Defending champions India have yet to hit top gear in the open category of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, with another unconvincing win.

Nihal Sarin, the GM from Kerala, came to the rescue with the only win in India's round two tie with Indonesia, which saw draws on three other boards featuring R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi and D Gukesh.

India had defeated Thailand 3-1 in their first round, with Arjun Erigaisi suffering a shock defeat.

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In the women's segment, holders India have only dropped half a point yet, which was R Vaishali drawing with WIM Anastasia Keinanen on the top board in the second round meeting with Finland. India won the round 3.5-0.5, after starting the Olympiad with a 4-0 crushing of the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, there was a minor setback for India's World Champion Gukesh as he slipped under the 2700 Elo points mark.

Gukesh's Elo was 2703 at the start of the event, and following the second-round draw with IM Satria Duta Cahaya (2412) of Indonesia, the live ratings slipped by 3.5 points.

Gukesh's rating should surely improve with better performances in the coming rounds, but for the time being, the reigning Classical World Champion remains out of the 2700-club, which belongs to Super GMs.

Gukesh will defend his title against challenger Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in the World Championship to be held in Geneva from November 24 to December 12.