Gukesh, Arjun and Divya from left to right. (FIDE)
India on Sunday scripted history as they clinched their first-ever gold medal at the Chess Olympiad. Continuing their stunning form in Budapest, it was once again D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi to lead the charge. There was also a win for R Praggnanadhaa as they won their respective matches against Slovenia in the 11th and final round match in Budapest.
There was double delight soon as the Indian women’s team also won gold for the country after a dominant 3.5-0.5 victory against Azerbaijan. D Harika was at her technical best striking on the top board for the team and Divya Deshmukh yet again outclassed her opponent to confirm her individual gold medal on the third board as well. After R Vaishali drew her game, the Indian team confirmed the victory with Vantika Agrawal scoring another brilliant triumph.
The gold was still to be decided but after the USA vs Kazakhstan match ended in a draw, the women’s team gold was also confirmed.
The men’s team were all but assured of gold after their superb win against USA in the penultimate round of Saturday. World Championship challenger Gukesh and Arjun yet again delivered in key games to help India secure its first title in the open category.
Up against Slovenia, Gukesh was at his very best in the technical phase of the game as black against Vladimir Fedoseev. Though it was a steady victory, the 18-year-old Grandmaster was spot on with his tremendous strategic display. Arjun also won with black on the third board against Jan Subelj out of a surprising Scandinavian defence opening game. If this was not enough, Praggnanadhaa struck form and scored a crushing victory over Anton Demchenko from what seemed to be a certain draw, as India secured 3-0 triumph over Slovenia with one game still remaining. Vidit then played out a draw as India confirmed a gold medal that was on the cards for a while, given their stunning start to the tournament.
The Indian men ended up with a remarkable 21 points out of a possible 22. They conceded just a lone 2-2 draw to Uzbekistan while beating the rest of the opponents.
Heading into Sunday’s final round of matches, both Indian teams were on top of the Olympiad standings. In the open section India defeated the USA, the top seeds heading into the tournament after Gukesh took down World No 3 Fabiano Caruana while Arjun Erigaisi defeated Leinier Dominguez Perez.
The Indian women’s team, who had a setback in the latter stages with a defeat against Poland, defeated China and put themselves in a strong position to take gold. After a slow start in the tie against Azerbaijan, India made a strong finish led by a fine win for Harika. The star of the tournament for the women’s team was Divya, who finished the tournament with a superb performance of 9.5 out of 11. On the men’s side, Gukesh — on the top board, especially — registered a phenomenal 9 out of 10, while Arjun was on fire with 10 out of 11.
India winning a gold medal in the two sections at the Budapest Olympiad was another milestone in what has been one of the greatest years for Indian chess. The year could get even better in December with Gukesh having the opportunity to become the youngest-ever world champion at the age of 18, if he can beat world champion Ding Liren.
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