India men’s team beat Slovenia; women beat Azerbaijan in their last fixture to win competition
India made history on Sunday by winning their first gold medals in the 45th Chess Olympiad, with both the men’s and women’s teams defeating their opponents in the final round. The victory over Slovenia was secured by the men’s team with wins from D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanadhaa in their individual matches during the 11th and last round match.
The women’s team clinched the title with a 3.5-0.5 victory over Azerbaijan. Indian men had previously secured two bronze medals in the competition, one in 2014 and another in 2022.
In the 2022 Chennai edition, Indian women secured a bronze medal. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaise, who are challenging for the World Championship, once again came through in important matches to assist India in winning its first title in the open category.
Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi clinched crucial wins
Up against Vladimir Fedoseev, Gukesh showcased his top performance in the technical aspect of the game playing as black in the match against Slovenia. Despite grabbing a hard-fought win, the 18-year-old Grandmaster executed his impressive strategic performance flawlessly.
Arjun Erigaise also won with black on the third board against Jan Subeli out of a surprising Centre Counter defense game.
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Furthermore, after this, Praggnanadhaa displayed good form and achieved a decisive win against Anton Demchenko, leading India to a 3-0 victory over Slovenia with one game left.
The Indian men achieved an impressive 21 out of 22 points. They only allowed Uzbekistan to score a 2-2 draw, but defeated all other teams.
Harika, Divya and Vantika won their respective matches
The Indian female team achieved an uncommon feat by earning two gold medals for their country with a 3.5-0.5 win over Azerbaijan.
D Harika showcased her top-level technical skills on the top board while Divya Deshmukh once again dominated her opponent to secure the individual gold medal on the third board.
After R Vaishali drew her game, the Indian team secured the win with Vantika Agrawal scoring another brilliant triumph.
