India secure ‘unbelievable’ double gold

Continuing their dominating display, GMs Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu led the Indian men to a decisive 3.5-0.5 victory over Slovenia, sealing their triumph in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest yesterday (Bangladesh time).
Finishing a remarkable four points ahead of five rival teams, unbeaten India claimed gold, while the United States secured silver after GM Wesley So’s victory against China. Uzbekistan rounded out the podium with bronze, thanks to GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov’s win over France.
In a historic achievement, Indian women’s team clinched gold for the first time at the Olympiad after narrowly missing out in 2022. They decisively defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5, edging second-placed Kazakhstan by one point in the points table.
The double gold feat was termed as an “unbelievable” achievement by India’s chess great Viswanathan Anand.
In contrast, Bangladesh’s men’s team finished 78th, and the women’s team placed 81st in the tournament contested by a record number of 197 teams, representing 195 nations.