World number two Viswanathan Anand crashed to a shocking defeat while second seeded Indian men suffered another humiliation at the hands of a low ranked Canada in the 12th and penultimate round of the Chess Olympiad at Turin.
It was a similar story in the women's event as well. Leader Koneru Humpy lost her second game in the tournament and the team thwarted its dim chances of a podium finish after going down 0.5-2.5 to top placed Ukraine, which consolidated their hopes of a gold medal.
Besides Anand, who has not won even a single game in the tournament so far, national champion Surya Shekar Ganguly also lost his game.
Former World Junior champion P Harikrishna was the only team member to win. Krishnan Sasikiran was held to a draw on the second board resulting in India's 1.5-2.5 loss.
Atop the tables in the open section, Armenia men maintained their huge 3.5 points lead over nearest rivals China with a clinical 2-2 draw with France without much ado.
While all Armenian players settled for peace pretty quickly, Chinese had to work hard for a 3-1 victory over Czech republic. Now they are firmly in the second place on 31.5 points, a half point adrift of nearest rival Russia.
{{/usCountry}}While all Armenian players settled for peace pretty quickly, Chinese had to work hard for a 3-1 victory over Czech republic. Now they are firmly in the second place on 31.5 points, a half point adrift of nearest rival Russia.
{{/usCountry}}Russia also did well to beat Cuba by a 3-1 margin. Even as Armenia is now confirmed for the gold medal the fight for the silver was still on between Russia and China.