Gukesh Dommaraj won a hardfought game as India continued to exert their dominance at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary with a 2.5-1.5 win over China in the seventh round of play on Wednesday.
With the reigning world champion Ding Liren rested for the match, Gukesh – the world championship challenger – went up against Wei Yi on the top board. While the likes of Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Arjun Erigaisi, and Pentala Harikrishna all drew their respective games on the lower boards, the onus was on Gukesh to take India to their seventh consecutive win.
Much to the dismay of the Indian team, Wei landed in a better position in the middle game but 18-year-old Gukesh kept fighting.
The Indian kept the applying the pressure with accurate moves and Wei eventually crumbled as he blundered while looking to promote his pawn. The game lasted nine more moves before the Chinese surrendered as Gukesh registered a win with the white pieces in a contest that lasted nearly six hours.
The win from Gukesh meant that India has now won seven matches in a row at the 2024 Chess Olympiad and sit atop the standings in the open section.
India will next play Iran in the eighth round on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s team also extended their winning streak as they beat Georgia 3-1 in their seventh round match.
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu and IM Vantika Agrawal, both playing with black pieces on second and fourth board respectively, registered wins as India secured the match.
While Vaishali beat IM Lela Javakhishvili, Agrawal took down a much more experienced GM Bella Khotenashvili to help India take down powerhouse Georgia.
Meanwhile, GM Harika Dronavalli and IM Divya Deshmukh played out draws with white pieces in their respective games.