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 (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 (Norway) tried hard but could not make the most of his extra pawn against Parham Maghsoodloo (Iran) | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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
Mikheil Mchedlishvili (Georgia) defeated living legend Alexei Shirov (Spain) with the white pieces | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Analysis by Johannes Fischer
Le Quang Liem plays 55...Kd2 ...
...two moves later, Ding Liren bemoans his fate
...and resignation comes after Black's 62nd move | Photos: FIDE / Michal Walusza
| Rk. | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 145,5 | |
| 2 | Vietnam | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 123 | |
| 3 | China | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 119 | |
| 4 | Iran | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 112,5 | |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 115 | |
| 6 | France | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 108,5 | |
| 7 | Ukraine | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 105,5 | |
| 8 | Armenia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 104,5 | |
| 9 | Hungary | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 104 | |
| 10 | England | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 104 | |
| 11 | Georgia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 103 | |
| 12 | Serbia | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 102 | |
| 13 | Lithuania | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 98,5 | |
| 14 | Netherlands | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 97,5 | |
| 15 | United States of America | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 113 | |
| 16 | Poland | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 107,5 | |
| 17 | Norway | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 105,5 | |
| 18 | Romania | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 94 | |
| 19 | Greece | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 92,5 | |
| 20 | Austria | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 83 |
| No. | Team | Pts. | MP | : | MP | Pts. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 21 | 12 | : | 11 | 17½ | China |
| 2 | Lithuania | 17 | 10 | : | 10 | 16 | Hungary *) |
| 3 | Iran | 17½ | 11 | : | 11 | 18 | Vietnam |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 16½ | Ukraine |
| 5 | Serbia | 16 | 10 | : | 10 | 16½ | Netherlands |
| 6 | Armenia | 16½ | 10 | : | 10 | 16 | England |
| 7 | France | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18 | Georgia |
| 8 | Greece | 16½ | 9 | : | 9 | 17½ | United States |
| 9 | Austria | 15 | 9 | : | 9 | 16½ | Norway |
| 10 | Romania | 15½ | 9 | : | 9 | 16 | Poland |
| 11 | Sweden | 14½ | 8 | : | 8 | 17 | Germany |
| 12 | Azerbaijan | 15½ | 8 | : | 8 | 16½ | Kazakhstan |
| 13 | Spain | 16½ | 8 | : | 8 | 14½ | Latvia |
| 14 | Colombia | 16½ | 8 | : | 8 | 17½ | Czech Republic |
| 15 | Israel | 16 | 8 | : | 8 | 14 | Iceland |
