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Chess Olympiad 2024: On Sunday, India made history by winning gold medals in both the men and women teams at the 45th Chess Olympiad. This marked the first time India has won gold in this event. The men team triumphed over Slovenia with D. Gukesh Arjun Erigaisi and R. Praggnanadhaa all winning their matches in the final round. Gukesh showcased his skill against Vladimir Fedoseev achieving a hard-fought victory. Erigaisi also secured a win with a clever strategy against Jan Subeli. while Praggnanadhaa dominated his game against Anton Demchenko. The men finished with an impressive 21 out of 22 possible points with in just one draw against Uzbekistan earlier in the tournament.
The women team followed suit defeating Azerbaijan with a score of 3.5 to 0.5. D. Harika led the way with a strong performance on the top board and Divya Deshmukh not only won her match but also secured an individual gold medal. R. Vaishali drew her game and Vantika Agrawal completed the team victory with another win. This double gold is a historic achievement for India as the men team had previously won bronze medals in 2014 and 2022. while the women team claimed bronze in 2022 as well.
First participation in Chess Olympiad: 1956
The Chess Olympiad was first held unofficially in 1924 in Paris (simultaneously with the Paris Olympics) and officially by FIDE in 1927 in London. In1956 the 12th edition of the official Olympiad India made their debut. Representing the nation were Ramdas, BP Mhalskar Singh, S Venkatraman and RB Sapre. India finished third in Final C with 20.5 points well outside the podium places and the tournament was won by the Soviet Union (31 points).
First international master: Manuel Aaron (1961)
Aaron became the nation first IM in 1961 and the Tamil Nadu native was crowned national champion a record nine times. He also served as secretary of the TN chess association and did much to make the state a hub of Indian chess. In fact India next IM came from the state 17 years after Aaron emergence: V Ravikumar. The state also gave India its first ever GM.
First Grand Master: Viswanathan Anand (1988)
In 1988, Viswanathan Anand became India’s first GM and Indian chess would change forever. Then just 19 Anand would embark on a journey that would catapult India to the global stage.
First Candidates win: Viswanathan Anand (1995)
The first step on that rise was challenging for the world title. To do that a chess player has to win the notoriously difficult FIDE Candidates tournament and that’s just what Anand did in 1995. This saw him challenge Russia Garry Kasparov for the world title but he would lose that match 7.5-10.5.
First World Champion: Viswanathan Anand (2000)
Anand would try again in 1998 but lose out to Russia Anatoly Karpov. In 2000 though he wouldn’t be denied as he beat Spain Alexei Shirov 3.5-1.5 . He would then go on to win it four more times each a significant milestone in Indian chess and each driving home his position in not just Indian chess but Indian sports hall of fame.
- 2007: won a championship tournament of eight players with 9 point beating out Russia Vladimir Kramnik and Israe Boris Gelfand (both tied on 8)
- 2008: beat Kramnik 6.5-4.5
- 2010: beat Bulgaria Veselin Topalov 6.5-5.5
- 2012: beat Gelfand 8.5-7.5
First women grand master: Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi (2001)
S Vijayalaksmi became the nation first Women IM in 1996. The Chennai native then became India first WGM in 2001. Koneru Humpy of Andhra Pradesh became the youngest woman ever in history to become GM in 2002 aged 15 (a record she held till 2008)
First Chess Olympiad medal: 2014
In a close-run affair the Indian team of Parimarjan Negi, Sethuraman P, Krishnan Sasikiran, Adhiban Baskaran and Lalith Babu won bronze in the 2014 Olympiad. In fact India were one among four teams to be second behind China on 17 points but per the tie-breaker rules Hungary took silver and India the bronze.
First Women Chess Olympiad Medal: 2022
The Indian women team won their first medal with a bronze in the first Olympiad held in India (in Chennai 2022). The team of Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavali, Vaishali Rambabu, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni won 17 points to finish behind Georgia and Ukraine (both of whom had 18 Ukraine winning on tiebreakers). Interestingly the India 2 men team of Dommaraju Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, R Praggnandhaa, Adhiban and Raunak Sadhwani also took bronze with a score of 18 (behind Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan)
Youngest winner of Candidates: Gukesh (17) in 2024
The FIDE Candidates 2024 marked a big moment for Indian chess with five Indians participating in the big event – the highest ever from a single country to feature. The Open tournament was won by the 17-year-old Gukesh who won the tournament with 9 points. He is the tournament youngest ever winner and will now face off with China Ding Liren for the World Championship later this year.
First Chess Olympiad gold: 2024
In Budapes India created history winning their first ever Olympiad gold and doing so in both Open and Women categories. The Open team of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala won by a whopping margin of 4 points (21 vs USA 17). The Women team of Harika, Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Sachdev won it with 19 points (vs Kazakhstan 18).
Chess Olympiad 2024: Men’s section
In a highly anticipated match India faced off against the USA and it turned out to be an exciting showdown. India emerged victorious with a score of 2.5 to 1.5 marking their ninth win in the tournament. The highlight was D. Gukesh decisive victory over Fabiano Caruana. Gukesh faced a tough challenge against the top-seeded Caruana but managed to stay composed. They started with a Catalan opening.
where Gukesh seized an advantage by capturing a pawn. As the game progressed Caruana struggled under pressure and lost another pawn allowing Gukesh to transition into a winning endgame. This win was crucial specially since R. Praggnanandhaa had lost his match against Wesley So giving the USA an early lead.
Arjun Erigaisi also played a critical role for India battling Lenier Dominguez Perez in a grueling match that lasted over five hours. Erigaisi maintained control throughout and secured a win. Vidit Gujrathi played a solid game drawing against Levon Aronian.
Reflecting on his match Gukesh noted the intensity of the game specially when Arjun strong performance relieved some of the pressure he felt against Caruana. It was crazy He is surprised me in the opening, and we reached an initially equal position. His issues began with Ne7. Arjun was completely winning, so I thought even a draw would be fine but I kept finding all the right moves,” Gukesh shared with the FIDE broadcast.
Chess Olympiad 2024: Women’s section
Divya Deshmukh was yet again India standout performer as she defeated Ni Shiqun on board three. which was the only victory of the match and helped clinch the tie for India 2.5-1.5. R Vaishali was the other Indian who deserved a lot of praise for her spirited defense in a difficult position against Guo Qi and in the end capitalized on a tactical shot to force the draw.
On the top board D Harika held on to her own to hold Zhu Jiner. while Vantika Agarwal matched Lu Miaoyi move for move to get an easy draw just when the middle game arrived. The win against China was much needed as women team was also in lead till eight rounds in Budapest before a loss to Poland and then a draw against the USA placed them second.