Budapest R6 (women): India beat Armenia to become sole leaders

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/17/2024 – Heading into the rest day of the Women's Chess Olympiad, India emerged as the sole leaders after a 2.5-1.5 victory over Armenia in round 6. Divya Deshmukh (pictured) secured the win in the only decisive game of the match, helping India maintain their perfect score. Close behind, Georgia and Poland are tied for second place, just one match point behind India. Both teams won their respective matches by the narrowest of margins, with Salome Melia leading Georgia to victory and Oliwia Kiolbasa delivering the key win for Poland. | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

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Closely contested matches

The three top matches in Monday's sixth round of the Women's Chess Olympiad all finished with 2½-1½ scores, the smallest possible margin in a 4-game match. Each contest featured three draws and one decisive game. India defeated co-leaders Armenia thanks to Divya Deshmukh's win on board 3; Georgia overcame former leaders Mongolia with Salome Melia's win on board 4; and Poland beat China, the fourth seeds, with Oliwia Kiolbasa clinching the match on board 3.

India's women's team is one of only two squads in Budapest - in either section of the Olympiad - to keep a perfect score so far. Unlike the open section, where the Indian team (a double gold is now a reasonable ambition) has dominated, the women's team has narrowly won two consecutive matches to emerge as the sole leaders. This ability to win tight matches early on could favour them in the long run, as they have shown resolve to overcome tough obstacles early on. Against Armenia, Divya Deshmukh delivered a key victory, defeating Elina Danielian in style on board 3 to maintain India's flawless record.

Tania Sachdev

India's Tania Sachdev got an extra pawn in a rook and bishop endgame but could not convert into a win in her game against Anna Sargsyan | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

In the clash between Georgia and Mongolia, the rating favourites managed to halt Mongolia's surprising run of upset victories from previous rounds. The top three boards ended in balanced draws, while Salome Melia's strong endgame technique on board 4 earned Georgia the decisive point, as she got the better of Erdenebayar Khuslen to secure the win.

Poland's victory over China, though significant, was not an upset - Poland are seeded third, and China fourth. However, China's back-to-back losses were unexpected, given their impressive performances in the first four rounds. After losing to Armenia in round 5, China faltered again on Monday. Oliwia Kiolbasa, the standout for Poland, delivered the winning point by defeating Guo Qi on board 3. Kiolbasa has developed a strong reputation at Olympiads, notably winning 9 consecutive games in the 2022 edition in Chennai, and now scoring 4½/5 in the first half of the event in Budapest.

Women's Chess Olympiad 2024

Georgia's Bela Khotenashvili (standing), Lela Javakhishvili and Nana Dzagnidze during the sixth round | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Alicja Sliwicka

Poland's Alicja Sliwicka signed a 93-move draw with black against China's Ni Shiqun | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

These results leave Georgia and Poland tied for second place, just 1 match point behind India as the tournament heads into its rest day. Nine teams, all of which were in the top 20 seeds at the start, sit 1 point further back. Among them, Peru (seeded 39th) and Australia (seeded 46th) made headlines by upsetting stronger opposition on Monday: Peru drew with Hungary, and Australia defeated Israel.

Round 7 on Wednesday promises thrilling matchups, with leaders India set to face Georgia, while Poland will take on Ukraine in what will be key clashes in the race for the Olympiad title.

Women's Chess Olympiad 2024

Peru (right), with IM Deysi Cori on the top board, drew Hungary on Monday | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

Divya's key victory

Playing white, Divya Deshmukh faced Elina Danielian's French Defence and got a clear edge out of the opening both on the clock and in the position. Once the black king was forced to remain in the centre of the board, the Indian representative began to open up lines for her pieces to create havoc on the opposite camp.

Divya Deshmukh

Divya Deshmukh having a look at her teammate's positions | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza


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Standings after round 6 - Women

Rk. Team  TB1 
1 India 12
2 Georgia 11
3 Poland 11
4 United States of America 10
5 Armenia 10
6 Kazakhstan 10
7 Mongolia 10
8 Spain 10
9 France 10
10 Azerbaijan 10
11 Germany 10
12 Ukraine 10
13 Hungary 9
14 Bulgaria 9
15 Peru 9
16 Uzbekistan 9
17 Greece 9
18 Austria 9
19 Netherlands 9
20 Australia 9

...169 teams

Round 7 pairings - Women

Team Pts. MP : MP Pts. Team
India 18½ 12 : 11 17 Georgia
Austria 15 9 : 9 18½ Hungary *)
Ukraine 16 10 : 11 18½ Poland
Azerbaijan 16½ 10 : 10 17½ Kazakhstan
Armenia 18 10 : 10 18½ United States
Mongolia 16 10 : 10 18 Germany
Spain 18½ 10 : 10 17½ France
Canada 14½ 9 : 9 16½ Bulgaria
Peru 17 9 : 9 15 Netherlands
Greece 15½ 9 : 9 15½ Uzbekistan
China 18½ 8 : 9 16 Australia
Latvia 14½ 8 : 8 16 England
Estonia 14½ 8 : 8 15 Turkiye
Serbia 15 8 : 8 18 Iran
Vietnam 17 8 : 8 15 Czech Republic

...84 boards


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

All available games - Round 6 (Women)

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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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