Samarkand, September 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Reigning World Champion D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa won their respective games as defending champions India defeated England 2.5-1.5 in Round 7 of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Wednesday.
Gukesh secured victory with the black pieces against Daniel Howard Fernandez, while Praggnanandhaa defeated Nikita Vitiugov with white.
India’s win came despite Nihal Sarin losing to Luke McShane. On the second board, Arjun Erigaisi was held to a draw by veteran Michael Adams.
The narrow victory helped top-seeded India recover from their Round 6 defeat against hosts Uzbekistan and stay in contention in the tournament.
In a major table clash, Uzbekistan strengthened their position at the top of the standings with a 3-1 victory over China. Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated former World Champion Ding Liren, while Nodirbek Yakubboev beat Yu Yangyi with the black pieces.
Javokhir Sindarov, who is set to challenge for the World Championship title, was held to a draw by Wei Yi, while Mukhiddin Madaminov and Xu Xiangyu also shared the point.
Former champions the United States drew 2-2 with Armenia. Robert Hovhannisyan defeated Wesley So, while Awonder Liang drew with Gabriel Sargissian.
Elsewhere, Germany defeated Turkiye 3-1, the Netherlands beat Bulgaria 3.5-0.5 and Azerbaijan defeated Greece by the same margin. Uzbekistan 2 and France played out a 2-2 draw.
India women defeat Germany
In the women’s section, India defeated Germany 3.5-0.5 in Round 7, with B Savitha Shri extending her remarkable winning run to seven games.
Savitha Shri defeated Lara Schulze with the black pieces to maintain a perfect 7/7 record. She is the only player in the Olympiad to have won all seven of her games so far.
Koneru Humpy defeated Dinara Wagner, while Divya Deshmukh beat Hanna Marie Klek as India strengthened their position in medal contention with two rounds remaining.
In other women’s matches, Uzbekistan defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5, China drew 2-2 with Kazakhstan, Georgia beat Poland 2.5-1.5 and Bulgaria defeated Ukraine 3-1.
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