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Saturday, Jun 21, 2025
Five-time world champion Anand was in Germany to take part in the Bundesliga chess tournament and before he could return, the travel restrictions came calling in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anand was stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India had won the gold in the FIDE Online Olympiad in August and the victory by the women's team sans top players such as Koneru Humpy and D Harika is another boost to the game in the country.
Ummer Koya was also a reputed international arbiter and widely respected in chess-playing nations.
India were initially declared to have lost the final round but they lodged an appeal saying their players lost internet connection due to a server failure. The decision was then reversed.
Russia were initially declared winners after two Indian players - Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh - lost out on time in the final after suffering a disconnection with the server.
After the two teams won one round each in regular play, world rapid champion Humpy was pitted against Socko for the Armageddon (a tie-break), and the Indian beat her rival in style with black pieces to clinch a spot in the final for her side.
Humpy lost the first tie-break game, and then won the second to reach the Armageddon.
A Class 10 student of Devamatha CMI Public School, Thrissur, Nihal had become the World No. 1 player in the U-14 category in 2018. He had also clinched an individual gold medal at the World Youth Chess Olympiad.
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