46th Chess Olympiad R3: India Scores Double Victory Over Italy and Greece

by Devansh Singh - 19/09/2026

On day 3 of the 46th Chess Olympiad, Indian teams maintained their winning streak, scoring wins in both the Open and Women sections. In the Open section, Gukesh and Nihal won their games to defeat Italy by 3-1. In the Women section, Koneru Humpy, Vantika Agrawal, and Savitha Shri scored wins to defeat Greece by 3.5-0.5. In the 4th round, the Open team will face Spain, while the Women's team will face Mongolia. Photo: Michal Walusza

Nihal Sarin giving autographs after winning his game in the 3rd round | Photo: Michal Walusza

Open Section: India vs. Italy (3-1)

In the open section, it was a smooth day; Gukesh and Nihal scored comfortable wins, while Arjun was looking in a bad position, but he showed great resilience and drew his game. On the top board, Praggnanandhaa got a slight chance against Lorenzo Lodici, but eventually the game ended in a draw.

Board 1: Praggnanandhaa vs. Lorenzo Lodici (0.5-0.5)

On the top board, it was a clash between India No. 1 and Italy No. 1; the position was chaotic, and both sides were pushing. At one point, Pragg had a chance to convert his advantage, but he was not able to do so, and the game ended in a draw.

Solid draw on board 1 | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz

Board 2: Moroni Luca Jr vs. Arjun Erigaisi (0.5-0.5)

Arjun salvaged a draw after a chaotic game where his position swung from winning to drawn, to losing, and finally back to a draw. It was a crazy game, but eventually Arjun managed to control his nerves and hold a draw.

Position after 38.Qb4

Arjun had a great position with black, but he played Rb8 and lost a pawn on c7.

Board 3: Nihal Sarin vs. Francesco Sonis (1-0)

Nihal delivered a beautiful win against Francesco Sonis, highlighted by a shocking and highly unusual early kf1 that confused his opponent and set up a strong attack. It was a great attacking display by Nihal.

The Winning Duo | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Nihal played 14.Kf1

Board 4: Brunello Sabino vs. D Gukesh (0-1)

Gukesh showed why he is the world champion and played a brilliant game to defeat Brunello Sabino with black pieces. He kept the pressure on white pieces and eventually won his game smoothly.

Gukesh with his young fan | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz

Check out Gukesh meeting his fans, giving the official FIDE Interview, and a small face-off with Javokhir Sindarov!

Replay Round 3 Games

Ranking list after Round 3

Rk.	FED	Team	Group	Games	+	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	ROU	Romania	A	3	3	6	32	11,5	8
2	FRA	France	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
	POL	Poland	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
4	UZB	Uzbekistan	A	3	3	6	26	10,5	8
	CHN	China	A	3	3	6	26	10,5	8
6	ESP	Spain	A	3	3	6	26	10	8
7	GER	Germany	A	3	3	6	24	10	8
	AZE	Azerbaijan	A	3	3	6	24	10	8
	ARM	Armenia	A	3	3	6	24	10	8

Check the full ranking list here.

In Round 4, the Indian Open team will face Spain.

Pairings for Round 4

No.	FED	Team	Pts.	MP	:	MP	Pts.	Team	FED
1	UZB	Uzbekistan *)	10½	6	:	6	9½	Turkiye	TUR
2	USA	United States of America	8½	6	:	6	9½	Ukraine	UKR
3	ESP	Spain	10	6	:	6	8½	India	IND
4	SRB	Serbia	9	6	:	6	10½	China	CHN
5	GER	Germany	10	6	:	6	11	Poland	POL
6	GRE	Greece	10	6	:	6	8	Netherlands	NED
7	AZE	Azerbaijan	10	6	:	6	10	Czech Republic	CZE
8	ISR	Israel	10	6	:	6	7½	Hungary	HUN
9	FRA	France	11	6	:	6	11½	Romania	ROU
10	ARG	Argentina	10½	6	:	6	10	Armenia	ARM

Details

Women's Section: India vs. Greece (3.5-0.5)

Another dominating win for the Indian team as Koneru Humpy, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri scored wins, and Divya Deshmukh held a solid draw.

India vs. Greece (3.5-0.5) | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Board 1: Koneru Humpy vs. Stavroula Tsolakidou (1-0)

Humpy Won an exciting revenge match against Stavroula Tsolakidou by capitalizing on an advantage in the middlegame and creating a strong attack on Stavroula's king.

Koneru Humpy in action | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Board 2: Avramidou Anastasia vs Divya Deshmukh (0.5-0.5)

Divya played solidly with the black pieces to secure a draw.

Board 3: Vantika Agrawal vs. Ekaterini Pavlidou (1-0)

Vantika kept her perfect streak alive with a brilliant tactical win that included a powerful rook sacrifice against Ekaterini Pavlidou.

Vantika scored a dominating victory | Photo: Michal Waluzsa

White to play: find the best move!

Position after 34...e3

Board 4: Antonia Christodoulaki vs. Savitha Shri (0-1)

Savitha showed great fighting spirit in her Olympiad debut, bouncing back from a difficult position to win her game.

Replay Round 3 Games

Ranking list after Round 3

Rk.	FED	Team	Group	Games	+	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4
1	USA	United States of America	A	3	3	6	30	11,5	8
	ROU	Romania	A	3	3	6	30	11,5	8
3	IND	India	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
	POL	Poland	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
	UZB	Uzbekistan	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
	VIE	Vietnam	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
	ISR	Israel	A	3	3	6	28	11	8
8	ARM	Armenia	A	3	3	6	28	10,5	8
9	KAZ	Kazakhstan	A	3	3	6	26	10,5	8
	CHN	China	A	3	3	6	26	10,5	8

Check the full ranking list here.

In Round 4, the Indian women’s team will take on Mongolia.

Pairings for Round 4

No.	FED	Team	Pts.	MP	:	MP	Pts.	Team	FED
1	UZB	Uzbekistan *)	11	6	:	6	10½	Argentina	ARG
2	MGL	Mongolia	10	6	:	6	11	India	IND
3	ARM	Armenia	10½	6	:	6	10½	Kazakhstan	KAZ
4	CHN	China	10½	6	:	6	9½	Hungary	HUN
5	ESP	Spain	9½	6	:	6	11½	United States of America	USA
6	ENG	England	10½	6	:	6	10½	Azerbaijan	AZE
7	VIE	Vietnam	11	6	:	6	11	Poland	POL
8	GER	Germany	9½	6	:	6	11	Israel	ISR
9	ROU	Romania	11½	6	:	6	10½	Bulgaria	BUL
10	SRB	Serbia	10½	6	:	6	10	Iran	IRI