In chess, India’s Women’s Team made a strong start to its campaign at the 46th World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, defeating the Dominican Republic 4 0 yesterday.

India’s top ranked player Koneru Humpy opened with a win against Franchesca Ramirez Luzon. R Vaishali also secured a comfortable victory over Miguelina De La Rosa Martinez. Vantika Agrawal faced a tougher contest before overcoming Mary Loly Gonzalez Peguero. B Savitha Shri marked her Olympic debut with a victory against Karla Mya Nunez Diaz.

The Indian Men’s Team also started its campaign with a win, beating Thailand 3 1. World champion D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi recorded victories for India. Nihal was the first Indian to secure a point after defeating Thanadon Kulpruethanon. Gukesh followed with an attacking performance to overcome Faris Rashid Alriyami, while Vidit completed a comfortable win against Tupfah Khumnorkaew. Arjun Erigaisi, however, lost to Prin Laohawirapap despite holding a strong position for much of the game.

The World Chess Olympiad is among the major events on the international chess calendar and features teams from numerous countries. Each team is allowed five players in its squad, with four players taking part in every round.