Olympiad: Humpy downs 'Greek Goddess' Tsolakidou; Gukesh back above 2700

Koneru Humpy and Gukesh (Photo by Rafal Oleksiewicz and Michal Walusza from FIDE)NEW DELHI: On Friday, the Indian women's team, defending champions and unbeaten so far in the tournament, was paired against Greece in Round 3 of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. On paper, this looked routine. India, the top seeds, were expected to win the tie, and they eventually did. But the top-board clash between Koneru Humpy and Greece's Stavroula Tsolakidou carried a subplot that had been building for a fortnight, and it turned an otherwise straightforward fixture into the day's most closely watched game.Tsolakidou was part of Ganges Grandmasters, the eventual champions of the just-concluded Global Chess League (GCL) Season 4. It was against Humpy, playing for APL Pipers, that Tsolakidou suffered her first loss of that tournament, playing white.To turn the tables in the reverse fixture, she needed something special, and got it when coach Adhiban Baskaran handed her a folder titled "Prep for the Greek Goddess!" Working off that file, she beat Humpy with the black pieces. The moniker "Greek Goddess" became famous.The two met again in the GCL final, where Tsolakidou held Humpy to a draw in the first game and then beat her again with black in the second.A positive score over the Indian, coupled with the results on the other boards, was enough to hand Ganges Grandmasters the title, with Tsolakidou also named the Player of the Tournament.So when the pairing brought them together again on Friday, it was more than a Grandmaster-versus-International Master matchup. This time, as the format shifted from rapid to classical, the Indian veteran Grandmaster prevailed.39-year-old Humpy, with white, built her position with patience. The game began as a Nimzo-Indian structure, with Humpy choosing an ambitious setup featuring 10.b4 and 11.b5, gaining queenside space.Black’s pieces became somewhat passive, while White gradually built pressure with 14.f4, 15.Qf3 and 16.Rad1.The critical phase arrived with 21.e5, opening lines and increasing the activity of White’s pieces.After 22.bxc6 bxc6, Humpy’s knight penetrated with 23.Ne4 and 24.Nxd6, winning material and creating tactical threats.The sequence 25.Nxe8 Rxe8 26.Qxh4 left White with a significant advantage, although Black’s active queen and passed-pawn kept the doors slightly open for a comeback.Humpy maintained the initiative, coordinating her rooks and bishop. 40.e6 was particularly strong, leading to 41.Bxe6+ and 42.Rd7+.After winning the f5-bishop with 43.Bxf5, White’s material and attacking advantage became decisive. Tsolakidou resigned after 46.Rf1, capping off a perfect day for the Indian Grandmaster, who had taken a rest against Finland in Round 2.Gukesh back to winning waysIn the open section, world champion D Gukesh made his way back to winning ways after Thursday's rating dip below 2700, a drop that had made headlines less for its size than for whom it happened to.Playing black against Italy's Sabino Brunello on Friday, Gukesh met a Queen's Indian-style setup.After 4...Ba6 and 5...c5, Black immediately challenged White’s queenside structure and achieved active piece play. The game became highly tactical once Gukesh expanded with 15...g5 and centralized strongly with 17...Ne4 and 19...Nd4.Brunello tried to simplify with 21.Nxd4 and 22.Rxc8, but Black’s pieces remained more active. The key sequence began with 23...Nc3, forcing exchanges that improved Black’s bishop activity. After 25...Re5, Gukesh increased the pressure, and 26...Bxe2 won an important pawn while keeping White’s king exposed.28...Bxh3 removed a key defender, while 29...Bd4+ and 30...Re2+ drove the king into a dangerous position. 31...Qxh3 left Black with overwhelming attacking threats and a large material advantage.Although Brunello gave checks with 32.Qxg5+ and 33.Qd8+, they were only temporary. Gukesh's queen and bishop combined to set up mating threats, and Brunello resigned after 33 moves, handing Gukesh a much-needed win and, with it, a step back towards the 2700 mark he had slipped under just a day earlier.India's winning streaks stay intactThe rest of India's open team also had a strong day against Italy. Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi both drew their games, but Nihal Sarin added another win to his growing tally, beating Francesco Sonis, as India closed out the match 3-1.For India's women, Friday's 3.5-0.5 win over Greece, with only Divya Deshmukh drawing her game against Anastasia Avramidou, kept an already imposing unbeaten run alive, with Humpy, Vantika Agrawal, and Savitha Shri all winning their individual games. Vaishali Rameshbabu took a rest day.Both Indian teams will be back in action on Saturday, with the open side facing Spain and the women's team taking on Mongolia.