India, Russia Announced Joint Winners Of FIDE Online Chess Olympiad After Tech Failure

India & Russia both emerged as gold medal winners after the final of FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on August 30 with internet connection playing a spoilsport once again from India's end. Russia went into the final as slight favourites but the first round ended in a 3-3 deadlock. In the first round of the final, Russia made a few good saves to earn themselves a draw. Second round saw Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh lost connection and hence, the points. On time, India forfeited the game, Humpy Koneru also faced internet problems, thus losing time. However, India filed an official appeal against the decision and the matter was investigated, following which it was decided to give gold medals to both teams. India's top-ranked player world No.15 Vishwanathan Anand sat out of the first round as captain Vidit Gujrathi occupied the first board against the current world No.4 Ian Nepomniachtchi. Although Vidit had a clear advantage in the middle game, Nepomniachtchi managed to force a draw. Among the women, Humpy Koneru squandered an advantage and had to settle for a draw against Kateryna Lagno.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2020 06:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).