 "R Pragggnandhaa defeated Anton Demchenko of Slovenia to all but seal a gold medal for the Open team. AP")
The India Open and Women’s teams emerged victorious at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest on Sunday as both the teams clinched historic gold medals to cap off a memorable tournament. While the Open team defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5, the women’s team got the better of Azerbaijan with the same score.
D Gukesh, R Praggnandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi all romped to victories over their Slovenian counterparts to seal the medal for the open’s team with a 3-0 victory. The last game was just a mere formality with Vidit Gujrathi playing out a draw with Matej Sebenik.
In the women’s category, D Harika, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal clinched wins whereas R Vaishali drew with Ulviyya Fataliyeva. The gold medal for the women’s team was confirmed after Kazakhstan were held to a 2-2 draw in their final round game against USA. Both India and Kazakhstan had 17 points each heading into the final round.
Fans and well-wishers congratulated the Indian teams on winning gold at the Chess Olympiad. Legendary chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand hailed both the teams on their stellar campaign. Here are a few reactions:
Viswanathan Anand lauds Indian team’s performances
Sports Minister congratulates India
Dinesh Karthik also lauded India’s chess stars
‘Incredible performance’, says Harsha Bhogle
Vidit Gujrathi is overjoyed!