India virtually seal historic gold at Chess Olympiad in Open section | Chess News – Times of India

Arjun Erigaisi has put India on the brink of winning a historic maiden gold in the Open section of the 45th Chess Olympiad with a victory over USA’s Leinier Dominguez Perez in the final match of the 10th round, with only a mathematical chance for China keeping the contest alive.
India, who beat USA 2.5-1.5, now lead with 19 points, followed by China (17 points) and Slovenia (16 points).
According to FIDE’s post on X, China still has an outside chance.
“China is now trailing India by two points. If India loses in the final round and China wins, the two teams will share first place. The tiebreaks will then decide the outcome, and although India has a much better tiebreak at the moment, there is still a slim chance China can prevail,” the world chess body posted.

Earlier on Saturday, D Gukesh put the Indian men’s team on course with a victory over USA’s Fabiano Caruana.
Gukesh, set to compete in the World Championship in November, showcased his skills by defeating the higher-ranked Caruana in a strategic Catalan opening game.
The Indian gained an advantage after capturing a pawn during the middle game. Caruana, under pressure, made errors that allowed Gukesh to secure a winning position.
The American team initially took the lead when Wesley So triumphed over R Praggananandhaa. Vidit Gujrathi then played solidly against Levon Aronian to secure a draw.

In the final game, Erigaisi secured the win against Perez, sealing India’s victory.
On the women’s side, Divya Deshmukh shone by defeating Ni Shiqun, contributing to India’s 2.5-1.5 victory over China. R Vaishali managed a crucial draw against Guo Qi through a strategic move.
D Harika and Vantika Agarwal both held their positions effectively, securing draws against Zhu Jiner and Lu Miaoyi, respectively.

India and Kazakhstan share the lead after 10 rounds, both sitting at 17 points—just one point ahead of USA and Poland.