Picture Credit: X
The Indian men’s team are on the brink of claiming their first gold medal in the Chess Olympiad after defeating the USA 2.5-1.5 at the SYMA Sports and Conference Center in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, September 21. In the round 10, Dommaraju Gukesh got the better of Fabiano Caruana while Arjun Erigaisi took down Leinier Dominguez in the tie, reaching 19 match points, two ahead of China in first place in the standings with the final round remaining in the 45th Chess Olympiad.
Apart from wins for Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi in the round 10 of the tournament, their compatriot Vidit Gujrathi drew against Levon Aronian, which was enough for India to defeat the USA in the tie. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa lost his match against Wesley So in the tie, but it didn’t make any difference to the overall result of the tie because of his teammates delivering the goods when it mattered the most in the tournament.
Vishwanathan Anand congratulates Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi for splendid performances in 45th Chess Olympiad
Although the Indian men’s team have a big lead at the top, they haven’t yet clinched the gold medal in the 45th Chess Olympiad as per mathematical calculations with one round remaining. Vishwanathan Anand, the Indian chess legend, took to his official X account to congratulate them and wrote, “Congratulations to the Indian men's team for winning the Olympiad with a round to spare, historic performance! Simply awe-inspiring play. Congratulations to Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi for their individual results as well!”
Shortly after, Vishwanathan Anand realised his error and apologised for the same, and he wrote, “I understand this may not be mathematically certain, I apologise for jumping the gun, I got a bit carried away”.
India women's team tied with Kazakhstan in 45th Chess Olympiad with final round remaining
In the 45th Chess Olympiad women’s competition, India defeated China 2.5-1.5 in the round 10 after a decisive win for Divya Deshmukh against Alua Nurman, while Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli, and Vaishali Rameshbabu drew their matches. With that, India women’s team is tied in first place with Kazakhstan in first place with 17 points, one ahead of the USA and Poland with the final round of the tournament remaining.
