GUWAHATI: In a historic first, both the men's and women's chess teams of India clinched their first-ever gold medals at the 45th Chess Olympiad, emerging victorious in their respective final-round matches on September 22.
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The Indian men's team secured their triumph by defeating Slovenia, with impressive wins by Grandmasters D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and R Praggnanandhaa.
Gukesh delivered a stellar performance as black against Vladimir Fedoseev, showing remarkable strategic mastery despite a hard-fought game. Arjun Erigaisi also dominated his match on the third board, winning against Jan Subeli using a surprising Centre Counter defense. Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa crushed his opponent, Anton Demchenko, sealing a 3-0 victory for India with one game still to play.
This win marks a significant milestone for the Indian men's chess team, who had previously won bronze in 2014 and 2022. They finished the tournament with an astounding 21 points out of a possible 22, drawing only once against Uzbekistan and defeating all other opponents.
In a remarkable feat of their own, the Indian women's team also followed suit with a resounding 3.5-0.5 victory over Azerbaijan, securing the second gold for India. D Harika led the charge with a brilliant win on the top board, while Divya Deshmukh continued her winning streak, also clinching an individual gold on the third board. R Vaishali drew her match, and Vantika Agrawal completed the sweep with another outstanding victory.
