Gukesh Grinds Out Endgame Masterpiece, Both Indian Teams On Perfect 14/14

China, who replaced GM Ding Liren with GM Wei Yi on board one, came agonizingly close to ending India's winning streak in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, but with a long endgame grind GM Gukesh Dommaraju brought India its seventh win for a perfect 14/14 score. Iran's GM Pouya Idani delivered the sole victory against Vietnam's FM Gia Huy Banh on board four to reach second place.

The Indian women now lead Poland, Kazakhstan, and France by a full two points after they moved to a perfect 14/14 in the Women's 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad with a 3-1 win over their main title rivals, Georgia. India's young stars GM Vaishali Rameshbabu and IM Vantika Agrawal grabbed wins with the black pieces—despite Vantika being down to under a minute by move 21!  

Round eight of the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad starts on Thursday, September 19, at 9 a.m. ET/15:00 CEST/6:30 p.m. IST.

• Open Section: Gukesh Clutches For India, Iran Surpasses Vietnam To Reach 2nd Place
• Women's Section: India Beats Georgia To Take 2-Point Lead

Open: Gukesh Clutches For India, Iran Surpasses Vietnam To Reach 2nd Place

For most of the day, it looked like China was on the verge of slowing down India with a 2-2 draw. With draws secured on the other three boards, Wei showed excellent defense for many hours, but a determined Gukesh continued India's perfection.

See full results here.

After the rest day, all eyes were on India vs. China, where board one was expected to be a preview for the upcoming world championship match: Gukesh vs. Ding. It would have been the last classical game between the two before their match in Singapore, as Ding confirmed earlier in the tournament that he has no other events planned. After his loss in the previous round, however, Ding was replaced by Wei.

The Chinese team arriving to play tournament leader India without world champion Ding Liren 👀🇨🇳 #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/FP1VkxwBZP

— Chess.com (@chesscom) September 18, 2024

It was a logical substitution, in fact, as Wei is currently the Chinese number-one and world number-eight. Ding, who was number two in the world just two years ago, has sunk to 22nd since becoming world champion. GM Peter Svidler pointed out that Ding's absence was unusual for such a situation, though even with the loss, GM Robert Hess said on the broadcast, "I still think it was the right decision."

Peter Svidler, before round 7 started: "I don't think you will find very many examples of the reigning World Champion not playing board 1 in an absolutely critical central match of the #ChessOlympiad... For him not to want to play Gukesh in a match, China absolutely needs to win.… pic.twitter.com/mFEYyFBApc

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 18, 2024

With two knights against a rook, Gukesh relentlessly squeezed in one of the longest games of the day. GM Daniel Naroditsky concluded, "Sometimes it's not so much that you lose but your opponent wins," and Gukesh sent a powerful message just two months before the world championship match. GM Rafael Leitao unpacks the brilliant Game of the Day below.

You can listen to GM Hikaru Nakamura's recap video of the game below:

India's team captain posted on X that "I feel Gukesh's win today is a bit of a statement." Rising to the rating of 2780, Gukesh has now entered the world's top five.

The truth is that while China's number-one player was on board one, India's current number-one player was actually on board three. After winning a perfect 6/6 games, GM Arjun Erigaisi made his first draw of the tournament in an incredibly sharp Petroff, in the opposite-sides castling Nimzowitsch Attack variation, against GM Bu Xiangzhi.

Bu was one of just two people to defeat Arjun in classical chess this year, and he finally brought the rampage to an end—lowering Arjun's performance rating to "only" 2985.

With a very quick draw on board two and a longer draw on board four, though GM Pentala Harikrishna had a significant advantage at one point, India won yet another match against one of its most formidable opponents.

You can see the full team scores listed below:

Besides China, there were two teams a point behind the tournament leaders, and they went head-to-head in the match, Vietnam vs. Iran.

The three draws still had plenty of life to them, especially on board one where GM Parham Maghsoodloo pulled again from his deep reservoir of creativity:

Parham's knight has moved four times to get back to b1!https://t.co/Fs2Tg1qTJ3#ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/9O5zLxur8C

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

It was Idani who scored the win for Iran on board four. The opening went well for his FM opponent, who repeated an opening novelty that GM Nijat Abasov had played against his fellow Candidates participant, GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, earlier in this same tournament. But Idani pounced with the pawn sacrifice 25...g4!, and the initiative shortly provoked a costly mistake:

GM Bardiya Daneshvar had several opportunities to win an endgame against GM Tuan Minh Le on board three, but seeing as they were the last game to finish, he already knew that a draw was good enough to clinch the match. 

We now have India in clear first and Iran in clear second. They will face one another in round eight.

There are four teams on 12 points just behind. Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine 3-1 with wins by GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov on board one and GM Javokhir Sindarov on board two. For the Uzbek number-one, on his 20th birthday, it's 6.5/7 points now and a nearly 3000 performance rating.

In his latest demonstration, against GM and esteemed author Andrei Volokitin, Abdusattorov looked like he was getting attacked on the queenside, but suddenly showed that Black's queen—once looking so threatening on a3—was actually a liability.

Hometown heroes Hungary won a dramatic match against Lithuania 2.5-1.5. GM Tomas Laurusas could have drawn the match had he won the game on board four against GM Benjamin Gledura, but after missing the last chance directly on move 40, he got a losing position—and then managed to draw.

Legendary GM and commentator Peter Leko  brought in the sole victory Hungary needed, in an opening disaster for GM Paulius Pultinevicius in the Rossolimo Sicilian. After the game, he told FM Mike Klein: "India's just way too strong. I mean, they are just very strong and very young, very determined, brilliantly prepared, and also fantastic chemistry, so it's a very tough team for anyone to beat."

India's just way too strong.

—Peter Leko

"We have no expectations. The only expectation is that we want to fight!" says Peter Leko in a conversation about meeting fans, playing for his country, and what it was like to play India.#ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/3OxRxX9VkX

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

Serbia defeated the Netherlands 3-1, though the match result could have just as easily been equal. On board two, GM Jorden van Foreest achieved a winning position, then in one move blundered into a virtually losing one, and then GM Alexey Sarana was also unable to convert. In such cases, a draw may seem "fair."

A "fair" result as Van Foreest vs. Sarana ends in a draw, as both players had winning advantages!https://t.co/31T9hpNzS8#ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/s92u59IQsw

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

Last but not least, GM Haik Martirosyan brought Armenia victory against England by making the most of his bishop pair against GM Nikita Vitiugov on board one.

GM Magnus Carlsen wasn't just watching other games, of course, and he brought his performance back to approximately his actual rating after cutting short his two-game draw streak. Though Norway defeated Austria 3-1, they're three points behind India.

The match everybody will have their eyes on in the Open section in round eight will be Iran vs. India. Neither Gukesh nor Maghsoodloo have lost a game yet, but especially the latter's combative style means we will have a fight on our hands. Iran can still bring India back down to earth, but if the latter team wins, they will have a two-point lead on the rest of the field.

2024 Chess Olympiad Round 8 Team Pairings: Open (Top 15)

Women's Section: India Beats Georgia To Take 2-Point Lead

India rolled on in the Women's section, beating second-seed Georgia 3-1, while third-seed Poland was held to a draw and slipped two points behind the leaders. Kazakhstan and France joined Poland within touching distance by beating Azerbaijan and Spain.  

See full results here.

The traditional way to win team matches is to make draws with Black and win with White, but the Indian women did the opposite to defeat their closest rivals for Olympiad gold.

The match outcome—in contrast to the epic drama of India-China in the Open—seldom felt in doubt, but that didn't mean it was all smooth sailing.

Vaishali was never worse but let her advantage wax and wane before defeating IM Lela Javakhishvili, while Vantika added an element of chaos by making her 21st move 21...c5!? (the move would have been much stronger two moves previously) with just 33 seconds on her clock. She had to make another 19 moves, relying on the 30 seconds added each move, before she would get an extra 30 minutes at move 40—to her great credit, she barely put a foot wrong! 

Vantika explained afterward that the team is very much focused on the dream of scoring a perfect 22/22 score, something only Russia (in 2010) has managed since the Olympiad has been played over 11 rounds with two match points for a win.

After her win today, India's @vantikachess says "winning with the maximum score [22/22] is the aim!". Today India are moving to 14/14! #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/cSfwn243fi

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

The next team they will face is third-seed Poland, that needs to win to catch the leaders after being held to a draw by fifth-seed Ukraine. Poland had looked on course for a crucial victory after IM Alina Kashlinskaya found a brutal finish in her game against IM Yuliia Osmak.

The whole game was full of sparkling tactics... and one or two misses:

IM Nataliya Buksa hit back to beat IM Oliwia Kiolbasa in a tricky knight endgame, however, and saved a draw in the match.

Poland was caught in second place by two teams—Kazakhstan, who eased past Azerbaijan 3-1, and France, who shrugged off an opening disaster on one board to win two topsy-turvy games and take a 2.5-1.5 win over Spain.

The U.S. team looked to have great hopes when their two young stars scored again...

...but Armenia hit back on the remaining two boards to draw an all-decisive match.

IM Alice Lee noted the U.S. is "definitely in medal contention," pointing out their strong tiebreaks. 

One team not in medal contention is 94th placed Palestine, but their top board, 2007-born WFM Eman Sawan, is pulling off a sensation. She moved to 6/6 with her latest win and a staggering 2661 rating performance (of course, a 100 percent score is hard to rate accurately).

Eman Sawan moves to 6/6! 🤯 https://t.co/miOA5iUgNn pic.twitter.com/EKY7dwPDt7

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

That means she currently leads the race to gain an individual gold medal on board one—a huge achievement for any player.

It could have been 7/7, but Sawan's teammates didn't make it to Budapest in time for round one.

Eman Sawan is leading Alexandra Kosteniuk in the race for individual gold on board 1 in the Women's #ChessOlympiad on 5/5 and a 2628 performance — that's despite missing Round 1 as her Palestine teammates hadn't yet made it to Budapest! https://t.co/gosAFQCKjs pic.twitter.com/7rFTzeYKMT

— chess24 (@chess24com) September 18, 2024

India currently looks unstoppable but, as mentioned, Poland has a chance to catch them if they can win their head-to-head encounter in round eight. The other two teams on 12/14, Kazakhstan and France, also clash in a crucial matchup.

2024 Chess Olympiad Round 8 Team Pairings: Women (Top 15)

Colin McGourty contributed reporting to this article.

The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad is a massive team event for national federations that takes place every two years. In 2024 it's being held in Budapest, Hungary, with 11 rounds that run September 11-22. In Open and Women's sections, teams of five players compete in a Swiss Open, with each match played over four boards. There are two match points for a win and one for a draw, with board points taken into account only if teams are tied. Players have 90 minutes per game, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move.

Previous Coverage:

• Round 6: Indian Teams Sole Leaders After Ding Defeat Costs China
• Round 5: Arjun Hits 5/5 As India Powers On; Armenian Women Topple China
• Round 4: Ivanchuk Beats So As Ukraine Topples Olympiad Top-Seed United States
• Round 3: Carlsen Bikes To Win As Giri, Keymer Suffer Shock Defeats
• Round 2: Caruana Back In 2800 Club; Canada Hold Carlsen-less Norway To Draw
• Round 1: Aronian, Mamedyarov, Arjun Live Dangerously As Top Teams Win
• 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad: 7 Talking Points
• U.S. Top Seeds, India Close 2nd As Chess Olympiad Teams Announced