India’s Open and Women’s teams were both held to 2-2 draws at the Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 8 on 24th September 2026 (Thursday), against Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The Open side drew all 4 boards against Azerbaijan. The Women’s team split the day evenly, a win, a loss and 2 draws. India’s Open team sits on 13 match points, and Kazakhstan’s women stay 1 point clear in their section. Savitha Shri B was the one player who kept her perfect run going, and her win gets the full breakdown below.
Nihal Sarin Rests as Vidit Steps In at Chess Olympiad 2026
Nihal Sarin sat out Round 8, a day after his loss to Luke McShane in Round 7. Having 2 hard days back to back will wear on any player, and a rest round mid-event is normal team strategy, not a setback.
Vidit Gujrathi took his place on board 4 and kept things simple against Rauf Mamedov. The game started with a 4-knight variation, and queens came off by move 16, rooks soon after, and the game settled into a repetition by move 30. According to Stockfish 19, the game was almost equal and never rated either side more than half a pawn ahead.
Praggnanandhaa Lets a Winning Position Slip
Pragg had the better position against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov for most of the game. Mamedyarov pushed his kingside pawns forward with h5, h4, g5 and f4, while Pragg planted a pawn on b6, deep in Black’s camp. By move 33 the engine had him more than a pawn ahead.
With under 5 minutes on the clock, Pragg played 34.Ra1 instead of the steadier 34.Kh2, and the advantage disappeared in that single move. The players traded down and shook hands on move 36.
Arjun Erigaisi had a shorter brush with an edge on board 2. A loose knight retreat from Aydin Suleymanli on move 12 briefly gave White something to work with. Suleymanli then captured on d6 rather than pushing 13.e5, and the position levelled out quickly. Queens left the board by move 17, and the game ended in a rook-check repetition on move 37.
World Champ Held to a Draw by Muradli
Gukesh’s opponent, Mahammad Muradli, arrived in good form after winning the UzChess Cup Challengers in June with 7.5 out of 9. Gukesh met his Najdorf with the sharp 6.Bg5, and queens came off by move 17. What followed was a long endgame with White holding more space on the queenside.
Both players ran low on time in the same stretch, and between moves 31 and 36 the engine flagged 8 errors between them. After 34…Ra8, Gukesh was close to 3 pawns ahead by the engine’s count, but 35.Kf3 gave most of that back, where 35.b6 would have kept it. Gukesh reached the time control still better and pressed for 16 more moves before the position levelled at move 47. Muradli held the draw with checks, and the game ended on move 56. However, Gukesh remains unbeaten so far in Samarkand.
Savitha Wins, Humpy and Divya Draw, and Vaishali Falls to Nurman
Savitha has now played 7 games at her first Olympiad and won all 7. Her Round 8 opponent, WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet, gave her a proper fight and was the one pressing for long stretches. Kaliakhmet had a genuine winning position after 33.Ne4, but her reply, 33…Bxe4?, let Savitha’s rook recapture and level the game.
Koneru Humpy drew Bibisara Assaubayeva, the reigning Norway Chess women’s champion, with a queen repetition on move 36. Divya Deshmukh held Meruert Kamalidenova to a perpetual check on move 31 in a Caro-Kann that stayed level throughout.
Vaishali’s game against IM Alua Nurman was the tougher one to watch. The position was level through move 22, but by move 23 Vaishali had just over a minute left with 17 moves still to go before the time control. Her 23.Bc6 let Nurman’s queenside pawns start advancing, and Vaishali spent the rest of the game defending on the increment. Nurman queened a pawn on move 40 and finished with checks. It’s her second match-deciding win of the Olympiad, after her single victory settled Kazakhstan’s Round 6 tie against Azerbaijan.
That wraps up the action from the Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 8 in Samarkand. Round 9 is on 26th September 2026, (Friday). India’s Open team will look to convert one of its 4 draws into a win, and Savitha will look to make it 8 from 8.
Chess Bharat’s Highlight of the Day: Savitha Shri B Making It 7/7
Savitha playing with white pieces against Kaliakhmet
The game began in the well-known territory of the Italian Game.
Around move 47, Savitha missed her best chance, playing 47.Ra4? instead of the stronger 47.Rb6+. The position swung back in Kaliakhmet’s favour, but she gave the advantage back on the very next move.
Savitha however converted the position cleanly, showing an excellent understanding of the rook endgame.
Note: Chess Bharat reports tournament results independently and without favouring any player, team, or federation. Round 8 results and standings were checked against the official broadcast, and games were replayed and engine-checked before publication. If you spot an error, please let us know and we’ll correct it.
