Uzbekistan Pulls Two Matches Clear as Praggnanandhaa Delivers a Mating Net

Uzbekistan is still perfect. The hosts beat China 3-1 in Round 7 of the 46th Chess Olympiad to reach seven match wins from seven, and Chess.com’s own tally puts them two full match points clear of a five-team chasing pack at 12: Netherlands, India, Germany, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The win again came down to the two Nodirbeks. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, now on 5.5/7, handed Ding Liren his first defeat of the tournament, built on opening preparation strong enough to leave him with a big time advantage for most of the game.

Behind him, Nodirbek Yakubboev ground down Yu Yangyi in a tricky endgame for his fifth win in his last six games, a run good enough that an individual medal is now a realistic conversation for him too.

Armenia couldn’t quite match Uzbekistan’s pace, but their 2-2 draw with the United States was still a genuine result for the underdogs. Awonder Liang picked up his second win of the event on board four, while Wesley So misplayed a tricky rook ending and lost to Robert Hovhannisyan.

India kept their own medal hopes alive with a 2.5-1.5 win over England, winning on boards one and four. Gukesh D continued the tournament he’s been quietly having, moving to 6/7 and playing at close to a 2800 level since round two.

The round’s real highlight came from Praggnanandhaa, who produced what FIDE’s own report called the position of the day against Nikita Vitiugov. With both kings castled on opposite sides, he found 26…Bd3!!, and after 27.Nd2?! followed up with 27…Rc3!!, pinning White down and setting a trap of its own.

Had White grabbed the bishop with 30.cxd3??, the point of the whole sequence would have shown itself: 30…Rc1+ 31.Kxb2 Qb4+ 32.Nb3 a3 is forced mate. Vitiugov avoided that exact line, but Praggnanandhaa’s attack had already done irreversible damage — 30…Bxc2+ forced material losses White couldn’t survive, and he resigned soon after.

The Women’s section produced no undefeated team at all after Round 7. China and Kazakhstan met each other directly and drew 2-2, leaving both tied at the top on 13 points apiece, with WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet beating WIM Tianqi Yan on one board and IM Lu Miaoyi winning for China on another.

Behind the co-leaders, a dozen teams sit within two points of the top. India routed Germany 3.5-0.5, with Savitha Shri reaching a perfect 6/6, while Georgia beat Poland, Bulgaria upset Ukraine 3-1, and Mongolia’s win over France counted as a genuine surprise on the day.

The round opened with an unusual amount of ceremony. Dignitaries from four different countries took turns making opening moves on different boards, forcing FIDE’s own broadcast team to sprint the length of a 163-meter playing hall to keep up. The last of them, Samarkand deputy governor Husen Tuxtaev, opened Abdusattorov’s game with 1.e3 — prompting commentator Peter Svidler to quip that at least “everything is protected.”

Four rounds remain before medals are decided. Uzbekistan’s lead now looks similar in shape to the one they built through Round 6, and Round 8 brings two matches that could reshape the Women’s race at once: Kazakhstan against India, and China facing Georgia. Germany, the team that upset the top-seeded USA back in Round 5, remains part of the group chasing Uzbekistan in the Open section too.

Open standings after Round 7 of 11

#	Team	W–D–L	Match Points	Board Points
1	Uzbekistan	7–0–0	14	22.5
2	Netherlands	6–0–1	12	19.5
3	India	6–0–1	12	18.5
4	Germany	6–0–1	12	19
5	Azerbaijan	5–2–0	12	20
6	Armenia	5–2–0	12	19
7	China	5–1–1	11	19.5
8	France	4–3–0	11	19.5
9	Iran	5–1–1	11	20.5
10	Serbia	5–1–1	11	18.5

Women standings after Round 7 of 11

#	Team	W–D–L	Match Points	Board Points
1	China	6–1–0	13	22.5
2	Kazakhstan	6–1–0	13	20.5
3	India	6–0–1	12	22
4	Bulgaria	6–0–1	12	22
5	Georgia	5–2–0	12	20.5
6	Armenia	6–0–1	12	20
7	Mongolia	6–0–1	12	19
8	USA	5–1–1	11	21
9	Uzbekistan	5–1–1	11	20
10	Netherlands	4–3–0	11	20