It has been years since India began to dominate the chess world, and now the country has made history once again. For the first time, both the Indian men's and women's teams have clinched the championship at the Chess Olympiad, the most prestigious tournament in international chess.

Both Indian teams secured gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad, which concluded in Budapest on Sunday. The men's team, comprising D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, and P Harikrishna, topped the open category with 21 points, outshining competitors from 189 countries. In the final round on Sunday, India defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5. Overall, India won 10 out of 11 matches in the tournament, with a single draw against Uzbekistan. The USA claimed the silver medal, while Uzbekistan took home bronze.

 

The Indian women's team, comprising Harika, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev, secured the top spot in the women's category with 19 points. They defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the final round. Kazakhstan's draw against the USA paved the way for India's gold medal win. Kazakhstan won silver, while the USA settled for bronze.

Four Individual Gold Medals: Four Indian players achieved individual accolades. D Gukesh won gold on Board 1 in the open category, Arjun Erigaisi on Board 3, Divya Deshmukh on Board 3 in the women's category, and Vantika Agarwal on Board 4.

Chess Olympiad

Indian teams have now secured a total of 5 medals at the Chess Olympiad. The men's team previously won bronze medals in 2014 and 2022, and this year marks their first gold. Meanwhile, the women's team, which won bronze in the 2022 Olympiad, has now also claimed the gold medal.

India claimed the overall championship trophy in 2022 for its exceptional performance in both the men's and women's categories, and this year, the country has repeated that success. Russia holds the record with 6 titles, followed by China with 3 and Ukraine with 2.