High five for Gukesh, women and India B

Mamallapuram, August 2

Young Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh continued his brilliant run to stun former World Championship challenger Alexei Shirov as India B shocked Spain 2.5-1.5 in the fifth round of the open section in the Chess Olympiad here today.

Exhibiting a brilliant gameplay, Gukesh, who recently crossed the 2,700 ELO barrier in the live ratings, not only extended his unbeaten run at the prestigious event but also helped India B register an impressive victory against the fourth-seeded Spain. This was the team’s fifth successive win in the open section. It was also Gukesh’s fifth victory on the trot in this event. With this win, he also overtook Vidit Gujrathi in the live ratings to become the third-highest rated player in India after Viswanathan Anand and P Harikrishna.

“I got a fine position after an error from him and slowly outplayed him. It’s a pleasure to play a player of Shirov’s calibre and to beat him is special,” Gukesh said.

India A and India C also notched up similar wins against Romania and Croatia, respectively, in other open section matches.

In the women’s section, India A also registered their fifth consecutive victory, with Tania Sachdev once again bringing the winning point for her team. They beat France by 2.5-1.5 margin.