India on Sunday made history by clinching their maiden gold medals in the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, after both the men’s and women’s teams emerged victorious in the final round. The men’s team secured a 3.5-0.5 win against Slovenia, while the women’s team triumphed with an identical score against Azerbaijan.
Indian men squared off against Slovenia, with Arjun Erigaisi gaining a win playing with black pieces on the third board against Jan Subeli. D. Gukesh emerged victorious with black pieces against Vladimir Fedoseev, taking the score to 2-0. Praggnanandhaa secured a win with white pieces against Anton Demchenko. Vidit Gujarathi played out a draw with Sebenik Matej, sealing India’s 3.5-0.5 triumph.
The Indian men concluded the tournament with an outstanding total of 21 points, having won 10 matches and only conceding a single 2-2 draw to defending champions Uzbekistan. The USA claimed silver, while Uzbekistan secured bronze, both teams tying at 17 points alongside three other teams. The US and Uzbekistan claimed higher places due to having a superior tiebreaker score.
The Indian women then achieved a double gold for the country by clinching a 3.5-0.5 victory in the final round against Azerbaijan. Divya Deshmukh, D. Harika, and Vantika Agrawal secured their matches while R. Vaishali played out a draw.
The Indian women secured the gold medal with a total of 19 points. Prior to the 11th round, they held a score of 17, tied with Kazakhstan. In their final round, Kazakhstan played out a 2-2 draw with the USA, settling for a silver medal with 18 points. The USA bagged the bronze with a count of 17 points.
India has also successfully retained the Gaprindashvili Trophy at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, awarded to the team that demonstrates the best overall performance in both the open and women’s sections. They had previously won the trophy for the first time in 2022.
This victory marks India’s third medal in the open section and second in the women’s section in the history of the Chess Olympiad. The Indian men’s team had previously secured two bronze medals in 2014 and 2022, while the women’s team had claimed a bronze in the 2022 edition held in Chennai.