Olympiad: Erigaisi picks first win of tournament; India's winning juggernaut rolls on
India's chess team overcame initial logistical challenges at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan to secure a victory against Spain. Arjun Erigaisi rebounded from a difficult opening round to defeat Maksim Chigaev, contributing to India's strong performance.
Why it matters
Demonstrates the impact of organizational logistics on elite athletic performance and highlights India's growing dominance in international chess.
NEW DELHI: The 46th edition of the Chess Olympiad began on a murky note, with multiple teams facing accommodation issues upon arrival in host city Samarkand, Uzbekistan. India, the defending champions across both the open and women's sections, also had to wait for hours before players were allotted separate rooms. Coming off a gruelling week back home for the Global Chess League (GCL), one of the players who had to hop straight from the Bengaluru event to Samarkand was India's No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi.When Praggnanandhaa opted to rest for the opening-day fixture against Thailand, it was Arjun who stepped in to play Board 1. Playing white, he lost to Thailand's 2363-rated International Master Prin Laohawirapap.World champion Gukesh, who has had a commendable score of 3.5/4 in this tournament, explained what had gone wrong for Arjun.
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