India at Chess Olympiads: Men's and Women's Teams Clinch First-Ever Double Gold

India made history on September 22, by defeating their respective opponents in the last round to secure their first-ever gold medals for both the women's and men's teams in the 45th Chess Olympiad.

This was the very first time that the Indian Men and Women's teams both secured gold medals in the Chess Olympiad. Before this India was able to win the Bronze medal at Chess Olympiad held at Mamallapuram, near Chennai.

Indian Men Dominated the Entire Olympiad

The Indian men were nearly guaranteed the gold with one round remaining because of their overwhelming dominance in the competition.

Gukesh was at the top of his game when playing as black against Vladimir Fedoseev (a player from Slovenia) in the technical portion of the match. The eighteen-year-old Grandmaster's outstanding strategic performance was spot on, even though the win was hard won.

In an unexpected Center counter-defensive game, Erigaise also won over Jan Subeli with black on the third board.

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As if this weren't enough, with one game left, India defeated Slovenia 3-0 thanks to Praggnanadhaa's incredible victory over Anton Demchenko.

In the end, the Indian men scored an incredible 21 points out of a potential 22. They defeated all of their opponents, only giving up a lone 2-2 tie to Uzbekistan.

Indian Women’s Team Returns with Gold

The Indian women's team then defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5, earning a unique double gold for the nation.

Dharika demonstrated her exceptional technical skills in the very first game and contributed to the team's victory by winning the game. Meanwhile, on the third board, Divya Deshmukh once again outperformed her rival to secure her solo gold medal.

Following R Vaishali's draw, Vantika Agrawal's outstanding victory sealed the win for the Indian team.

This is the first time that the Indian team has won gold medals in both the men's and women's events at the Chess Olympiad. Before this, the Indian men's team had won two bronze medals, in 2014 and 2022. The Indian women's team also secured a bronze in the 2022 Chess Olympiad held in Chennai.

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