Savitha Shri B rescues India with dramatic win over China at Chess Olympiad

The Turning Point

Savitha Shri B rejected a safe draw to pull off a thrilling win against China's Mo Zhai in the penultimate round of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Playing with a pawn down and a tough position, Savitha stopped a threefold repetition move by playing rook to d1. Teammate Vantika Agrawal suffered her first loss of the event in a tense match against Miaoyi Lu after overextending to chase a win.

The Standings

Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh both settled for quick draws on the top two boards. Savitha's eighth win of the tournament brought her score to 8.5 out of 9 and salvaged a 2-2 draw for the Indian women's team against China. The result leaves India tied for third place with Poland and Vietnam on 16 match points. China currently leads the standings with 18 points, while Kazakhstan holds second place with 17 points.