India slipped to the second position in Pool A on the second day of the online Chess Olympiad on Saturday. The seventh seed is on 11 points, one behind China, the second seed and one of the strong favourites.
India had begun the day fairly well, with a 4.5-1.5 win over Indonesia, despite two of its strongest players, Viswanathan Anand and Dronavalli Harika being, held to draws by their lower-rated rivals. Wins by captain Vidit Gujrathi and R. Praggnandhaa and Bhakti Kulkarni ensured the team the two match points.
The fifth round, against Iran, saw Anand continuing his indifferent form, as he was shocked by Parham Maghsoodloo. India's best female player Koneru Humpy was held to a draw by Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, as was teen sensation Nihal Sarin by Aryan Gholami. But Pendyala Harikrishna, Harika and Vantika Agrawal posted victories to help the team take the match 4-2.
India, however, was surprised in the sixth round by Mongolia, which forced a 3-3 draw. There were defeats for Gujrathi, Humpy and Vaishali, but Arvindh Chithambaram, Praggnandhaa and Divya Deshmukh saved the blushes.
