Divya upsets Chinese WGM, Praggnanandhaa shines as India reach quarters

Nagpur: For the third time in as many days, youngsters Divya Deshmukh and Praggnanandhaa R earned crucial points as India upset top-ranked China 4-2 to emerge toppers in Pool ‘A’ to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Fide Online Chess Olympiad on Sunday.
While Divya and Praggnanandhaa scored crucial wins on their U-20 boards, seniors held the higher-ranked Chinese champions in the ninth and final round. With the juniors leading the way for the second successive day, India regained the lead to finish the nine-round Pool A tournament with 17 points. India became the first team to book their quarterfinal spot. The second and third placed China (16) and Germany (11) will fight in the play-offs.
In a pulsating final round, Indian skipper Vidit Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala held higher-rated Chinese Grandmasters Ding Liren and Yu Yangyi respectively. Rapid champion Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, too, played vital draws against World No 1 Hou Yifan and world champion Ju Wenjun respectively.
After four drawn games, the onus was on the juniors and both 15-year-olds Praggnanandhaa and Divya rose to the occasion. On the fifth table, the 1781 Elo Indian GM Praggnanandhaa R utilized his opening advantage with the white pieces well to surprise 2427 GM Liu Yan 2427 in 66 moves.
On the sixth table, two-time World Youth champion and 1775-rated Divya Deshmukh defended well with her black pieces to upset Chinese WGM and 2326 Elo Zhu Jiner in a marathon 71-move battle.
The Indian chess fraternity was all praise for the young side. “Nerve wracking moments throughout the day! So happy to see India win all the matches today. Defeating China in the last round made sure we qualified to the quarterfinals,” Gujrathi tweeted. India No 2 Harikrishna credited both Praggnanandhaa and Divya for the table top finish.
Earlier in the seventh round, India outclassed Georgia 4-2 after five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and experienced Koneru Humpy were held to a draw by lower-ranked GM Pantsulaia Levan and IM Arabidze Meri, respectively. In the first round of the third day, Praggnanandhaa and Divya posted pivotal victories over Kacharava Nikolozi and Lomaia Diana respectively.
In the penultimate round, India made light work of third-placed Germany 4.5-1.5. With eight victories and a draw India collected 17 points and scored 39.5 board points. The 12-team quarterfinals will begin from August 27.
RESULTS (ROUND 9)
India beat China 4-2 (Vidit Gujrathi drew with Ding Liren; Yangyi Yu drew with Harikrishna Pentala; Koneru Humpy drew with Hou Yifan; Wenjun Ju drew with D Harika; R Praggnanandhaa bt Yan Liu; Jiner Zhu lost to Divya Deshmukh).
Final standings (Pool A)
1 India (17, 39.5), 2 China (16, 39), 3 Germany (11, 28.5), 4 Iran (9, 30), 5 Mongolia (8, 27.5).