Chess Olympiad Live Streaming: Where and when to watch India’s final round matches?

New Delhi: The Indian chess teams are on the verge of scripting history in the open section and women’s section at the Chess Olympiad, which is known to be the biggest international team event in the sport. The final round of the total 11 rounds will be played on Sunday to decide the champions in both sections.

India will face Slovenia in the final round of the open section while the women’s team will be up against Azerbaijan in a tricky match for the title. Both the Indian teams are leading the charts in the Chess Olympiad after the completion of Round 10.

India defeated Team USA in the open section as D Gukesh won against World No.3 Fabiano Caruana after Arjun Erigaisi defeated Leinier Dominguez Perez. Earlier in the day, R Praggnanandhaa lost to Wesley So but Vidit Gujrathi drew against Levon Aronian. India are on top of the standings with 19 points with China (17) and Slovenia (16) behind.

Mathematically, India have slim chances on dropping from the pole position but winning three matches against Slovenia will ensure a gold medal outrightly. If India lose or drop more than two games in the final round then they will have to wait for China’s final round against the USA.

Many back in the country have already started celebrations for India’s unconfirmed gold medal, including legendary Chess player Viswanathan Anand, though he later corrected in his X handle.

I understand this may not be mathematically certain, I apologise for jumping the gun, I got a bit carried away

— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) September 21, 2024

The Indian women’s team jointly hold the top position with Kazakhstan after the round 10. India beat China in the round 10 as Divya Deshmukh yet again proved to be the team’s star performer as she defeated Ni Shiqun on board three, while the other three games ended in draws as the Indian eves thwarted China’s challenge to post a 2.5-1.5 victory.

R Vaishali was the other Indian who deserved a lot of praise for her spirited defense in a difficult position against Guo Qi and in the end capitalized on a tactical shot to force the draw. On the top board, D Harika held on to her own to hold Zhu Jiner, while Vantika Agarwal matched Lu Miaoyi move for move to get an easy draw just when the middle game arrived as India closed in on China 2.5-1.5.

🇮🇳 India and 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan share the lead in the Women’s #ChessOlympiad after 10 rounds, both sitting at 17 points—just one point ahead of 🇺🇸 USA and 🇵🇱 Poland. Who will claim victory? Only the final round will tell! ♟️🏆

📷 Michal Walusza pic.twitter.com/3a87DBFp3q

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 21, 2024

According to FIDE.com, Alua Nurman saved the day for Kazakhstan with three games drawn. She held a draw, saving a losing position against Bella Khotenashvili on the fourth board, and secured a 2-2 tie in the match.

India and Kazkhstan have 17 points each after 10 rounds and both teams will battle out in their respective last round ties against Azerbaijan and United States of America respectively.

When to watch final rounds of Indian team matches in Chess Olympiad?

The final round (11th round) of the Chess Olympiad will start at 2:30 PM IST, which is four hours earlier than the regular rounds. The change in timings are done to accommodate the closing ceremony.

Where to watch final rounds of Indian team matches in Chess Olympiad?

The live matches of both Indian men and women teams will be available on the FIDE YouTube channel.

Where to watch Chess Olympiad final round matches of India on TV?

There is no concerned television broadcaster to telecast live matches of the Chess Olympiad in India. This has been the case for the whole tournament.

(With inputs from PTI and FIDE)