India Wins Double Gold at Chess Olympiad: Vidit Gujrathi and Team Make History
Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi expressed his joy on Wednesday over India’s historic double gold at the Chess Olympiad. For the first time, both the men’s and women’s teams secured gold medals in their respective categories.
Historic Achievement
Vidit Gujrathi emphasized the significance of this win, stating, “This gold is special for Indian chess, it has received so much love, we won in both men’s and women’s categories. It has never happened before so it is historic. People will look back to this moment…people’s perception towards chess will change…we know now that India is the best (in chess)…hopefully in the future, India will keep dominating and keep being on the number one spot.”
Other Grandmasters’ Views
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa also highlighted the historic nature of the win, saying, “We have done something very historic, we won 2 gold medals…cricket is also very tough field…I don’t think we should compare between sports, every sport is very difficult…”
Arjun Erigaisi mentioned that there wasn’t much pressure during the tournament and that they took one game at a time. He added, “My next target is Global Chess League, I will try to give my best. It’s one of the strongest tournament in the world… In two years, we have improved a lot. There wasn’t much pressure. Before the tournament, we just said, let’s go for the gold… We were taking one game at a time.”
Final Matches
In the final round, India’s men’s team, consisting of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna, defeated Slovenia to clinch the gold medal. Wins from D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi gave India a 2-0 lead, and Praggnandhaa’s win along with Vidit’s draw sealed the 3.5-0.5 victory.
The Indian women’s team, featuring Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev, also won gold by defeating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5. Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, and Vantika Agrawal won their matches, while R Vaishali drew her match against Ulviyya Fataliyeva.
Other Results
USA secured the second spot in the men’s competition and a bronze in the women’s competition. Uzbekistan won the bronze in the men’s competition, while Kazakhstan got silver in the women’s competition.
Doubts Revealed
Chess Olympiad -: The Chess Olympiad is a big international chess tournament where teams from different countries compete against each other.
Vidit Gujrathi -: Vidit Gujrathi is a famous Indian chess player who is very good at chess and has won many games.
Grandmaster -: A Grandmaster is a very high title in chess, given to the best players in the world.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa -: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa is a young and talented Indian chess player who is very good at the game.
Arjun Erigaisi -: Arjun Erigaisi is another skilled Indian chess player who has achieved a lot in chess.
Slovenia -: Slovenia is a small country in Europe. The Indian men’s chess team played against their team and won.
Azerbaijan -: Azerbaijan is a country near Europe and Asia. The Indian women’s chess team played against their team and won.
