Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 4: Gukesh Beats Shirov as India Wins Again

Gukesh D beat Alexei Shirov and Arjun Erigaisi won as India defeated Spain 3-1 in round 4 of the 2026 Chess Olympiad, keeping a perfect record.

India's open team continued its winning run in round 4 of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, beating Spain 3-1. India's women's team also kept its perfect record by beating Mongolia 3-1.

Against Spain, the wins came from Gukesh D and Arjun Erigaisi. Gukesh beat Alexei Shirov, one of the most famous attacking players in chess history, in 42 moves. Arjun beat Maksim Chigaev in 36 moves, his first win of the event after his round 1 loss. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin drew their games.

Arjun's win is a good example of bouncing back. After losing in round 1, he drew in round 3 and then won in round 4. Players who stay calm after a bad start often finish strongly.

In the women's match against Mongolia, Divya Deshmukh and Savitha Shri B won their games, while Koneru Humpy and Vaishali drew long games of 82 and 74 moves.

The big result of the round came from the United States, who beat Ukraine 3.5-0.5. Fabiano Caruana beat the legendary Vasyl Ivanchuk, and Wesley So and Levon Aronian also won. China beat Serbia 3-1 and hosts Uzbekistan edged past Turkiye 2.5-1.5 thanks to a win by Nodirbek Yakubboev.

After four rounds, eight open teams have perfect scores, including India, Uzbekistan, China, Germany, Armenia and the United States. In the women's section, India, the United States, Uzbekistan, Poland and China are among the teams still on maximum points.

Gukesh's game against Shirov is one that students can enjoy replaying. Shirov is known for daring attacking play, and beating him requires both courage and careful defence. When you face an aggressive opponent, stay calm, look for their threats on every move, and remember that an attack which fails often leaves the attacker's position weakened.

Round 5 brings bigger tests, with India's open team facing the Netherlands.