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In the ongoing 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Indian women's team continued their impressive run with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Georgia, while the men's team defeated China 2.5-1.5.Grandmaster R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal led the charge for the women's team, securing crucial wins against Lela Javakhishvili and Bella Khotenashvili, respectively. Despite a draw by D Harika and a loss by Divya Deshmukh, Vantika's remarkable time management skills sealed India's seventh consecutive victory.The Indian women now boast an impressive 14 points out of a possible 14, extending their lead to two points over Poland, Kazakhstan, and France.In the open section, World Championship challenger D Gukesh led the Indian men to victory over China. Playing with the white pieces, Gukesh navigated a Closed Sicilian to a drawn endgame but remained focused to exploit a mistake by Chinese top board Wei Yi.Despite speculation of a potential clash between Gukesh and Ding Liren, the reigning world champion was rested by the Chinese team. R Praggnanandhaa drew quickly as black against Yangyi Yu, while P Harikrishna's efforts against Wang Yue resulted in an equal rook and pawns endgame.Arjun Erigaise's aggressive play against Bu Xiangzhi was met with a clever piece sacrifice, forcing a draw through repetition.With four rounds remaining, the Indian men have maintained a perfect score, matching their female counterparts. Iran is the closest pursuer with 13 points, followed by Serbia, Hungary, Armenia, and defending champions Uzbekistan with 12 points each.In the next round, the Indian men will face Iran, while the women will take on Poland.

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa put up a valiant fight against world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the eighth round of the Norway Chess Tournament, but ultimately succumbed to the Norwegian's superior experience. However, Praggnanandhaa's elder sister, Vaishali, emerged victorious against overnight leader Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine in the women's section.Carlsen's victory extended his lead to a full point over Hikaru Nakamura of the United States, who suffered a defeat against Firouzja Alireza of France. Meanwhile, World Champion Ding Liren of China continued his disappointing run, losing to Fabiano Caruana of the United States.With just two rounds remaining in the six-player double round-robin tournament, Carlsen holds a commanding lead with 14.5 points, followed by Nakamura with 13.5 points. Praggnanandhaa sits in third place with 12 points, while Alireza trails him by a full point. Caruana occupies fifth place with nine points, while Liren languishes at the bottom with 4.5 points.In the women's section, world champion Wenjun Ju of China surged ahead of the field with 14.5 points after defeating Pia Cramling of Sweden. Muzychuk's loss to Vaishali dropped her to second place with 13 points, 1.5 points ahead of Vaishali and Tingjie Lei of China. Koneru Humpy of India remains in fifth place with eight points.All three games in the men's category ended in draws in the Classical format, leading to Armageddon games as per tournament rules. Carlsen struggled to break down Praggnanandhaa's solid defense in the Classical game, eventually reaching a theoretically drawn rooks and pawns endgame. However, in the return game, Praggnanandhaa's inexperience showed as he lost several pawns and eventually succumbed to Carlsen's superior endgame technique.Nakamura remained within striking distance of Carlsen despite his loss to Alireza. The Frenchman played an impressive game and will fancy his chances in the remaining rounds. Vaishali defeated Muzychuk for the second time in the tournament in the Armageddon game, taking advantage of her better-placed rooks to secure the victory.Humpy's hopes of a comeback were dashed by her loss to Tingjie Lei. The Indian star, known for her resilience, now needs two wins to finish the tournament on a high note.

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali continued her impressive run at the Norway Chess Tournament in Stavanger, defeating veteran Swedish GM Pia Cramling in the fourth round. Vaishali's victory extended her lead to 2.5 points, with 8.5 points overall. She is now followed by Women's World Champion Wenjun Ju of China and Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine.Muzychuk secured her first win of the tournament by defeating Koneru Humpy, while Wenjun overcame her compatriot Tingjie Lei in the Armageddon tiebreaker. With six rounds remaining in the double round-robin format, Lei sits fourth with five points, ahead of Humpy and Cramling.In the men's section, world number one Magnus Carlsen outplayed his arch-rival Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Firouzja Alireza of France also emerged victorious, defeating reigning world champion Ding Liren of China.Nakamura leads the men's standings with seven points, followed by Alireza with 6.5 points. Carlsen is third with six points, while Praggnanandhaa has slipped to fourth with 5.5 points. Caruana is fifth with five points, and Liren trails with just 2.5 points.Vaishali's victory against Cramling was a testament to her perseverance. Playing with the black pieces in a Grunfeld defense, she equalized effortlessly and guided the game into a heavy piece endgame. Cramling's pawn structure issues provided Vaishali with an opportunity, and a blunder by the Swedish GM resulted in a lost rook and pawns endgame.Humpy's loss to Muzychuk followed a similar pattern. The rook and pawns endgame should have ended in a draw, but a late blunder by Humpy handed the victory to Muzychuk. This was Muzychuk's first classical chess victory in nearly seven months.In the men's section, Nakamura capitalized on Praggnanandhaa's unforced errors. The Indian's Nimzo Indian defense led to a dynamic balance, but Praggnanandhaa's optimism in the middle game led to a knight sacrifice. Nakamura converted his material advantage into a full point after 86 moves.Carlsen's victory over Caruana was a masterclass in endgame play. Outplaying his opponent from a balanced position, Carlsen capitalized on a blunder by Caruana in the final stages of the game.