The 44th Chess Olympiad has continued its journey today after one day of rest for the players. Round 7 ended before some time, and this is the recap of the eventful round.
Indian Teams consolidate their positions
In a strange coincidence, India 1 was fielded to play against their fellow country mates India 3 for Round 7. With a huge rating gap, India 1 sauntered to an easy 3-1 victory, with two victories and two draws. With this victory, India 1 climbed to a cozy 4th spot, immediately after India 2 on the 3rd position. India 2 won 3.5-0.5, with only Adhiban Baskaran drawing his game on board 4. Gukesh D continued his brilliant unbeaten spree, now winning 7 out of 7 games for his team.
US fumbles slightly, Armenia still on top
The top-seeded US team drew their match 2-2 against 1st ranked Armenia, breaking the latter’s unbeaten run in this Olympiad. There were two victories on both sides to draw the match. Despite the draw, Armenia retained the 1st rank on the points table. Although, US slipped from 2nd spot to 5th, behind the two Indian teams. The US, however, remains in the top-5 bracket.
Brazil defeats the mighty English!
The Brazilian team, under the guidance of Chess Gaja founder GrandMaster Priyadharshan, defeated the 10th seeded English team 2.5-1.5 in Round 7. Despite a considerable rating gap between the two teams, the Brazilian team pulled an upset, proving that the game of chess has no favorites. The Brazilian team is now placed 13th on the points table, slowly etching closer to the top.
Women’s Category
Hosts India continued their unbeaten run with a 2.5-1.5 victory over 6th seeded Azerbaijan. With this victory, the team also retained the 1st rank on the points table. Ukraine defeated the Netherlands 3.5-0.5 to climb behind India on the points table, ranked 2nd. Armenia also defeated Israel 2.5-1.5 to reach the 3rd rank on the points table.
After Round 7, the points table is interestingly poised. Both India and Armenia have their respective teams in top 3 in both the categories of the tournament. Armenia is 1st in the Open Category and 3rd in the Women’s Category, whereas India is 3rd in the Open Category and 1st in the Women’s Category. Stay tuned on Chess Gaja for continued updates on the 44th Chess Olympiad.
