In a show of staggering dominance, India has prevailed in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in both the open and women’s sections, outperforming the best countries in the world.
The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad lasted from September 11 to September 22 in Budapest, Hungary, and featured 11 rounds of play. Each team consisted of up to five players, with four players competing at any given round against another team in a match. One point is added to a team’s score for each win, a half-point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. Thus, a score of 2.5 was necessary to win the round for the team, while a tied score of 2-2 would result in a draw. A team could pick up two points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. The highest possible score a team could earn is 22 points.
Overall, 380 teams and nearly 2,000 players competed for their respective countries in both the open and women’s sections, making it the event with the most participants in chess at the top level. The Indian team in the open section consisted of Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna, while Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev made up the women’s team.
Though India was seeded second in the open section and first in the women’s, the players still had their work cut out for them. However, both teams were up to the task. After the first seven rounds, both Indian teams were on a perfect 14/14 score, having won every round against their opponents so far. Now, they had to face the other top teams of the event.
The Indian team in the open section kept up its momentum, convincingly defeating Iran in round eight before finally acquiescing a draw against defending champions Uzbekistan. The Indian men then continued their rampage, defeating the top-seeded USA team with a score of 2.5 to 1.5. Victory seemed certain, but the Indians left nothing up to chance. After defeating Slovenia in the final round, the Indian team scored 21/22 in the open section, an unbelievable feat that put them four match points ahead of their closest opposition. The USA team recovered from their setback and finished second, while Uzbekistan rounded out the podium.
The Indian women had a more turbulent tournament, suffering a loss against Poland in round eight and then drawing against the USA in the next round. However, they finished strong, defeating China and Azerbaijan and finishing with a match score of 19, just one point ahead of their closest rival Kazakhstan. Among the teams with 17 points, the USA had the best tiebreaks to earn bronze.
Perhaps one of the greatest reasons for the success of the Indian teams was their ability to put the success of their team above that of the individual. Gukesh Dommaraju, the star player of the Indian team in the open section, shared his thoughts about the event in an interview with chess.com: “This time I thought no matter what, I’m going to do whatever it takes to win the team gold. I did not really think about the individual performance much. I just wanted the team to win this time.”
Ultimately, both Indian teams excelled beyond their wildest dreams, making history as the third country to ever win both the open and women’s section in the same Olympiad, after the Soviet Union and China. Just a few years ago, people speculated about how India would become the future of chess. But with this incredible performance, it seems that the future has arrived and Indian chess is here to stay.
