China, who replaced GM Ding Liren with GM Wei Yi on board one, came agonizingly close to ending India’s winning streak in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiadbut with a long endgame grind GM Gukesh Dommaraju brought India its seventh win for a perfect 14/14 score. Iran’s GM Pouya Idani delivered the sole victory against Vietnam’s FM Gia Huy Banh on board four to reach second place.
The Indian women now lead Poland, Kazakhstan, and France by a full two points after they moved to a perfect 14/14 in the Women’s 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad with a 3-1 win over their main title rivals Georgia. India’s young stars GM Vaishali Rameshbabu and IM Vantika Agrawal grabbed wins with the black pieces—despite Vantika being down to under a minute by move 21!
Round eight of the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad starts on Thursday, September 19, at 9 a.m. ET/15:00 CEST/6:30 p.m. IST.
This is a flash report. The full article will be added to this page soon!
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Colin McGourty contributed reporting to this article.
The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad is a massive team event for national federations that takes place every two years. In 2024 it’s being held in Budapest, Hungary, with 11 rounds that run September 11-22. In Open and Women’s sections, teams of five players compete in a Swiss Open, with each match played over four boards. There are two match points for a win and one for a draw, with board points taken into account only if teams are tied. Players have 90 minutes per game, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move.
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