Chess Olympiad | Polish women make a habit of beating India

History repeated itself at the Chess Olympiad on Sunday.

Poland defeated the top-seeded India in the women’s event 2.5-1.5 at Samarkand; it was the exact scoreline in Budapest two years ago. That loss had come in the eighth round. India, however, bounced strongly back to win the title. This time around, it happened in the fifth round, and the defeat is indeed a setback to the defending champion.

Standings | After Round 5 | FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/VkWJH8LzgS

After the games involving Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal were all drawn, the fate of the match rested on the second-board clash between R. Vaishali and Aleksandra Maltsevskaya. The Chennai Grandmaster, with black pieces, was three pawns down when she resigned on the 57th move.