India beat an all-Grandmaster Italy team side 3-1 in the Open section, and the Women’s team beat Greece 3.5-0.5, in the Samarkand Chess Olympiad on 18th September 2026, Friday. Here’s the full Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 3 India recap: 3 Indian players, Nihal Sarin, Vantika Agrawal, and Savitha Shri B, are now a perfect individual 3/3 through all the rounds, and Gukesh with this round, answered his critics with a dominant win.
Nihal Sarin Completes a Hat-Trick
Nihal is the standout of the tournament for India so far, and he made it a hat-trick today. Playing White against Francesco Sonis, he was already crushing the position before 37.Rxe8+ sealed it further. Three moves later, 40.Bb5 left Sonis with no way to stop mate except giving up his queen, so he resigned instead. Three rounds, three wins, and he’s proving why he’s not just limited to exceptional blitz skills, but also classical, and that’s why he was an individual gold medalist in the 2022 Chennai Chess Olympiad. Although he’s not the only one doing it, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B have also matched him on the Women’s boards.
Gukesh Answers Back
Gukesh needed a response, and he gave one. Playing Black against Sabino Brunello, he missed a few early chances to finish things faster, but White never really stood a chance for most of the game. Brunello resigned after 33…Qh7, a mate threat he could only stop by giving up his queen, which would have made continuing pointless anyway. After a Round 2 draw that dropped his live rating below 2700 for the first time in four years, this was exactly the answer he needed.
Erigaisi’s Rollercoaster Ends in a Draw
Arjun Erigaisi’s game against Luca Moroni Jr. went through more swings than a single game should. Playing Black, Erigaisi capitalised immediately when Moroni blundered with Qg4??, hitting back with Qxc3. Then it got rough. Erigaisi blundered his own advantage away with 38…Rb8??, and White was winning as late as move 59. White then blundered in turn, and the game finally ended in a draw on move 64. Credit to Erigaisi for staying composed through all of that, a draw was a fair result from a genuinely wild game.
Praggnanandhaa’s Second Straight Draw
Praggnanandhaa had the advantage with White against Lorenzo Lodici right up to move 25, before 26.Nf5+?? threw it away and levelled the position completely. The game stayed balanced from there, and both players agreed to a draw on move 41. One draw is nothing to worry about. Two in a row, on Board 1, is worth watching over Praggnanandhaa’s next couple of rounds at this 46th Samarkand Olympiad.
India’s Women Section: Three Perfect Records, One Draw From Divya Deshmukh
Vantika Agrawal beat Ekaterini Pavlidou with white pieces to stay perfect at the Olympiad. She had a genuinely winning position before 30.exf5?? which let most of it slip, grabbing a pawn without checking what it opened up. Pavlidou handed it straight back with 31…Nxf5??, but Vantika didn’t blink again, forcing a dominant position, and resignation by move 44. She’s currently one of three Indians unbeaten through three rounds, alongside Nihal and Savitha.
Koneru Humpy beat Stavroula Tsolakidou the harder way, her 2nd win since returning to the lineup in place of Vaishali. No single blunder this time, she played a very solid game. The game had three separate small drifts from Tsolakidou that let Humpy’s edge grow into a completely winning position by the middlegame, death by a thousand small concessions.
Savitha Shri B had the wildest game of the day, women’s or open. A shaky 37…Rd8?? nearly threw away a comfortable position, and Christodoulaki handed it straight back a move later with 38.Bf2??. A long grind followed, Savitha’s queenside pawns doing the real damage, and White’s position finally cracked for good with 47.Qd1? and 49.Qc2??. By 64…c1=Q there was nothing left to defend with.
Divya Deshmukh had the calmest day of any Indian player. Nothing separated the two sides against Avramidou, pieces traded off evenly, and the resulting rook endgame settled into a repeating pattern; neither side had reason to break. The reigning Women’s World Cup champion stays unbeaten through three rounds, and on a chaotic day for two of her teammates, a clean, error-free draw is its own kind of good result.
The Pairings Get Harder From Here
That wraps up Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 3 India coverage. Round 4 is Saturday, and the pairings get tougher from here for both teams. Full schedule and where to watch are in our Chess Olympiad 2026 guide.
Chess Bharat’s Highlight of the Day
Moroni Jr. vs. Erigaisi, Round 3
One of the wildest game of the day, and the one that best sums up what a full 11-round Olympiad will actually feel like. Erigaisi, playing from the black pieces, punished an early blunder, handed his own advantage straight back a few moves later, watched Moroni build a winning position deep into the game, and still walked away with half a point after Moroni let the position repeat rather than press home the win.
Chess Bharat doesn’t take sides, spin results, or spread misinformation about any player, team, or federation. Every score and move in this piece has been checked against live broadcast data before publishing. This article was reviewed personally before it went live. Spotted something off? Tell us, and we’ll fix it.
