India defeated Germany 2.5 to 1.5 in the ninth round of the FIDE Chess Olympiad men’s Open section, with reigning World Classical Chess Champion D Gukesh producing the decisive win.

The result lifted India to second place in the standings and kept the team firmly in the race for the title. In the important encounter, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin all drew their games, before Gukesh delivered the only victory of the match for India.

India’s women also recorded a 3 to 1 victory. B Savitha Shri’s impressive streak of seven consecutive wins ended with a draw against Uzbekistan’s Karimova Guldona on the top board, although she remains unbeaten in the tournament.

Koneru Humpy also drew her game against Uzbekistan’s Afruza Khamdamova. Divya Deshmukh and Ventika Agrawal, however, secured wins to help India claim the overall victory.

The result took India’s women to 15 points after nine rounds, placing them joint second alongside Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Leaders China defeated Armenia 3 to 1, while Mongolia and Kazakhstan finished their encounter with a 2 to 2 draw.