Gukesh, Vantika, Vaishali heroics as India top

D Gukesh removed his gloves, picked up a knife and prepared an ambush.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

In an endgame that lasted more than a session in a Test match the match itself went on almost six hours - the teen was a machine to wear down Wei Yi to give India an immense win over China, one of the principal competitors to India's quest for global gold in the Open section of the Olympiad.

The win meant India won 2.5-1.5 to give them a perfect 14 from 14 after seven rounds. Thirty minutes before Gukesh's own heroics, R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal placed their major pieces on the lawns of their Georgian opponents and reaped major rewards as the Indian women's team took a giant step towards global glory. Coming into the seventh round as sole leaders on 12 match points, one clear of Georgia and Poland, handed out a big beating to go to 14 points after seven matches.