For the first time in the 97-year history of the Chess Olympiad, India secured first place in both categories.
India delivered a historic performance in the 45th Chess Olympiad and won gold medals in the Open and Women’s categories. The country also won 4 gold medals in the individual category, 2 players each secured first place in the men’s and women’s categories.
5-5 players represented India in both categories. After 11 rounds, the Open team scored 21 points out of 22. The women’s team won gold with 19 points.
After winning gold in the Chess Olympiad, the chess team celebrated by lifting the trophy in the style of Indian captain Rohit Sharma. In the video, on the left, women’s grandmaster Tania Sachdeva and on the right, grandmaster D Gukesh celebrate with the trophy.
In the story, let us know 5-5 players from both teams…
Women’s team beats defending champions China
In the women’s team, Tania Sachdev, Vaishali Remshababu, Harika Dronavalli, Vantika Aggarwal and Divya Deshmukh won gold. The team won 9 out of 11 rounds and played only one draw. The team’s only loss came against Poland. However, India secured the top spot with 19 points. The team also defeated defending champions China in the 10th round.
1. Tania Sachdev
Sports commentator Tania Sachdev became a grandmaster in 2008 itself. However, at that time, India was not doing anything special in the field of women’s chess. Thanks to which he now won the first international gold medal of his career in the team event. She won individual bronze at the 2012 Olympiad. Tania played 5 matches in Budapest, winning 2 while 3 were drawn. He didn’t lose a single match.
2. Harika Dronavalli
Harika Dronavalli achieved the title of Grandmaster in 2011. After winning silver in the individual event at the 2010 Asian Games, he also won bronze at the 2015 World Chess Championship. In 2019, he received the Padmashree award. In 2022, she was also part of the team that won silver at the Asian Games. Harika has now won 3 out of 9 Chess Olympiad matches and has only played 3 draws. However, they also had to face defeat in 3.
3. Vaishali Rameshbabu
Vaishali Rameshbabu, who became a Grandmaster in 2024, won the silver medal at the Asian Games with the women’s team in 2022. He has now played 10 matches in the Chess Olympiad and won 4 of them. He also lost in 2 matches, but playing 4 matches he did not let the team’s score deteriorate.
4. Vantika Agarwal
Playing on board 4, Vantika Agarwal also won the women’s individual gold medal. They played 9 matches in 11 rounds and only lost one. They won 5, while they played 3 draws. She got the title of Grandmaster in 2023, before that, in 2022, she was also part of the team that won silver in the Asian Games.
5. Divya Deshmukh
India’s strongest player in the women’s team was 18-year-old Divya Deshmukh. She is also the number 1 female chess player in the country. He played in all 11 matches of the Olympiad, winning 8 and drawing only 3. He also won the Board-3 individual gold medal with a score of 9.5 points.
Divya also won individual bronze at the Chennai Olympiad 2022. She also won team gold at the Online Olympiad 2020. She also won the gold medal in the individual event at the Asian Championship in 2023. He only achieved the title of International Grandmaster last year.
2 players from the open team also won individual gold
India’s open team included Pantala Harikrishna, R Praggnananda, Vidit Gujarathi, D Gukesh and Arjun Irigasi. Among them, Gukesh and Arjun also won individual gold. The team went undefeated in 11 rounds, winning 10, while the only draw was against Uzbekistan. The team lost only one game in 11 rounds of 44 matches against America.
1. Pantala Harikrishna
Pantala Harikrishna, the oldest player in the team, played only 3 matches, but remained undefeated there. They won 2 matches and drew 1. Becoming Grand Master in 2001, he won 3 medals at the Asian Games. In 2006 he won gold with the mixed team, in 2022 he won silver with the men’s team and in 2010 he also won bronze with the men’s team.
2. Rameshbabu Pragannanda
R Praggnananda became a grandmaster at the age of 12. He was then the youngest grandmaster in India and the second youngest grandmaster in the world. He played 10 matches in the Chess Olympiad and won 3 of them. India’s only defeat in the open event was against America. However, he played 6 draws and did not let the team’s score deteriorate.
Praggnananda won individual gold at the Chennai Olympiad 2022. He then also won bronze with the men’s team. He was also part of the men’s team that won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games. After which, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award at the age of 17.
3. Known Gujarati
Vidit Gujarati was the third best Indian player in the open event. He played 10 matches, won 5 and only drew 5. After becoming a Grandmaster in 2013, he won his first major medal at the international level in the form of a team silver men’s tournament at the 2022 Asian Games. Today, he also won his first gold medal in the Chess Olympiad by securing first place in the team event.
4. Gukesh Dommaraju
Gukesh has emerged as the best Indian player in the Chess Olympiads in the last two years. This time too, he played 10 matches and won 8 of them. The opposition could hold them to a draw in just 2 matches. He beat American Fabiano Caruana, world number 3, in the 10th round.
Gukesh became a grandmaster in 2019 at the age of 12. Then he became India’s youngest grandmaster, surpassing Pragannanda. Now aged 18, he also won individual gold on board 1 of the Chess Olympiad. He also won individual gold at the Chennai Olympiad.
5. Arjuna Irigaceae
21-year-old Arjun Irigasi turned out to be the best Indian player at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. He won 9 out of 11 matches and also won individual gold on 3rd board. He also played two draws. After becoming a grandmaster in 2018, he also won individual gold at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad.