India defeated China 4-2 in the ninth and final preliminary round to make the quarterfinals of the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Sunday.
This has been confirmed by International Chess Federation (ICF) on its Twitter handle on Sunday.
ICF said 15-year-old Praggnanandhaa managed to turn the tables on Liu Yan and finished with a perfect 6/6 score.
“India does it! 4:2 win against China, four draws & two wins on U20 boards. 15-year old Praggnanandhaa R was on the ropes, but managed to turn the tables on Liu Yan & finish with a perfect 6/6 score. India takes first place in Pool A & is the first team to qualify to quarterfinals,” ICF tweeted.
The Indian team which finished at the top of Top Division Pool ”A” will play the quarterfinals against a yet-to-be-decided opponent on August 28, says a media report.
Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh, a former world under-10 and 12 champion, put it across Jiner Zhu to underline her potential.
Besides, Vidit Gujrathi, the Indian captain, held world No.3 Ding Liren to a creditable draw on the top board while P Harikrishna also shared the honours with Yangyi Yu.
It has been reported that Indian ace Koneru Humpy signed peace with world No.1 (women) Yifan Hou as did D Harika against the current world champion Wenjun Ju.
India claimed the top spot in Pool A with 17 points and 39.5 board points and became the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals, said the report.
India’s No.2 chess player, Harikrishna, reportedly said he was delighted with the win over China and credited the youngsters — Praggnanandhaa and Divya.
Pool A & is the first team to qualify to quarterfinals
India does it! 4:2 win against China, four draws & two wins on U20 boards. 15-year old Praggnanandhaa R was on the ropes, but managed to turn the tables on Liu Yan & finish with a perfect 6/6 score. India takes first place in Pool A & is the first team to qualify to quarterfinals pic.twitter.com/eVOW0IH6IQ
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 23, 2020