 "D Gukesh was in red-hot form in the 45th Chess Olympiad, winning eight games in 11 rounds. AP")
India capped off a memorable Chess Olympiad campaign in Budapest on Sunday by winning gold in the open as well as in the women’s categories.
India thus ended its wait for a maiden gold medal in the prestigious tournament, having won just two bronze medals (Tromso 2014 and Chennai 2022) in the past.
And after not winning a single gold medal all these years, they ended up winning two of them in the Hungarian capital in what is among the greatest days in Indian chess history.
Read | Gukesh reveals he was prepared to do ‘whatever it took’ to help India win gold in Budapest
India were virtually assured of gold in the open category following their 10th round win against USA, and confirmed it following Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Jan Subelj during India’s final round fixture against Slovenia on Sunday.
The women’s team, however, faced a trickier path to victory; not only were they looking for a win in Round 11 to boost their chances of winning gold, they were also dependent on the result of the Kazakhstan vs USA match.
Read | ‘Superbly dominant performance’, Netizens hail Indian team after winning historic double gold
India inflicted a comprehensive defeat on Azerbaijan while fellow title-hopefuls Kazakhstan were held to a stalemate by the Americans, resulting in India competing a golden double in Budapest.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith the 45th edition of the Chess Olympiad coming to an end, we take a look at India’s road to gold in both categories:
Open
Round 1: India defeated Morocco 4-0
Round 2: India defeated Iceland 4-0
Round 3: India defeated Hungary B 3.5-0.5
Round 4: India defeated Serbia 3.5-0.5
Round 5: India defeated Azerbaijan 3-1
Round 6: India defeated Hungary 3-1
Round 7: India defeated China 2.5-1.5
Round 8: India defeated Iran 3.5-0.5
Round 9: India drew against Uzbekistan 2-2
Round 10: India defeated Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5
Round 11: India defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5
Women
Round 1: India defeated Jamaica 3.5-0.5
Round 2: India defeated Czech Republic 3.5-0.5
Round 3: India defeated Switzerland 3-1
Round 4: India defeated France 3.5-0.5
Round 5: India defeated Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5
Round 6: India defeated Armenia 2.5-1.5
Round 7: India defeated Georgia 3-1
Round 8: India lost to Poland 1.5-2.5
Round 9: India drew against USA 2-2
Round 10: India defeated China 2.5-1.5
Round 11: India defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5