NEW DELHI: When it was finally revealed that Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa would play Board 1, meaning he would face the toughest oppositions — like his oppoennet in Anish Giri in India’s match against the Netherlands on Sunday — at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, many raised eyebrows at world champion Dommaraju Gukesh being pushed down to Board 4, the weakest slot in the line-up. Nobody, though, questioned Praggnanandhaa’s credentials to lead the top board.Since an underwhelming campaign at the Cyprus Candidates earlier this year, the Chennai-born grandmaster has been in outstanding form. He beat World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen twice on his way to winning Norway Chess, and last month did something that would have seemed unthinkable a few months earlier, clinching the Grand Chess Tour Finals, becoming only the seventh player, and the first Indian, to do so in the event’s 11-year history.His run of late has been so impressive that even five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, in an interview with TimesofIndia.com, didn’t think twice before admitting, “I think at the moment, I would say he’s the number one player in the world.”After resting on the opening day, a call that saw Arjun Erigaisi step in and lose to lower-rated Thai opponent Prin Laohawirapap, Praggnanandhaa began his Board 1 assignment on Day 2 but managed only three draws across the next three rounds.On Sunday, his opponent was Dutch No. 1, as India were paired against the Netherlands in Round 5.
How Praggnanandhaa outsmarted Anish Giri
Playing white, Praggnanandhaa got the better of Giri in a long, grinding game that began as a Ruy Lopez.He built up steady pressure in the centre while Giri took his time working through the middlegame. The position sharpened when Praggnanandhaa allowed his own pawn structure to be damaged in exchange for a tactical shot that won him the exchange, trading a bishop for Giri’s rook on b8.Giri fought back with some activity of his own, but Praggnanandhaa’s pieces stayed better coordinated throughout.A queen trade led into a tricky rook-and-minor-piece endgame, where Giri’s passed pawn on the c-file gave him some practical chances.Praggnanandhaa handled it calmly, using his rook to hunt the pawn down at the right moment and snuff out Black’s counterplay for good.From there, his rook and knight took control of the board, with a passed a-pawn adding to the pressure. As Giri’s clock ran low, Praggnanandhaa converted the position confidently for his first win of the tournament.Elsewhere, Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin both drew their games, but Gukesh, despite the lower board, beat experienced Erwin L’Ami to help India close out the match 3-1 against the Netherlands.
First defeat for the women’s team, again against Poland
The picture was far less rosy for India’s women, who lost to Poland by a narrow margin, which became India’s third straight Olympiad defeat to the Polish side, after losses in 2022 (Chennai) and 2024 (Budapest).The blow fell on Vaishali Rameshbabu, Praggnanandhaa’s sister, while the other three boards held to draws.Playing white in a London System, IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya scored an impressive win over Vaishali.Black accepted a slightly weakened kingside structure early on, then tried to counter by pushing pawns forward aggressively after both sides castled on opposite wings.Maltsevskaya responded, activating her pieces and forcing Vaishali onto the back foot. Her rook barrelled into the seventh rank, and once queens came off the board, her active rooks and advancing pawns proved too much.Vaishali tried to generate some late counterplay with her own rooks, but Maltsevskaya’s h-pawn kept marching forward, creating constant promotion threats that eventually broke the position open. Vaishali resigned after 57 moves.With that, India’s women slipped to a 1.5-2.5 defeat, with Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal all drawing their individual games.India will face host Uzbekistan, one of the favourites to win the tournament, on Monday in the open section, while the women’s team takes on the USA in what promises to be a fiery clash.
