Gukesh secures dramatic win to keep India in Chess Olympiad gold race

D Gukesh executed a 54-move Houdini act to flip certain defeat into a miraculous turnaround against Germany's Alexander Donchenko at the 2026 Chess Olympiad.

The clutch win snatched an improbable 2.5-1.5 victory for India in Samarkand, keeping the defending champions alive in the gold medal race after stubborn draws by his teammates.

In the women’s section, India powered past host Uzbekistan 3-1, driven by clinical middle-board victories from Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal.