Kumar Bahukhandi
Budapest Hungary: Sunday brought a special moment in the history of Indian chess, when both the men’s and women’s teams brought glory to the country by winning gold medals in the Chess Olympiad. This is the first time that Indian teams have won gold medals in this prestigious competition. In the last round of the 45th Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Indian players performed brilliantly and defeated their opponents and achieved the glory of becoming champions.
The Indian men’s team had earlier won the bronze medal during this competition in 2014 and 2022, while the women’s team won the bronze medal in the 2022 edition held in Chennai. This time, both the teams finished on top and registered the first golden victory for the country.
Men’s team Grandmasters D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigesi and R. Praggnanandhaa played brilliantly against Slovenia in the 11th and decisive round. Gukesh scored a brilliant win against Vladimir Fedoseev in a very difficult position with black pieces, while Erigesi contributed to India’s golden success by defeating Jan Subelj on the third board.
The Indian women’s team won the gold medal.
The Indian women’s team comprised Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, Tania Sachdev and Abhijeet Kunte. Harika, Divya and Vantika won their matches against their respective opponents while Vaishali played a draw.
