Indian women’s team defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the 11th round of the Chess Olympiad. Divya Deshmukh won her matches in the 10th and 11th rounds.
India won historic gold medals in the open and women’s categories of the Chess Olympiad. For the first time in the 97-year history of the Olympiad, India secured first place in both categories. In the 11th round open category, India beat Slovenia 3.5-0.5. At the same time, the women’s team defeated Azerbaijan in the final round by a margin of 3.5-0.5.
In the open category, India had only confirmed the top position after the 10th round, but the women’s team gold medal was confirmed after the 11th round. Because the second-ranked Kazakhstan team played a 2-2 draw against America. Due to this, India ranked first with 19 points and Kazakhstan second with 18 points. The Chess Olympiad took place in Budapest, Hungary on September 10.
India won 3 matches in the 11th round In the women’s category, after the 10th round, India and Kazakhstan were in first position with 17 points each. In the 11th round, India defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agarwal of the team won their respective matches. Vaishali Rameshbabu took India to 3.5 points with a draw.
Women’s gold was to be decided by the outcome of the match between Kazakhstan and America. The match between the two ended in a 2-2 draw. Due to this, Kazakhstan remained stuck at 18 points, while India ranked first with 19 points and won the gold medal.
In women’s competition, India won 7 consecutive rounds and then lost to Poland in the 8th round. In the 9th round, the team drew against America. The team confirmed the gold with 19 points by beating China in the 10th round and Azerbaijan in the 11th round.
Divya Deshmukh won the 10th and 11th rounds.
The Open team remained undefeated in the tournament The open team had confirmed the gold medal by scoring 19 points after the 10th round itself. The team drew against Uzbekistan after winning 8 consecutive matches. Then, in the 10th round, the team won the gold medal by beating America and in the 11th round by beating Slovenia.
In the final round, India’s Gukesh Domaraju, R Praggnananda and Arjun Irigasi won their respective matches. While Vidit Santosh Gujarati drew the game and took the team’s score to 3.5. India won the 11th round and gained 21 points. China and America are in second place with 16 points each.
Arjun had ensured the gold medal for India by winning the final match of the 10th round of the open category.
How to get points In the Chess Olympiad, a team must face another team in each round. In each match, the matches take place on 4 different boards. This means that a turn is worth 4 points. The team that scores 2.5 points or more wins the match in that round. In case of victory in each round, the team obtains 2 points. One point is given for a draw and no points for a loss.
India’s open team won 10 out of 11 rounds and ended in a draw. So India got 21 points. At the same time, the women’s team won 9 matches, played 1 draw and lost one, which earned them 19 points. However, even these points were enough to win the gold medal.
The first Chess Olympiad took place in 1927. The first Chess Olympiad was organized in 1924, although it was an unofficial event. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) then began organizing official chess Olympiads from 1927. The Olympiad took place every year until 1950; it was not organized during the World War. But since 1950 it began to be organized once every two years. The 45th Chess Olympiad was organized in Budapest, Hungary.