India Wins Double Gold at Chess Olympiad
New Delhi, September 22: The legendary Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand congratulated Team India for their outstanding performance at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad in Budapest. India secured two gold medals in both men’s and women’s events.
Viswanathan Anand’s Praise
Viswanathan Anand took to his official X handle to commend the women’s team, especially Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh for their final round performances. He wrote, “Congrats to India’s Women’s team. Great result by the whole team and captain @chessgmkunte. and a special mention to @DivyaDeshmukh05 and to @vantikachess for her performance.”
He also praised the men’s team for their victory in the last round, highlighting the performances of D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vidit Gujrathi. Anand added, “Congrats to Team India for winning the last round as well! Sensational @DGukesh and @ArjunErigaisi, but also congrats to @viditchess on an impressive result. Great captaincy by @srinathchess.”
H.D. Kumaraswamy’s Congratulations
Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy also congratulated Team India for their double gold win. He wrote, “A truly historic day for India! Double GOLD at the Chess Olympiad as India conquers both the Open & Women’s sections!”
He praised the Open Team consisting of Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Srinath Narayanan, and the Women’s Team of Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali R, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte.
Final Round Highlights
In the final round, India’s men’s team of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5 to clinch the gold medal. Wins from D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi gave India a 2-0 lead, confirmed by Praggnandhaa’s win and Vidit’s draw.
The Indian women’s team of Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev also won gold after beating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal won their matches, while R Vaishali drew her match against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
Doubts Revealed
Chess Olympiad -: The Chess Olympiad is a big international chess tournament where teams from different countries compete against each other.
Viswanathan Anand -: Viswanathan Anand is a very famous Indian chess player who has won many world championships.
H.D. Kumaraswamy -: H.D. Kumaraswamy is an Indian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, a state in India.
FIDE -: FIDE stands for Fédération Internationale des Échecs, which is French for International Chess Federation. It is the organization that governs international chess competitions.
Grandmaster -: A Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can achieve. It means they are one of the best players in the world.
Vantika Agrawal -: Vantika Agrawal is a young and talented Indian chess player who has won many national and international tournaments.
Divya Deshmukh -: Divya Deshmukh is another young Indian chess player who has achieved great success in various chess competitions.
D Gukesh -: D Gukesh is a very skilled young chess player from India who has become one of the youngest Grandmasters in the world.
Arjun Erigaisi -: Arjun Erigaisi is a promising Indian chess player who has won several important chess tournaments.
Slovenia -: Slovenia is a small country in Europe. In this context, it was the team that the Indian men’s chess team defeated.
Azerbaijan -: Azerbaijan is a country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Indian women’s chess team defeated their team.
