India’s men’s chess team delivered one of the most dominant performances in Chess Olympiad history, securing two gold medals at the Budapest event. The team played 44 games, losing only once, winning 27, and drawing the rest. Their outstanding performance culminated in a 3-1 win over Slovenia.
Alongside the team triumph, four individual gold medals were also won by Indian players: D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal. Gukesh and Erigaisi shone on boards 1 and 3, while Divya and Vantika excelled on boards 3 and 4 for the women’s team.
The Indian women’s team, without top-ranked player Koneru Humpy, also clinched gold, defeating Azerbaijan with three wins and a draw. This demonstrates India’s growing depth in chess talent.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand expressed his excitement, calling it a “magical time for India.” He praised the young team, predicting they would remain dominant for years to come. Former women’s world champion Susan Polgar declared India the world’s top chess nation.
This success follows heartbreak in the 2022 Olympiad when India narrowly missed gold, finishing with bronze. Gukesh, who made a crucial error in the 2022 tournament, redeemed himself this year, saying he was determined to help the team secure gold.
With Gukesh rising to world no. 5 and Arjun climbing to world no. 3 in the live ratings, Indian chess is experiencing its greatest year ever. Gukesh, at just 18, is poised to become the youngest world champion in history.
Sameer Pathak, CEO of the Global Chess League, compared India’s chess triumph to the 1983 Cricket World Cup, marking it as a transformative moment for the sport in India. He credited India’s 2020 Online Olympiad victory for inspiring the creation of the multi-million-dollar Global Chess League, which has helped further propel Indian chess into the global spotlight.
Pathak highlighted that India now boasts a whole generation of chess stars, including Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun, showcasing the nation’s rise as a chess superpower.
