Things not looking good as India's elite men suffer three draws at Samarkand Olympiad; women beat Finland

Things are not looking too good for defending champions India at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.No. 52 seeds Indonesia held their own against the second seeds and eked out three draws, losing a game to only Nihal Sarin and went down by the smallest of margins (1.5-2.5) in the second round on Thursday.India’s celebrated elite men players, who largely play among fellow 2600-plus players and hence get rating protection even if they play out draws, seem to be found wanting in a street fight - an essence of sport where a fancied player has more at stake than the underdog. Therein lies the charm of the Swiss League and Olympiad.Nihal won with white pieces against Abdul Hafiz, a player about Elo 250 lower than him. R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi could only draw with players about Elo 300 lower than them.India had rested Arjun Erigaisi after he lost in the opener and hence world champion Gukesh was promoted from the designated fourth board to the third on the second successive day.Pragg took the top board but could not breach the defence of Susanto Megaranto after five and a half hours and 79 moves.The top seeded India women’s team defeated Finland 3.5-0.5 with reasonable conviction but R Vaishali could not win on the top board and Divya Deshmukh flirted with danger before getting a semi-gift.Koneru Humpy was rested. Women’s 48th seeds Montenegro held second seeds Georgia 2-2.If top seed USA’s Levon Aronian’s creative risk-taking was punished with a draw in the opening round, his 23-year-old teammate Awonder Liang suffered defeat against IM Khuyagtsogt Itgelt of Mongolia in the second round.Former world champion Ding Liren, who is given the top board by China despite his recent troubles, messed up a sumptuous winning position with plenty of time in hand against Chile’s Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder, and managing only half a point.Pakistan, who forfeited against Israel in the opener, presumably in protest against the conflict in Palestine, blanked Seychelles 4-0.Inclusivity is one of the stronger points at the Olympiad. The third edition of the Olympiad for People with Disabilities was held at the same venue.These players were given an extra half an hour each for each of the seven rounds to complete their games. Poland regained the gold that they had won in the inaugural edition.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.