R Praggnanandhaa and Divya Deshmukh starred with crucial wins as India stunned a formidable China 4-2 in the ninth and final preliminary round to make the quarterfinals of the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Sunday.
The Indian team, which finished at the top of Top Division Pool ”A”, will play the quarterfinals against a yet-to-be-decided opponent on August 28.
Four draws and two wins on Under-20 boards helped India pull off the victory against the Chinese.
The 15-year-old Praggnanandhaa appeared to be on the ropes, but managed to turn the tables on Liu Yan and finished with a perfect 6/6 score.
Divya Deshmukh, a former world under-10 and 12 champion, put it across Jiner Zhu to underline her potential.
Vidit Gujrathi, the Indian captain, held world No.3 Ding Liren to a creditable draw on the top board while P Harikrishna also shared honours with Yangyi Yu.