 "Chess Olympiad 2024: D Gukesh and other history makers from Indian team in Budapest")
India made history at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary on Sunday, winning gold in both the Open as well as Women's categories .
India had not won gold in either category till date, winning a bronze twice (2014 and 2022) in the Open section and once (2022) in the Women’s event. On Sunday, India not only won their first ever gold medal, they achieved a golden double.
Read | ‘Superbly dominant performance’, Netizens hail Indian team after winning historic double gold
Winning gold in the Open as well as the Women’s Category used to be a routine task for the erstwhile Soviet Union. However, before India’s incredible sweep on Sunday, the feat had only been achieved once since the USSR’s double in 1986 — China having won both in the 2018 edition in Batumi, Georgia.
India thus became only the third nation to achieve this feat since the Open and Women’s Chess Olympiads were conducted simultaneously for the first time in 1972.
India were virtually assured of a gold medal ahead of the 11th and final round after winning the first eight rounds in succession and being held to a 2-2 stalemate by Uzbekistan in the ninth before beating USA on Saturday.
Read | How India won historic double gold in Budapest
All it took was Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Jan Subelj during India’s Round 11 meeting with Slovenia for them to confirm their maiden gold, regardless of the results of other games. It helped that D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa also won their games with Vidit Gujrathi being held to a draw.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe women’s team had a slightly bumpier ride to their maiden gold, suffering an eighth round defeat against Poland followed by a draw against USA after winning the first seven rounds on the trot. However, they managed to hold their nerve in the business end of the tournament and beat both China and Azerbaijan in the last two rounds.
Their gold, however, was only confirmed after Kazakhstan were held to a draw by the USA.
With the 45th Chess Olympiad coming to an end, we take a look at the individuals responsible for India’s golden run in Budapest:
Open
**D Gukesh**FIDE Rank: 5
How he fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 8; Drawn – 2; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs Wei Yi (China); vs Fabiano Caruana (USA)
🇮🇳 Gukesh D (@DGukesh), the World Championship challenger, delivered a jaw-dropping 9/10 score with a 3056 performance rating—the only player in this tournament to break the 3000+ mark! His incredible form earned him the gold on board 1, along with the team gold medal, at the… pic.twitter.com/NpG44Zh3Jz
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 22, 2024
Gukesh was the primary architect of India’s victory in the Open section, registering eight wins in 10 rounds. The 18-year-old has been having a stellar run so far this year, becoming the youngest to win the Candidates Tournament . And with his solid run in Budapest, Gukesh certainly has sent out a stern warning to China’s Ding Liren ahead of their World Chess Championship showdown in Singapore in November .
Arjun Erigaisi
FIDE Rank: 3
How he fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 9; Drawn – 2; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs vs Leinier Dominguez (USA); vs Jan Subelj (Slovenia)
It was Erigaisi’s victory over Subelj in the final round on Sunday that ultimately confirmed India’s maiden Chess Olympiad gold. What’s more, the 21-year-old moved past Fabiano Caruana to the third spot on the live chess ratings. Erigaisi, incidentally, played all 11 rounds, registering nine wins — one more than Gukesh — along with two draws.
FIDE Rank: 12
How he fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 3; Drawn – 6; Lost – 1
Key wins: vs Tamas Banusz (Hungary); vs Anton Demchenko (Slovenia)
Praggnanandhaa, who had grabbed headlines for defeating world No 1 Magnus Carlsen recently , drew more than half of his games besides suffering a defeat at the hands of USA’s Wesley So. Praggs, however, bounced back from the loss to defeat Slovenia’s Anton Demchenko in the final round to end his campaign, which began with consecutive victories, on a winning note.
**Vidit Gujrathi**FIDE Rank: 22
How he fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 5; Drawn – 5; Lost – 0
Key wins: Benjamin Gledura (Hungary)
Gujrathi finished his campaign with an even distribution of five wins and as many draws, including against Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and USA’s Levon Aronian.
Pentala Harikrishna
FIDE Rank: 42
How he fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 2; Drawn – 1; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs Wei Yi (China) in Round 7; vs Fabiano Caruana (USA) in Round 10
Harikrishna played only three games in Budapest, collecting a couple of wins and holding China’s Wang Yue to a draw. Despite his limited appearances, he played his part in securing India a maiden gold.
Women
Harika Dronavalli
FIDE Rank: 13
How she fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 3; Drawn – 3; Lost – 3
Key wins: vs Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan)
Dronavalli had a campaign that was the definition of mixed, winning three and losing and drawing as many. Her start-stop run, however, ended on a happy note with a victory over Gunay Mammadzada in the final round.
R Vaishali
FIDE Rank: 15
How she fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 4; Drawn – 4; Lost – 2
Key wins: vs Lela Javakhishvili (Georgia); vs Meruert Kamalidenova (Kazakhstan)
Vaishali was having a largely positive campaign until she hit a roadblock during her meetings against Poland’s Monika Socko and USA’s Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova in consecutive rounds. Before that, she had won four out of six rounds including against Georgia’s Lela Javakhishvili.
Divya Deshmukh
FIDE Rank: 11
How she fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 8; Drawn – 3; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs Nino Batsiashvili (Georgia); vs Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (Poland)
Board 3 - 🇮🇳 Divya Deshmukh – 2608 RP pic.twitter.com/iNuQxLjxX6
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 22, 2024
Deshmukh was India’s top performer in the women’s section with eight wins in 11 rounds, winning the first four on the trot. She was also the only one to register a win in the 1.5-2.5 defeat against Poland in Round 8, beating Aleksandra Maltsevskaya.
The 18-year-old greatly boosted India’s hopes of winning a maiden women’s gold after defeating Govhar Beydullayeva in the final round clash against Azerbaijan, giving India the lead which would end in a 3.5-0.5 victory.
Vantika Agrawal
FIDE Rank: 59
How she fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 8; Drawn – 2; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs Lu Miaoyi (China); vs Bella Khotenashvili (Georgia)
Agrawal was the second-most successful among Indians in the women’s section with six wins in nine appearances, starting with a draw before winning the next four on the trot.
Tania Sachdev
FIDE Rank: 60
How she fared in Chess Olympiad 2024: Won – 2; Drawn – 3; Lost – 0
Key wins: vs Benmesbah Natacha (France)
Like Harikrishna, Sachdev also made only a handful of appearances during the 45th Chess Olympiad. But with two wins and three draws, she played her part in helping India make history in Budapest.
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