Chess Olympiad: Erigaisi stunned by little-known Thai as Indian men start with a 3-1 win

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Defending champions India made a winning start in the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, but their 3-1 win over Thailand was marked by a stunning defeat for Arjun Erigaisi on the top board.

Even though most of the top teams and rating favourites secured 4-0 wins against weaker teams in the Swiss League event, there were notable performances like that by Botswana, who played a fantastic match to hold a strong Brazil side 2-2 despite their players starting the match trailing their opponents by more than 400 Elo on each board.

But Erigaisi’s defeat to Thailand’s Prin Laohawirapap was the biggest upset of the day, even though reigning World Champion D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi won their respective games to secure a 3-1 win for the 2024 winner in the Open section.

Erigaisi had enjoyed the better position for much of the game, but a tactical oversight towards the end allowed Laohawirapap to turn the tables and secure a memorable win.

With both players running short of time, Erigaisi faced an extremely tricky position. He needed to find the third move to defend against the Thai player’s threats while keeping his extra pawn and winning chances.

Instead, Erigaisi blundered and let his opponent unleash a dangerous sequence as his king came under attack. He tried to defend till 54 moves when Erigaisi resigned.

On the other boards, Gukesh defeated Alriyami Faris Rashid, Sarin beat Kulpruethanon Thanadon, while Vidit Gujrathi defeated Khumnorkaew Tupfah.

In other matches, Hosts Uzbekistan defeated Jamaica 4-0; top seed United States, playing without their top player Fabiano Caruana, beat Iraq 3.5-0.5; China blanked Uganda 4-0, as did Germany, Azerbaijan, France, Armenia and England among others.

In the women’s section, defending champions India blanked Dominican Republic 4-0 with Koneru Humpy, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B winning their respective games.

Uzbekistan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, the United States, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, France and Poland also won their respective matches 4-0.

–IANS

bsk/

Related Posts

This will encourage more youngsters…: PM Modi prasies India Women’s SAFF Championship triumph

New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian women’s football team on clinching the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 title, stating that their success will inspire more youngsters to take up the sport in the future.

India women ended the wait of seven years to reclaim the SAFF championsip title after defeating defending champions Bangladesh 3-1 in a gripping final at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa, on Saturday.

The Prime Minister lauded the team’s consistent performance throughout the tournament and extended his best wishes for their upcoming international campaigns.

The triumph capped a remarkable campaign for the hosts, who won all four of their matches, scoring 18 goals and conceding just one, while ending Bangladesh’s hopes of securing a historic third consecutive title.

Taking to X, PM Modi wrote, “Congratulations to the Indian Women’s Football Team on winning the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026. They have played excellently through the tournament. This will encourage more youngsters to play football in the coming times. Best wishes to the team for their future endeavours.”

Pyari Xaxa gave India the lead in the 42nd minute before Ritu Porna Chakma equalised in first half stoppage time. Sanfida Nongrum restored the Blue Tigresses’ advantage just 40 seconds into the second half, while substitute Lynda Kom Serto sealed the victory in the 82nd minute as India lifted a record-extending sixth trophy.

The final had all the ingredients expected from a meeting between the region’s two strongest sides. Bangladesh arrived as defending champions, while India were chasing a title that had eluded them for the last two editions.

As the final whistle sounded, the significance of the achievement was evident across the Indian camp. Sanfida Nongrum, who played a decisive role throughout the tournament, scoring in both the semi-final and the final, dropped to her knees before embracing teammate Dangmei Grace, who announced her retirement after the match.

Around them, players and staff celebrated as India returned to the summit of South Asian women’s football for the first time since 2019.

–IANS

bc/

Finch questions timing of Stoinis’ shock ODI retirement

New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Former Australia captain Aaron Finch has hit out at Marcus Stoinis for his sudden retirement from ODIs and questioned the timing of the decision and its impact on the team.

Stoinis, who was initially named in Australia’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, announced his retirement from the format last week, forcing selectors to scramble for a replacement.

Speaking on ESPN Australia’s Around The Wicket podcast, Finch expressed his disappointment over the lack of prior communication from Stoinis to the team management. He believes the all-rounder should have given coach Andrew McDonald and captain Steve Smith a heads-up before being selected in the squad.

“When you’ve had the faith put in you by the selection, the coach, and the captain—maybe a little bit more of a heads-up? Saying, ‘You know, this is what I am thinking.’ I would be surprised if it was an off-the-cuff decision as well. I’m sure there would have been planning down the track, and conversations between Andrew McDonald and Marcus Stoinis to try to get to the decision,” Finch said.

The all-rounder was part of Australia’s white-ball series against Pakistan, followed by the Big Bash League and then the SA20 in South Africa. With the IPL scheduled immediately after the Champions Trophy, Finch believes the prospect of being on the road for nearly five months might have contributed to Stoinis stepping away from ODIs.

“At the end of the day, each player has the opportunity to decide what their fate is going forward. If you look at Marcus Stoinis over the last couple of years, he’s preferred to play the T20 route. Being in Pakistan, then straight to India after a summer of cricket at home—that can potentially be four-five months on the road. Maybe that contributed to the decision,” Finch added.

Following Stoinis’ withdrawal, Australia named all-rounder Aaron Hardie as his replacement while finalising their 15-member squad on Wednesday.

–IANS

hs/

BWF US Open: Srikanth enters first final of the year; Devika, Rounak bow out

Fullerton (US), June 28 (IANS) Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth reached his first final of the year with a hard-fought win over Japan’s Yudai Okimoto in the men’s semifinals of the US Open Badminton tournament here on Sunday (IST).

The 33-year-old got the better of fourth seed Okimoto 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 in an hour and 12 minutes.

Srikanth kept his nerve in the opening game after Okimoto had fought back from an 11-17 deficit to earn a game point. The Indian saved the point and won the next two to take the advantage. The Japanese shuttler, however, forced a decider with a strong showing in the second game.

The final game followed a similar script to the first as Srikanth opened up a 10-5 lead only for Okimoto to draw level at 12-all. Srikanth then pocketed six straight points, 12-13, before conceding five himself to make it 18-all. The Indian then relied on his experience to mix up the pace and wrap up the match.

Meanwhile, Indian teen qualifier Rounak Chouhan’s sensational run came to an end in the semifinals at the hands of Chinese Taipei’s eighth seed Su Li Yang, who will take on Srikanth in the summit clash.

Chouhan won his two qualifying round matches and then took down No. 74 Sankar Subramanian before causing the upset of the tournament, beating world No. 6 Chou Tien Chen 21-17, 26-24.

The 19-year-old then held off Misha Zilberman 23-21 21-11 before eventually running out of steam in the semifinals against No. 46 Su, 17-21, 19-21.

In women’s singles, Thailand Masters champion Devika Sihag could not sustain the momentum after winning the opening game against second seed Line Christophersen of Denmark, going down 15-21, 21-11, 21-15.

Christophersen made her first final since the Macau Open last August. The Dane shook off the opening game loss and made her way past Sihag.

–IANS

bc/

bc/