India played out a 2 2 draw against Azerbaijan in the eighth round of the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, keeping the defending champions in joint second position in the Open section with 13 match points.

All four Indian players finished their games with draws. D Gukesh was held by Muradli Mahammad after 56 moves, while R Praggnanandhaa shared the point with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Arjun Erigaisi drew against Aydin Suleymanli, and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi also settled for a draw against Rauf Mamedov.

Uzbekistan and Germany currently lead the Open section with 14 match points each. Germany moved level with the hosts after securing a 2.5 to 1.5 victory over Uzbekistan.

In the women’s competition, India also finished with a 2 2 draw against Kazakhstan and remained joint second in the standings. B Savitha Shri continued her outstanding campaign by recording her seventh straight win after defeating Elnaz Kaliakhmet.

Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh both drew their respective games, while Vaishali Rameshbabu was defeated by Nurman Alua.