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Find below videos from the venue by Arne Kaehler and expert analysis by GM Daniel King and IM Robert Ris.
Chess enthusiasts missed the chance to see a preview of the upcoming World Championship match between Ding Liren and Dommaraju Gukesh, as China's captain Wen Yang chose to leave Ding out of the lineup in the crucial clash against India. This decision, while understandable given the world champion’s recent form, also took advantage of China's depth, with Wei Yi stepping in as the top board to face the in-form Gukesh.
For most of the match, Wen’s decision seemed to be justified. China managed to hold draws on boards 2-4, while Wei defended tenaciously against Gukesh. However, the young Indian star continued pushing in the endgame, converting a position with two knights against rook into a hard-fought win after 80 moves. With this victory, India secured their seventh consecutive match win, establishing themselves as the sole leaders with four rounds remaining.
Attack like a Super Grandmaster
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM†with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Entering the seventh round, China, Vietnam, and Iran were sharing second place, just one point behind India. As India and China faced off, Vietnam played against Iran. The Iranian squad clinched victory by a 2.5-1.5 score, thanks to Pouya Idani’s win over Banh Gia Huy on board 4, with the other three games ending in draws. While India remains unbeaten on individual boards, Iran has also been impressive, suffering only one individual loss, back in round 3.
Vietnam v. Iran, with Le Quang Liem facing Parham Maghsoodloo on the top board | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Four teams are now tied for third place with 12 match points, two points behind India: Uzbekistan, Hungary, Serbia and Armenia. All four secured wins on Wednesday, with Serbia and Armenia upsetting higher-rated opponents. Serbia defeated the Netherlands, with wins by Aleksandar Indjic and Velimir Ivic, while Armenia beat England, led by Haik Martirosyan's victory over Nikita Vitiugov on the top board. Hungary overcame Lithuania, thanks to Peter Leko's win on board 2; the veteran has scored 3/5 points in Budapest so far.
India will face Iran in round 8, aiming to maintain their perfect record. A double gold for India in both sections of the Olympiad is now a realistic dream, as the chess powerhouse continues to dominate the competition.
Serbia's Velimir Ivic | Photo: FIDE / Mark Livshitz
Armenia's Haik Martirosyan playing white against England's Nikita Vitiugov (1-0) | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
In the marquee matchup of the day, Gukesh and Wei reached a balanced position (evaluated by engines as equal) when the Indian star, trusting his technical abilities, simplified into an endgame with two knights against a rook.
34.Rxg8+ Kxg8 35.Nxc3 leads to a setup rarely seen in chess games. The player with the knights gets to create threats of forks at every turn - in fact, knights are always tricky pieces, so Black will always have issues to deal with in this position.
By move 71, much later in the game, White's passed pawn on the f-file, supported by the pair of knights became the main factor in the position.
Gukesh managed to stop Black's passer on the h-file, while protecting his own passed pawn. I did not take long before Wei threw in the towel.
Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Gukesh talking with India's captain Srinath Narayanan | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Iran's Pouya Idani | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova
Middlegame Secrets Vol.5 - The Inner Strength of Kings
In this video course, kings will play a role of strong and active pieces. We will explore how Kings can be helpful in defence and prophylaxis, or even in attack!
A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2
This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.
| Rk. | Team | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 199 | |
| 2 | Iran | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 159 | |
| 3 | Uzbekistan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 164 | |
| 4 | Hungary | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 143 | |
| 5 | Armenia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 141,5 | |
| 6 | Serbia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 134 | |
| 7 | United States of America | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 165 | |
| 8 | China | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 156 | |
| 9 | Vietnam | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 152 | |
| 10 | Georgia | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 149 | |
| 11 | Norway | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 144,5 | |
| 12 | France | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 137 | |
| 13 | Romania | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 130 | |
| 14 | Azerbaijan | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 141 | |
| 15 | Lithuania | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 139,5 | |
| 16 | Netherlands | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 134,5 | |
| 17 | Germany | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 134 | |
| 18 | Spain | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 134 | |
| 19 | England | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 134 | |
| 20 | Slovenia | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 131 |
| No. | Team | Pts. | MP | : | MP | Pts. | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iran | 20 | 13 | : | 14 | 23½ | India |
| 2 | Hungary *) | 18½ | 12 | : | 12 | 19 | Armenia |
| 3 | Serbia | 19 | 12 | : | 12 | 20½ | Uzbekistan |
| 4 | United States of America | 20½ | 11 | : | 11 | 19½ | France |
| 5 | China | 19 | 11 | : | 11 | 18½ | Romania |
| 6 | Vietnam | 19½ | 11 | : | 11 | 19½ | Norway |
| 7 | Georgia | 20 | 11 | : | 10 | 17½ | Netherlands |
| 8 | Germany | 20 | 10 | : | 10 | 19 | Croatia |
| 9 | England | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Lithuania |
| 10 | Italy | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Azerbaijan |
| 11 | Spain | 19 | 10 | : | 10 | 17 | Denmark |
| 12 | Argentina | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Ukraine |
| 13 | Czech Republic | 20½ | 10 | : | 10 | 17½ | Moldova |
| 14 | Cuba | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 19 | Israel |
| 15 | Montenegro | 17½ | 10 | : | 10 | 18½ | Turkiye |
