India’s A-team won against Hungary in the fourth-round match of the women’s section at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai on Monday. And it was all thanks to 35-year old ace player, Tania Sachdev, who registered an extraordinary 2.5-1.5 win.
The four-women team consisted of Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, R Vaishali and Tania Sachdev, and the first three rounds ended in draws. After the match, Sachdev–who beat Hungary’s Zsoka Gaal–said, “It was a tough position and I was aware that our two boards had ended in a draw. We had a strong opponent and now it is the time we have to play stronger teams. So, I think we need to be ready for the competition. We are looking forward to the next game.” The coach of the women’s A-team, Abhijit Kunte said, “The teams are well-balanced and it is very important to take one round at a time. All the games today were well fought.”
The 11th-seeded Indian women’s B-team beat Estonia with the same, 2.5-1.5 score. Vantika Agrawal raked in the winning point for the team while the other three games ended in draws.