India wins historic double gold at 45th Chess Olympiad

In a historic moment for Indian chess, the nation has achieved double gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. GM's Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi and Pragganandhaa Rameshbabu all won as Indian men wrapped up victory with a statement 3.5-0.5 win over Slovenia on Sunday. Also in the women's section, Indian team clinched gold for the first time ever after convincingly beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. 

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In the 45th Chess Olympiad, the men's team finished a full four points ahead of five teams, with the United States taking silver, after GM Wesley So took down China, while Uzbekistan secured the bronze medal. China, Serbia and Armenia just missed out on the podium. D Gukesh won a historic second individual gold medal at the Chess Olympiad. Gukesh remained unbeaten in the tournament, securing 9 wins and a draw from his 10 matches. Erigaisi, on the other hand, finished with 10 wins out of 11 matches on Board 3. The duo helped India secure 21 out of 22 possible points.  

The women's team comprised of Abhijit Kunte, Tania Sachdev, Vantika Agarwal, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbhabu and Divya Deshmukh. Harika, Diya and Vantika won their matches against their respective opponents while Vaishali secured a draw on Sunday. Despite securing victory against Azerbaijan, the women's team were not assured of gold medal. India's victory in the women's open section depended on team USA taking points against Kazakhstan. India clinched the gold medal after USA held Kazakhstan to a 2-2 draw on Sunday.

In the 2022 Olympiad held in Mamallapuram, Chennai, the Indian team won bronze medals in both sections. The progression from bronze to gold in just two years reflects the exponential growth in Indian chess. Moreover, D. Gukesh will take on Ding Liren for the world title later this year. 

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• 45th Chess Olympiad
• Chess Olympiad 2024
• D Gukesh
• Arjun Erigaisi
• R. Pragganandhaa
• Vaishali R
• Chess