The 14th-seeded young Uzbekistan team with an average age of 20 prevailed over the overnight leader, 12th-seeded Armenia, by a strong 3-1 score to jump into sole lead with 16 match points at the end of the ninth round of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad. The 11th-seeded India 2 held sixth-seeded Azerbaijan.
With three rounds to go at the Chess Olympiad, Armenia continues to lead the standings in the open section with an undefeated match score. On Saturday, they beat India thanks to a second win in a row for Gabriel Sargissian. The other marquee confrontation of the round saw India 2 shock the US with wins by Gukesh and Raunak. Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana to collect his eighth consecutive full point the 16-year-old is heading for the stars! In the women’s event, India conceded its first draw of the event, and now has a 1-point lead over Georgia. | Photo: Stev Bonhage