India Dominates First Round of 45th Chess Olympiad

Indian men's and women's chess teams began the 45th Chess Olympiad with emphatic victories. The men's team blanked Morocco 4-0, while the women's team defeated Jamaica, conceding just one draw. Key players like R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and R Vaishali led their teams to a confident start.

R Praggnanandhaa set the tone on the top board as the Indian men's team blanked Morocco 4-0, while the women romped home against Jamaica, conceding just a draw in the process, in the first round of the 45th Chess Olympiad.

With world championship challenger D Gukesh taking a break in the opening round, Praggnanandhaa delivered the goods against Tissir Mohamed out of a Sicilian defense game while Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and P Harikrishna also pulled off comfortable wins to start off confidently on Wednesday.

In the women's section, R Vaishali and Tania Sachdev scored fine victories in the first time control itself. However, on the other two boards there was stiff resistance as Divya Deshmukh had to sweat hard for a much-needed victory while Vantika Agarwal was forced to concede a draw in the endgame against her rival.

(With inputs from agencies.)