Chess: Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi Shines, Women Struggle in Asian Games Chess

Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi, seeded third, rebounded from an unexpected defeat to secure victories in the third and fourth rounds at the Asian Games.

_{^{Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi Notches 2 Victories at Asian Games Chess. (Photo: PTI)}}

In the Asian Games chess event in Hangzhou, Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, seeded third, showcased a remarkable resurgence by securing victories in the third and fourth rounds after an unexpected loss. Gujrathi, aged 28, first defeated Thailand’s Prin Laohawirapap in the third round and then triumphed over Vietnam’s Le Tuan Minh in the following round, accumulating three points and currently holding the sixth position in the standings.

Joining him at three points after four rounds is the fourth-seeded Arjun Erigaisi, who won against Vietnam’s Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son in round three but drew with Iran’s GM Tabatabeai Seyedmohammadami.

However, in the women’s event, India’s top players, Koneru Humpy and D Harika, encountered difficulties after initially winning their first two rounds. On Monday, they only managed to secure half a point from the two rounds, as China’s top seed, Hou Yifan, proved to be a formidable opponent, defeating Harika in round three and Humpy in the following round.

Humpy drew her third-round match against China’s Zhu Jiner before losing the next, while Harika drew Nilufar Yakubbaeva of Uzbekistan after her loss to Yifan in the third round. After four rounds, both Indian players have 2.5 points each, sharing their position with five other players, while Yifan leads the field with four points, followed by Jiner.

About Post Author

Toshika Chauhan