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On Tuesday, September 17, India became the sole leaders after round six of the ongoing 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024. India’s Arjun Erigaisi defeated Hungary’s Sanan Sjugirov by 3-1 margin in India’s run to become sole leader as China only managed to draw with Vietnam’s Liem Le defeating world champion Ding Liren. On the other hand, in the women’s category, India became the only team to win all their games so far.
IM Divya Deshmukh scored on board three to defeat Armenia 2.5-1.5. These results meant that a team has broken clear pack for the first time although India versus China in the round seven will give China a chance to get back to the first position. After round six of the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024, India is leading the points table with 12 match points to their name.
Arjun Erigaisi registers six straight wins in six rounds
Arjun Erigaisi put together a dominant performance and moved to 2791.3 on the live rating list. His win over Sjugirov featured a pawn being sacrificed that helped the Indian player gain an advantage in the initial part of the game. Apart from Erigaisi, GM Vidit Gujrathi, who has a 5/6, also put up a brilliant performance after failing to win against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on Monday.
Talking about the tournament, it started on September 11 and will conclude on September 24. While a total of 193 teams participated in the open section, which is a record in the history of the tournament, around 181 teams featured in the women’s tournament. In the next round, India men will face China while the Indian women’s team will play against Georgia.
