Tania Sachdev battled long and hard to rake in a precious point as India A registered a sensational 2.5-1.5 win against Hungary in the fourth-round match in the women’s section at the 44th Chess Olympiad on Monday.
After Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R. Vaishali drew their respective encounters, Sachdev rose brilliantly to the occasion. She thrashed Zsoka Gaal to earn a decisive point as well as the match for the team.
“It was a tough position and I was aware that our two boards had ended in a draw. We had a strong opponent and now it is the time for us to play stronger teams. So, I think we need to be ready for the competition. We are looking forward to the next game,” Sachdev said after the match.
“The teams are well balanced. It is important to take one round at a time. All the games were well fought,” said Abhijit Kunte, the coach of India women’s A team.
The 11th-seeded India women’s B team also edged past Estonia with a similar 2.5-1.5 score. Vantika Agrawal clinched the winning point for the team while the other three games ended in draws.
In a major upset, former World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana of US was beaten by Nodirbek Abdusattaarov of Uzbekistan, as a result of which Uzbekistan held the top-seeded star-studded US to a 2-2 draw.
In other fourth-round matches in the Open section, India A were held to a 2-2 draw by France while India B defeated Italy 3-1.
