'Check De India' Win Armageddon Vs. 'Team Swole,' Will Face 'Oh Yes My Queen' In Semis

IM Sagar Shah and IM Tania Sachdev (Check De India) defeated IM Levy Rozman and James Canty III (Team Swole) in the last quarterfinal match of the 2024 Team Chess Battle 2. After soundly unraveling the King's Indian Defense in game one, they lost control in a winning position in the second game to allow an armageddon tiebreak. There, Check De India won on demand to advance to the Semifinals.

Next, Check De India faces Oh Yes My Queen, IM Eric Rosen and WGM Nemo Zhou, in the Semifinals. That will be on Thursday, October 17, 12:30 p.m. ET / 18:30 CEST / 10:00 p.m. IST.

Team Chess Battle 2 Bracket

Team Swole 1-2 Check De India

The meanings behind the team names aren't so obvious. Team Swole explained that their name signified their physical strength ("swole" = muscular), while Check De India was a reference to a classic Bollywood film, Chak De! India. All four players are well-known commentators in the chess world.

The pre-match banter exhibited respect with a fair bit of trash-talk. Rozman and Canty set the tone first, expressing their admiration for the opposing team while also gearing up to win the match.

Levy: "Nothing but respect, but respect will not go far after we win today."

James: "Always a pleasure to work with Tania, but not today!"#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/BcFL9PQzXX

— chess24 (@chess24com) October 16, 2024

As both a compliment to his opponents and a dig at the entire field Rozman said, "One match a time, but let's put it this way. If we win this match today, I will already consider it like a victory because every other matchup will be much easier."

Tania pointed out that she's worked with Sagar but that they've never played together in a format like this. Sagar pointed out that, while they were both at the Global Chess League in London, Canty was training his openings using Chessable: "We have less chance in any opening battle."

Sagar also pointed out that he was about 20 meters away from two Indian super-GMs and hoped that their proximal talent might rub off:

Sagar: "I am... maybe 20 meters away from Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa playing downstairs and so I'm just trying to channel their energy!"#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/JQNM5YysuY

— chess24 (@chess24com) October 16, 2024

For most of the match, Tania suggested the most ambitious and aggressive moves (which were good in just about every single case!) while Sagar poured water on the flames, and they generally erred on the side of caution. This strategy generally worked out against the entropic and tactical Team Swole, even if Check De India lost control with little time in the second game.

Both sides correctly expected a King's Indian Defense in the first game, and Tania revealed that she'd prepared the line with 5.Bd3. While Tania suggested more ambitious options like 17.b5 and 19.cxd5 later, both of which were good, the team ultimately opted for Sagar's safer choices, simplifying into a symmetrical position where they still had some pressure. 

Team Swole's critical mistake was the active-looking 25...Qc2? ("just roll the dice," he said as they had little time), though the correct line starting with 25...Rac8 26.Bc7 was difficult to assess and Black would have to find several only moves to survive. The way the game went, the d-pawn won the game with little trouble.

Tania explained her team's dynamic right after this game: "I feel like I'm panic central all the time and then Sagar sort of calms me down and then we get some moves in." Even if she was nervous, both players calculated well and made virtually no mistakes in the first game.

I feel like I'm panic central all the time and then Sagar sort of calms me down and then we get some moves in.

—Tania Sachdev

Rozman took responsibility for that mistake. "I might've hit the panic button there. We thought for a little too long, we played a bad move, and that's chess." 

The next game looked incredibly convincing for Check De India until the very end, where they lost control and allowed Canty to display his tactical prowess. Sagar explained, "I think we were better and we were playing quite well, but Levy and James did what they do best...they unleashed the tactics and put us down on time." Canty interjected: "Tactinos!" 32.e6!! was a fantastic line-opening sacrifice that led quickly to a checkmating attack.

Team Swole won the bid for the black pieces in armageddon. They would have 12 minutes and 47 seconds against 15 minutes, but they also had draw odds. Before the final game began, Samay Raina made a brief appearance on Sagar's camera and cheered on the Indian team.

Samay joined the stream for a few seconds before the armageddon!#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/CRrlQQEZwx

— chess24 (@chess24com) October 16, 2024

Team Swole equalized convincingly in a Queen's Gambit Declined, and after White castled queenside they even gained the advantage. But after 17...d4? Sagar's 19.Be3! was a nice find, posing a critical question. Just like in the last game, there was a defense, but 19...g6!!, walking into a discovered attack, was too difficult to find.

Black sacrificed the exchange, and although there was definitely practical compensation, White managed to break through with the material advantage. Team Swole resigned when they were finally a rook down.

Team Swole splits $500 while Check De India move forward. Rozman predicted that the victorious team will win the entire event, casting some more shade to the rest of the field: "The next matchup is a joke and the one after that is even easier." He predicted a 2-0 victory against Oh Yes My Queen.

Tania: "Sagar, this was more stressful than playing the Olympiad!"#TeamChess pic.twitter.com/INmtdko5UV

— chess24 (@chess24com) October 16, 2024

Comically, Tania pointed out that her team didn't expect to even reach the next round. Check De India will take the next match seriously and prepare. Tania foreshadowed, "We'll probably get on a call and discuss some openings... we want to try and go all the way after this."

... we want to try and go all the way after this.

—Tania Sachdev

Team Chess Battle is an event where two-player teams can freely communicate while facing other teams in a series of rapid chess games. Eight teams of two players each compete in a single-elimination bracket. Matches consist of two games (the Final is a four-game match) with a 15+10 time control. The event goes from October 7 to October 18 and features a $10,000 prize fund.

Previous coverage:

• Semifinals: Ratata Spanish Squad Eliminate Cramlings, Advance To Final
• Quarterfinals: Ratata Spanish Squad Outclass ChessDojo, Progress To Semifinal Match Vs. Cramlings
• Quarterfinals: Team 'Oh Yes My Queen' Wins With Queen Trap Vs. 'Dandinavian,' Advance To Semifinals
• Quarterfinals: Mother-Daughter Duo Overcome Team ChessKid, Advance To Semifinals
• Team Chess Battle Is Back With Levy Rozman, Anna Cramling, James Canty, And Other Celebrities