy with the result and proud of my teammates. We are playing fantastically this time. Coming into this tournament, we had no expectations. We were initially ranked #21. We have never been this close to the medals before. We will enjoy the games and see what happens.”

Iran prevailed over Norway in a close match, thanks to a win on the fourth board, where Pouya Idani gained the upper hand over Frode Urkedal. Magnus Carlsen had a significant advantage in the middlegame against Parham Maghsoodloo but could only achieve a draw.

Uzbekistan had a tough match against Israel, as Sindarov blundered and lost to Nabaty. However, thanks to the wins of Abdusattorov and Yakubboev, the defending champions clinched the match victory. The USA continues to struggle, with four draws against Romania despite being the favorites on every board—a result that is hardly satisfying for the team of Fabiano Caruana.

After 6 rounds, India is the sole leader with 12 points, closely pursued by Vietnam, China, and Iran with 11 match points.

In the women’s section, India continues to delight their fans too. A convincing victory over Armenia was secured by Divya Deshmukh, who defeated Elina Danielian. Draws on the other boards cemented the result.

China, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive loss. Poland pulled off this important victory by 2½-1½, thanks to Oliwia Kiolbasa, the heroine of the previous Olympiad, who beat Guo Qi. The other three games ended in draws. Georgia narrowly won against Mongolia, thanks to Melia Salome’s victory on the fourth board.

After six rounds, India leads with 12 match points, followed by Georgia and Poland with 11.

The tournament halts for a one-day break and the competition will resume on September 18 with Round 7.

Written by WGM Anna Burtasova

Photos: Michal Walusza, Mark Livshitz and Maria Emelianova

Since that moment, the 2700 list is in constant deflation with currently only 31 players being listed above the 2700 mark, seven less than when Erigaisi joined the party.

Today, just like two years ago, and definitely against the trend, Arjun Erigaisi has the chance to enter the 2800 club. Erigaisi will be the second Indian after Vishy Anand to enter the club. Currently Erigaisi is at 5,0/5 at the Olympiad with +10.1 ELO at 2788, just 12 points away from the 2800 ELO.

See: Interview with Arjun Erigaisi before the Olympiad (video)

China lost 2,5-1,5 against the team of Armenia, with IM Lilit Mkrtchian winning with black on board 1. USA managed to draw on three boards, but again the key game was on board 1, where WGM Turmunkh Munkhzul defeated IM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova.

Replay all top games from the Women Chess Olympiad here

That makes India absolute favorites for the title. Despite GM Harika Dronavalli losing to IM Assaubayeva, GM Vaishali and IM Vantika finished the job to keep India undefeated.

This is a flash report from the Olympiad, stay tuned for updates

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