The Indian men's team inched one step closer to a historic Chess Olympiad gold medal in Budapest, as it vanquished Iran by a thumping 3.5-0.5 margin on Thursday (September 19, 2024). India now have eight wins from as many rounds, amounting to 16 points in what has been a remarkable unbeaten campaign thus far. (More Sports News)
The in-form D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi won with black pieces, while Vidit Gujrathi claimed victory with white. R Praggnanandhaa was the only one to be held to a draw in what was a creditable performance against opponents as challenging as Iran.
Arjun first claimed a superb win against Daneshvar Bardiya, creating a strong checkmating attack on the white king and finishing off with a queen sacrifice.
Gukesh then followed up his sensational win the previous day with another strong performance on Thursday. He beat Parham Maghsoodloo from a tricky position, pouncing on an error from Parham to bring home the full point.
Praggnanandhaa was the only Indian player under pressure with black pieces, up against Amin Tabatabaei. Amin was unable to find the right moves to hold Pragg to a draw.
Gujrathi claimed a splendid win with white pieces against Pouya Idani, converting his positional advantage to a material one and handing India the third win to seal the match by a resounding 3.5-0.5 scoreline.
With the victory, India stretched their lead at the top of the table and with three more rounds to go, are in a very good position to bag the country's first-ever Olympiad gold medal.
