Indian Men's team face slow start at 46th Chess Olympiad as Gukesh dips in ratings

Gukesh (File pic)

Defending champions, the Indian men's team endured a slow start at the 46th Chess Olympiad, with World Champion D Gukesh temporarily dipping below 2700 in live ratings after two rounds.

While the Indian men secured consecutive victories against lower-seeded opponents, their performances on the board lacked dominance.

Gukesh's rating journey has come full circle. Back in September 2022, Gukesh jumped from 2699 to 2726 points, establishing a steady rise that culminated in becoming the youngest-ever world champion at 18 in December 2024. However, following a second-round draw against Indonesia's Satria Duta Cahaya, Gukesh's live rating shifted to 2699.5, down from his career peak of 2794 reached in October 2024.

This development offers a boost to Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov, who will challenge Gukesh for the world crown this November in Geneva, Switzerland. Nevertheless, Gukesh remains positioned to launch a swift comeback and restore his standing above 2700 before the tournament concludes.

Unlike the 2022 and 2024 Olympiads, where Gukesh won individual top-board gold medals, team management assigned him to the fourth board this time, taking recent match form into account. India opened with a 3-1 win over Thailand before securing a tight 2.5-1.5 victory against Indonesia.

Women's team start strong ahead of round 3

In contrast, the Indian women's team delivered commanding displays against early competition. They swept the Dominican Republic 4-0 in the opening round and followed up with a convincing 3.5-0.5 win against Finland.

The 11-round tournament awards two match points per team victory, with game points serving as the decisive tiebreaker if teams finish equal at the end.

Round 3 sees the Indian men face a fully Grandmaster-led Italian lineup, featuring R Praggnanandhaa versus Lorenzo Lodici, Arjun Erigaisi against Luca Moroni Jr., Nihal Sarin taking on Francesco Sonis, and Gukesh playing Sabino Brunello.

Pairings Round 3 open: India vs Italy (R Praggnanandhaa vs Lorenzo Lodici; Arjun Erigaisi vs Luca Moroni Jr.; Nihal Sarin vs Francesco Sonis; D Gukesh vs Sabino Brunello).

Women: India vs Greece (Koneru Humpy vs Stavroula Tsolakidou; Divya Deshmukh vs Anastasia Avramidou; Vantika Agrawal vs Ekaterini Pavlidou; B Savitha Shri vs Antonia Christodoulaki).

(With inputs from PTI)