Chess Olympiad Round 4: Arjun Erigaisi picks first win of match; India’s profitable juggernaut rolls on
NEW DELHI: The forty sixth version of the Chess Olympiad started on a murky observe, with a number of groups going through lodging points upon arrival in host metropolis Samarkand, Uzbekistan. India, the defending champions throughout each the open and girls’s sections, additionally needed to await hours earlier than gamers had been allotted separate rooms. Coming off a gruelling week again house for the Global Chess League (GCL), one of many gamers who needed to hop straight from the Bengaluru occasion to Samarkand was India’s No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi.When Praggnanandhaa opted to relaxation for the opening-day fixture in opposition to Thailand, it was Arjun who stepped in to play Board 1. Playing white, he misplaced to Thailand’s 2363-rated International Master Prin Laohawirapap.World champion Gukesh, who has had a commendable rating of three.5/4 on this match, defined what had gone fallacious for Arjun. “Arjun’s first recreation was very unlucky, but in addition value mentioning that we had very hectic journey after which the primary day there have been some organisation points,” Gukesh mentioned in an interview with FIDE after his Round 3 win over Italy’s Sabino Brunello. “So, Arjun obtained a room most likely just a few hours earlier than he went. I imply, all of us waited for like six hours to get a room. So clearly, within the first spherical, Arjun was simply drained, and he blundered in the long run.”Gukesh added that issues had improved since then. “The first day was a bit difficult for all of us, however after that, I feel we’re all rested. We are all trying ahead to the video games and all good,” he mentioned.Those phrases confirmed up within the outcomes on Saturday, when Arjun took down Maksim Chigaev to safe his first win of the match, serving to India beat Spain 3-1.
How Arjun Erigaisi gained his first recreation on the 2026 Chess Olympiad
Arjun Erigaisi, enjoying white, produced a managed attacking efficiency in opposition to Maksim Chigaev.The opening was a versatile Réti/English setup, with White gaining house via 12.h4 and 13.h5, frightening …g5 and creating long-term kingside targets.After 14.d5, White secured a helpful house benefit whereas Black’s items turned considerably passive.The key strategic section started with 17.Nh2 and 18.Bh3, adopted by the alternate of bishops on c8. Erigaisi then expanded with 21.e4 and 23.f4, appropriately opening traces whereas Black’s king remained weak.The sequence 28.Qe4 Rxf1 29.Rxf1 Rf8 30.Rxf8+ simplified the rooks and left White with a harmful queen-and-knight assault.The decisive section was 31.Qh7, adopted by 32.Qh8+ and 33.Ng4, coordinating queen and knight across the uncovered king. After 34.Nxe5+, Black couldn’t escape the perpetual-looking checks, and 36.Qf7+ ended the sport.Elsewhere on the board, Gukesh continued his wonderful run, beating Spain’s Alexei Shirov to maneuver to 4.5/5 and persevering with a strong turnaround from Thursday’s dip under the 2700 ranking mark.Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin each drew their video games, sufficient for India to shut out the tie 3-1.For Erigaisi particularly, the win carries added significance. As India’s second-highest rated participant and a daily on Board 1 or 2 responsibility, a winless begin would have added strain to an already lengthy season that had him travelling immediately from the GCL in Bengaluru to Samarkand with barely any time to get better. Saturday’s outcome means that adjustment interval might now be behind him.
India’s profitable juggernaut marches on
India’s ladies’s group additionally stored their unbeaten run alive, beating Mongolia 3-1. Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu each drew their video games in opposition to lower-rated opposition.But Divya Deshmukh and Savitha Shri gained on the decrease boards to see the group via comfortably, persevering with a marketing campaign that has but to drop a match tie.With each squads now via 4 rounds with out a defeat as a group, the assessments solely get harder from right here. India will tackle Poland within the ladies’s part on Sunday, whereas the open group faces a mouthwatering conflict in opposition to Anish Giri’s Dutch facet, arguably the sternest take a look at both Indian group has confronted to date in Samarkand.
