Budapest: In a groundbreaking achievement for Indian chess, both the men’s and women’s teams secured gold medals for the first time at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest on Sunday. The momentous victory was anchored by exceptional performances from grandmasters D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, who propelled the men’s team to triumph with a decisive win over Slovenia in the final round.
The critical match against Slovenia saw Arjun Erigaisi securing a vital victory against Jan Subelj, while D. Gukesh emerged victorious against Vladimir Fedoseev. With India needing just one more point to clinch the title, Gukesh delivered, capping off an impressive tournament for the team, which had previously claimed bronze medals in the 2014 and 2022 editions.
“It was crazy. He surprised me in the opening with his move order, and we reached an initially equal position. His problems started from Ne7,” Gukesh commented during the FIDE broadcast. “Arjun was completely winning, so I thought even a draw would be fine, but I kept finding all the good moves. I am glad, but the main thing was to perform as a team!”
India’s men’s team exhibited remarkable consistency throughout the competition, achieving eight consecutive wins before a draw against defending champions Uzbekistan. They bounced back strongly, defeating the top-seeded USA in the penultimate round before overcoming Slovenia in their final match. Meanwhile, second-placed China stumbled, allowing India to secure the gold.
The Indian women’s team mirrored this success, featuring Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and coach Abhijit Kunte. They clinched gold in their section by decisively defeating Azerbaijan with a score of 3.5-0.5.