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India’s open team beats England 2.5–1.5 in Round 7

By Drooid · Sep 26, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

India Beats England

India’s open team defeated England 2.5-1.5 in Round 7 at Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
World Champion D Gukesh recovered from a losing position to beat Alexander Donchenko.
India’s women’s team beat Uzbekistan 3-1, with Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh scoring wins.
Indian teams sit on 15 points, trailing Uzbekistan in the open and China in the women’s, keeping gold hopes alive.

Summary

Gukesh Silences Critics

Gukesh secured a resilient win in Round 9, viewed as silencing criticism of his 2024 champion title.
He played Black and exchanged his dark-squared bishop early to impair White’s pawn structure.
He maneuvered his knights and advanced a5-a4, targeting queenside weaknesses.
Donchenko doubled rooks on the e-file and pushed one to e6, aiming at Gukesh’s king on f7.
Under time pressure, Gukesh advanced his h- and g-pawns to create kingside complications.

History

Historical Context

Viswanathan Anand’s 2000 FIDE World Championship win in New Delhi and Tehran made him the first world champion from east Asia and sparked a surge in Indian chess, later reflected in the rise of prodigy Gukesh D, who claimed comeback victories in Samarkand. The surge now pressures Uzbekistan and China to intensify training.

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India Beats England

India’s open team defeated England 2.5-1.5 in Round 7 at Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
World Champion D Gukesh recovered from a losing position to beat Alexander Donchenko.
India’s women’s team beat Uzbekistan 3-1, with Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh scoring wins.
Indian teams sit on 15 points, trailing Uzbekistan in the open and China in the women’s, keeping gold hopes alive.

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