Koneru Humpy.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
Nihal Sarin posted his third straight win, but Arjun Erigaisi had to survive a scare, as India beat Italy 3-1 in the third round of the Chess Olympiad at Samarkand. World champion D. Gukesh scored a win on the fourth board on Friday.
Arjun’s was one of the day’s last games to finish, as he drew with Luca Moroni in 64 moves. Before that, Gukesh had beaten Sabino Brunello and Nihal defeated Francesco Sonis. On the top board, Praggnanandhaa split the point with Lorenzo Lodici.
The defending champion thus has won all its three matches.
The Indian women, who also were crowned champions at the Budapest Olympiad two years ago, once again played more impressively than their male counterparts. They made short work of Greece 3.5-0.5.
There were wins for Koneru Humpy, who beat Stavroula Tsolakidou on the top board — thus avenging her defeat at the Global Chess League final in Bengaluru on Sunday — Vantika Agrawal and B. Savitha Shri, while Divya Deshmukh drew.
Important results: Open: India bt Italy 3-1 (R. Praggnanandhaa drew with Lorenzo Lodici; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Luca Moroni; Nihal Sarin bt Francesco Sonis; D. Gukesh bt Sabino Brunello).
Uzbekistan bt Austria 3-1; USA bt Denmark 2.5-1.5; China bt Bulgaria 3.5-0.5; Germany bt Uzbekistan (2) 2.5-1.5; Azerbaijan bt Switzerland 3-1; France bt Kazakhstan 3.5-0.5; Hungary bt Slovenia 2.5-1.5; Armenia bt Sweden 2.5-1.5; Ukraine bt Slovakia 3-1; Armenia bt Sweden 2.5-1.5; Lithuania drew with England 2-2; Ukraine bt Slovakia 3-1; Spain bt Belarus 3-1.
Women: India bt Greece 3.5-0.5 (Koneru Humpy bt Stavroula Tsolakidou; Divya Deshmukh drew with Anastasia Avramidou; Vantika Agrawal bt Ekaterini Pavlidou; B. Savitha Shri bt Antonia Christodoulaki).
Uzbekistan bt Indonesia 3-1; USA bt Cuba 3.5-0.5; Azerbaijan bt Sweden 2.5-1.5; Poland bt Latvia 4-0; Germany bt Belarus 2.5-1.5; China bt Turkiye 3-1; Mongolia bt Peru 2.5-1.5; Kazakhstan bt Slovenia 3.5-0.5; Armenia bt Croatia 4-0; Iran bt France 3-1; Poland bt Latvia 4-0; Serbia bt Canada 2.5-1.5.
Published – September 18, 2026 11:26 pm IST
