D Gukesh returns to form as India cruise past Italy at the Chess Olympiad

World champion D Gukesh returned to winning ways as the Indian men’s team defeated Italy 3-1 in the third round of the 46th Chess Olympiad on Friday.

The Indian women’s team also continued their strong start to the tournament by defeating Greece 3.5-0.5 to remain at the top of the table after three rounds.

India fielded their strongest men’s line-up for the first time in the tournament and Gukesh made an immediate impact. Playing black against Sabin Brunell on the fourth board, Gukesh produced a sharp performance to dismantle his opponent’s defense and secure a convincing victory in just 33 moves.

Gukesh’s Queen’s Indian Defense led to a dynamic position, with the Indian World Champion embracing these complications. He was already close to a winning position around turn 20 before completing the task 13 moves later.

Nihal Sarin also continued his impressive run beating Francesco Sonis. Playing white in attack, Trompowsky Nihal took advantage of errors from Sonis and took control of the game on both sides. The Italian eventually lost the rook and could not recover.

However, the Indian pair of R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi had to settle for a draw. Praggnanandhaa was unable to find a breakthrough against Lorenzo Lodici for the second day in a row, while Arjun survived some anxious moments against Luca Moroni Jr before securing a halfway point.

The result gave India a comfortable 3-1 victory over an Italian side made up entirely of grandmasters.

In the women’s section, India’s Koneru Humpy led the way with a dominant victory over Stavroula Tsolakidou. Vantika Agrawal also got a full point against Ekaterini Pavlidou, while B Savitha Shri made it three wins from three by defeating Antonio Christodoulaki.

Divya Deshmukh was the only Indian player to lose half a point, tied with Anastasia Avramidou.

The Indian women’s team therefore completed a convincing 3.5-0.5 win over Greece to retain their top position after three rounds.

With eight rounds remaining in the 11-round tournament, the competition will now become much more intense as the leading teams begin to clash. The next few rounds could prove crucial for the Indian men’s and women’s teams as they look to stay in contention for medals at one of the biggest events on the chess calendar.

Results of the open 3rd round: India vs. Italy (R Praggnanandhaa drew with Lorenzo Lodici; Arjun Erigaisi drew with Luca Moroni Jr; Nihal Sarin beat Francesco Sonis; D Gukesh beat Sabin Brunello).

Women: India vs. Greece (Koneru Humpy beat Stavroula Tsolakida; Divya Deshmukh drew with Anastasia Avramida; Vantika Agrawal beat Ekaterini Pavlidou; B Savitha Shri vs Antonia Christodoulaki).

– The end

Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

18 Sep 2026 23:30 IST