Reigning World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won their respective games as defending champions India defeated England 2.5-1.5 in Round 7 of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Wednesday.
Playing with black pieces, Gukesh defeated Daniel Howard Fernandez, while Praggnanandhaa beat Nikita Vitiugov with white pieces. India’s victory came despite Nihal Sarin losing to Luke McShane, while Arjun Erigaisi drew against veteran Michael Adams.
The result helped India bounce back from their previous defeat to hosts Uzbekistan and maintain their challenge near the top of the standings. In another major table clash, Uzbekistan strengthened their position with a 3-1 win over China. Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated former World Champion Ding Liren, while Nodirbek Yakubboev beat Yu Yangyi. Javokhir Sindarov and Wei Yi drew their game.
In the women’s section, B Savitha Shri maintained her perfect record with a seventh consecutive victory as India defeated Germany 3.5-0.5. Savitha Shri remains the only player with seven wins from seven rounds.