Unlike on board 3, where everything went as Laysa planned, the ga between dina and Harika Dronavalli on board 2 was definitely the ga that dina wanted to get over as quickly as possible. In this clash, she was getting outplayed even from the beginning of the ga, not being able to get any room to breathe, just within the first ten moves.
Harika Dronavalli really showed why she was one of the best won’s players in the world, playing a clean ga without any nonsense shenanigans allowed on the board.
The woman managed to take advantage of dina’s eagerness to rush forward at the beginning of the ga to push back, locking all of dina’s pieces on her own territory without any room to move freely. Even though the Indonesian IM didn’t really make that much of a mistake, Harika managed to occupy a lot of strategic squares, which in the end allowed the Indian GM to slowly convert it into her own advantage.
Of course, the ga wasn’t really that perfect. Harika sotis also made a few inaccurate moves that would give dina a chance to fight back. However, that mistake was so subtle that even dina herself couldn’t find it on the board, finally wasting away the opportunity that was given to her.
However, things started to go in dina’s favor once the ga between Laysa and Vaishali was over. It seed that Harika also felt the pressure here, as the Indian GM needed to win this ga to keep the hope of winning this matchup alive.
Harika suddenly got too anxious, starting to march her king forward while all she needed to do was simplify things. As a result, the evaluation bar moved back slightly, close to equal, and while the GM still had the advantage, now dina had a chance to create a counterplay, and if she was not careful, the woman could say goodbye to this ga.
Unfortunately, dina couldn’t really take advantage of all the chances that were given to her. It seed that she was really determined to lose in this ga, as whenever Harika made a mistake, the woman doubled it down with a more outrageous mistake that would only put her closer to the death door.
This ti, she was being too afraid of the rook that had already infiltrated the second rank and was very close to breathing down her neck, so the woman pushed all of her pawns to escape from Harika’s grasp. It was a huge mistake, though, as if anything, the move only made dina lose all of her pawns within the next few moves, basically burying her hope to avoid the L in this ga.
"Yeah, it is not an easy endga to navigate," Anna said solemnly. "Sister dina has already done her best, but it is not enough to allow her to escape from this pit hole. Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli really does a good job today, going for an all-out attack since the beginning of the ga to kill Sister dina swiftly. It seems that the matchup will be tied soon."
BerryLigrt5: Damn! Just when I thought that we could do it!
Hilda99: Well, you cannot bla dina for this. The opponent is in the top ten of the rankings for the won’s category in the world, so it is very hard for her to avoid the L.
BerryLigrt5: Yeah, I know. Doesn’t an I have to like it, though.
Sheva also felt pity here, especially when he saw dina’s stressed face on the screen. The boy really wanted her to succeed, not only because she represented the country, but also for all of her support in the last couple of days. Unfortunately, this was the cruelty of a professional ga. No one could create an upset in every round, and those who were at the top were there for a reason. It was understandable for dina to lose against Harika Dronavalli, so while the viewers also regretted this, no one blad the woman for this loss.
"It seems that Master Irene’s situation is also not very good." Sheva let out a deep sigh when the computer shifted to board 1. "She is down two pawns, and Humpy Koneru has two advanced pawns that are already crossing the fifth rank. It is unstoppable at this point, and soon, we will also see the resignation on the board."
Now, the boy started to pity Laysa. For all the hard work that the girl did, it seed that no one was able to follow her steps here. Even Claudia was the sa. Even though at one point, the girl had a chance to win the ga, Tania Sachdev managed to neutralize all of her threats, turning the ga into an equal one with no way to create sothing.
Even though the matchup was still far from over, anyone who was not blind would be able to tell that Indonesia was about to lose this round, and while it was not a sha to lose against the top-seeded team, the hope that Laysa gave was enough to make this defeat hurt more for them.
"There it is..." After fifteen more minutes, Bagas sighed in defeat as he saw that the handshake was made on boards 1 and 2 almost simultaneously. "Both Master Irene and Master dina have resigned from the ga, and now India is back with the 2-1 lead against us. Our only hope now is for Claudia to pull a miracle and win her ga against Tania Sachdev on board 4."
"Unfortunately, Bagas, that seems to be sothing impossible right now." Sheva shook his head, also feeling disappointed. "They are in the middle of the endga phase, with both having three pawns and an opposite color bishop. You ask even Magnus Carlsen himself, and he would tell you that this is a draw. No chance that Tania Sachdev will throw the ga."
Claudia herself also started tearing up on her chair. She felt her soul leaving her body when Irene and dina resigned almost at the sa ti, and the re thought of her making the team lose the matchup was enough to make her cry on the spot. Unfortunately, that couldn’t change anything here, as Tania Sachdev ruthlessly denied all the pawn advancent plans that Claudia was trying to pull.
In the end, after shuffling for more than 20 minutes, the fifty-move rule was called by the Indian IM, and after the arbiter checked it, the ga was finally over. Even after the miraculous win by Laysa, Indonesia still lost against India’s first team 2.5-1.5, giving them the first taste of defeat in the Olympiad.
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