Budapest R6 (open): India sole leaders, as Arjun keeps on winning!

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/17/2024 – At the halfway mark of the Chess Olympiad, India, the second seeds in the open section, have emerged as the sole leaders, with 6 wins from 6 matches. Not only have they maintained a perfect match record, but they are also the only team to remain undefeated in both individual and team performances across either section of the tournament. Arjun Erigaisi has been the star performer for the Indian team, winning all 6 of his games, including a round-6 victory over Hungary's Sanan Sjugirov. Meanwhile, former co-leaders China and Vietnam drew their match, with Vietnam's Le Quang Liem defeating world champion Ding Liren on the top board. | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

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Arjun wins again!

Find below videos from the venue by Arne Kaehler and expert analysis by GM Daniel King.

India have emerged as the favourites to claim the title at the 45th edition of the Chess Olympiad. This could be only their third medal in the event's history, excluding their shared gold with Russia at the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad. Their first Olympiad medal came in 2014, when they got bronze; then, in 2022, 'India 2' also secured bronze (that team included D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa, who are also playing in Budapest). In round 6, India defeated Hungary 3-1 to maintain their perfect match record and become the sole leaders at the tournament's halfway mark.

India's win over Hungary was secured by victories from Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi on boards 3 and 4, respectively. Arjun's triumph over Sanan Sjugirov kept his perfect score intact after playing in all 6 rounds so far. The 21-year-old has gained 13.3 rating points and is just 8.7 points away from the coveted 2800 rating. He has been backed by strong performances from his teammates, who have kept the team unbeaten on all individual boards, a feat no other squad has achieved in either section.

India had entered round 6 tied for first place with Hungary, Vietnam, and China. In the other match between co-leaders, Vietnam drew against China after Le Quang Liem beat Ding Liren on the top board. China's Wang Yue levelled the match by defeating Tran Tuan Minh on board 4. Ding, after four consecutive draws, suffered his first defeat in Budapest, dropping 9.3 rating points overall and falling out of the world's top 20 in the live ratings.

Le Quang Liem, Ding Liren

Le Quang Liem (Vietnam) and Ding Liren (China) shake hands at the start of their round-6 encounter | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Joining Vietnam and China in second place, one match point behind India, is Iran. Led by Parham Maghsoodloo, the Iranian squad defeated Norway 2½-1½. Maghsoodloo drew against Magnus Carlsen in an 87-move battle, where Carlsen pushed hard in an objectively drawn rook endgame with an extra pawn. The decisive result came from Pouya Idani on board 4, as he beat Frode Urkedal with the black pieces, securing Iran's victory in this crucial match.

Iran's upset over Norway was one of several surprises in round 6. Romania (seeded 18th) drew with the top seeds from the United States after all four games were drawn. Austria also drew against Poland, with Valentin Dragnev producing a stunning queen sacrifice that outfoxed Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who had obtained a clear advantage in the middlegame. Lithuania (seeded 29th) and Georgia (32nd) added to the day's surprises with victories over Azerbaijan (12th) and Spain (13th) respectively.

After the rest day, all eyes will be on Wednesday's much anticipated India v. China clash, where a potential Gukesh v. Ding showdown could take place. This could be their last encounter before the World Championship match in November.

Magnus Carlsen, Parham Maghsoodloo

Magnus Carlsen (Norway) tried hard but could not make the most of his extra pawn against Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Fabiano Caruana, Bogdan-Daniel Deac

Fabiano Caruana (United States), on his part, reached an endgame with rook and knight v. rook, which Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) safely defended | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Alexei Shirov, Mikheil Mchedlishvili

Mikheil Mchedlishvili (Georgia) defeated living legend Alexei Shirov (Spain) with the white pieces | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Le takes down the world champion

Analysis by Johannes Fischer

Ding, Liren27360–1Le, Quang Liem2741
45th Olympiad 2024
Budapest HUN16.09.2024[Johannes Fischer]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 g6 7.h4 Bg7 8.h5 Bf5 9.h6 Bf6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Nh2 Nb6 12.a4 Na5 13.Ne4 Bxe4 14.Bxe4 c4 15.d3 Rc8 16.Rb1 Qd7 17.dxc4 Rxc4 18.Qxd7 Nxd7 19.Bf3 Rxa4 20.Ng4 Nb3 21.Rd1 Ne5 22.Nxe5 Bxe5 23.Bg5 Nd4 24.Bxb7 Rb8 25.Bf3 f6 26.Be3 Nxf3+ 27.exf3
27...Bd6 28.Ra1 Rxa1 29.Rxa1 Rxb2 30.Rxa7 g5 31.Ra8+ Kf7 32.f4 gxf4 33.gxf4 Kg6 34.Rg8+ 34.f5+ Kxf5 35.Rh8 Rb4 36.Rxh7 Rh4 37.Kf1 34...Kxh6 35.f5+ Kh5 36.Rg7 Rb5 37.Rxh7+ Kg4 38.Kg2 Rb2 39.Rh8 Kxf5 40.Bc5 Another step in the wrong direction. The resulting rook ending is still objectively a draw, but harder to hold than the position with the bishops on the board. Rb7 41.Bxd6 exd6 42.Rd8 Ke6 43.Re8+ Re7 44.Ra8? The engine brands this as a losing move and recommends instead 44.Rd8 with complete equalisation. But the difference between these two moves cannot be recognised by a human being at the board. 44...d5 45.Kf3 Ke5 46.Ra1 Re6 47.Ra4 Rb6 48.Ke2 d4 49.f3 f5 50.Ra5+ Kf4 51.Rd5 Rb2+ 52.Ke1 Rh2!
Le Quang Liem deals with the technical part very precisely right to the end. 53.Kf1 Kxf3 54.Rxf5+ Ke3 55.Re5+ Kd2 56.Ra5 Rh1+ 57.Kf2 d3 58.Ra8 Rh7 59.Ra2+ Kc3 60.Ra3+ Kc2 61.Ra2+ Kb3 62.Ra8 Re7
0–1

Ding Liren, Le Quang Liem

Le Quang Liem plays 55...Kd2 ...

Ding Liren, Le Quang Liem

...two moves later, Ding Liren bemoans his fate

Ding Liren, Le Quang Liem

...and resignation comes after Black's 62nd move | Photos: FIDE / Michal Walusza


Expert analysis

GM Daniel King


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Standings after round 6 - Open

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 India 12
2 Vietnam 11
3 China 11
4 Iran 11
5 Uzbekistan 10
6 France 10
7 Ukraine 10
8 Armenia 10
9 Hungary 10
10 England 10
11 Georgia 10
12 Serbia 10
13 Lithuania 10
14 Netherlands 10
15 United States of America 9
16 Poland 9
17 Norway 9
18 Romania 9
19 Greece 9
20 Austria 9

...186 teams

Round 7 pairings - Open

Team Pts. MP : MP Pts. Team
India 21 12 : 11 17½ China
Lithuania 17 10 : 10 16 Hungary *)
Iran 17½ 11 : 11 18 Vietnam
Uzbekistan 17½ 10 : 10 16½ Ukraine
Serbia 16 10 : 10 16½ Netherlands
Armenia 16½ 10 : 10 16 England
France 17½ 10 : 10 18 Georgia
Greece 16½ 9 : 9 17½ United States
Austria 15 9 : 9 16½ Norway
Romania 15½ 9 : 9 16 Poland
Sweden 14½ 8 : 8 17 Germany
Azerbaijan 15½ 8 : 8 16½ Kazakhstan
Spain 16½ 8 : 8 14½ Latvia
Colombia 16½ 8 : 8 17½ Czech Republic
Israel 16 8 : 8 14 Iceland

...93 boards


  • Full pairings and standings on Chess-Results: Open | Women
  • All games on Live.ChessBase.com: Open | Women

All available games - Round 6 (Open)

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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