India’s two workforce and 4 particular person gold medals are hailed as the start of the nation’s reign because the ‘finest chess nation on the earth’.
India’s chess masters have created historical past by successful workforce gold medals in each males’s and girls’s competitions on the forty fifth Worldwide Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad in Budapest.
Along with successful the workforce championships, India additionally walked away with 4 particular person gold medals because the event wrapped up within the Hungarian capital on Sunday.
Wins for Gukesh Dommaraju (extra generally generally known as Gukesh D), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi sealed gold within the males’s occasion, generally known as the Open occasion, whereas Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev gained their respective video games to safe gold within the ladies’s competitors.
Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh and Agrawal bagged particular person gold medals on their respective boards.
🇮🇳 India triumphs at forty fifth Chess Olympiad, successful each Open and Ladies’s competitions 🏆
India has come a great distance since Vishy Anand paved the way in which for the brand new technology of chess gamers. Younger skills have emerged and grown to turn out to be among the prime gamers on the earth. Gukesh… pic.twitter.com/KvOVjAFx3I
— Worldwide Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 23, 2024
The feat was termed an “unbelievable” achievement by India’s chess nice Viswanathan Anand.
“It seems like a magical time for India,” the previous five-time world champion stated on the Worldwide FIDE YouTube channel within the lead-up to the ultimate day.
Anand, who additionally gained the Chess World Cup twice, stated the end result was just a few years within the making however for India to stroll away with workforce and particular person honours exceeded his expectations.
The lads’s workforce gained 27 of their 44 video games, shedding simply as soon as and drawing six. Their ultimate spherical of matches was towards Slovenia, whom they defeated 3.5-0.5, whereas the ladies’s workforce beat Azerbaijan with the identical rating.
Gukesh, who has additionally certified for the ultimate of the World Chess Championship in November, stated he was delighted that his workforce acquired over the road in a dominant style after having some shut misses prior to now.
India was declared a joint winner within the males’s competitors together with Russia within the 2020 version, which was held on-line throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re very proud of how we performed collectively as a workforce,” Gukesh stated after the win.
Eighteen-year-old Deshmukh was a standout performer within the ladies’s competitors and remained undefeated, successful seven of her 11 video games and drawing 4.
“It began off properly however acquired a bit robust within the center however I’m pleased with how we dealt with it [the situation] and fought again,” she stated within the winners’ information convention.
“I really feel fairly overwhelmed with feelings.”
Hungarian American chess nice Susan Polgar hailed Deshmukh’s run on the event.
“With a completely superb efficiency on this Olympiad,” Polgar wrote in a put up on X.
The four-time world champion predicted extra wins for the Indians, saying: “This workforce will keep on prime for years.”
Congratulations to India! 2024 #BudapestOlympiad Champions! 🇮🇳 #FIDE100 🥇🏆
They had been so targeted and decided initially of the ultimate spherical! Though this was all about teamwork, @DGukesh and @ArjunErigaisi had insane performances!
This workforce will keep on prime for years… pic.twitter.com/Sv5ZbOxYKV
— Susan Polgar (@SusanPolgar) September 22, 2024
Closing standings of prime 10 groups at FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024
Males
- India (21)
- USA (17)
- Uzbekistan (17)
- China (17)
- Serbia (17)
- Armenia (17)
- Germany (16)
- Azerbaijan (16)
- Slovenia (16)
- Spain (16)
Ladies
- India (19)
- Kazakhstan (18)
- USA (17)
- Spain (17)
- Armenia (17)
- Georgia (17)
- China (16)
- Ukraine (16)
- Poland (16)
- Bulgaria (16)