Even as India were lording over Bangladesh in the first Test of the ongoing series at Chepauk, Chennai, an event having great importance for Indian sports took place in faraway Budapest. The Indian chess players did the nation proud by winning gold medals in the Open and women's events at the Chess Olympiad. The significance of this victory was such that Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the victorious teams at his residence in Delhi and congratulated the players individually on their terrific achievement.
Chess Olympiad is a biennial championship conducted by International Chess Federation, popularly known by its French acronym FIDE. The first official Olympiad was held in 1927 in London. Though this was held every year till 1931, the schedule was changed to having this on a biennial basis after that year.
This tournament did not take place during the period between 1939 and 1950 on account of World War ll. The championship was not disrupted during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic when the matches were held online. Chess Olympiad featured only men till 1976, when a separate championship for women was started.
The winner on the men’s side is awarded the Hamilton-Russell Cup while the champion ladies team wins the Vera Menchik Trophy. India’s double triumph in Budapest carries an additional relevance in that this was fashioned by a group of youngsters. Further, the performance of the men’s team was as close to a perfect one as possible, with the side winning 10 out .
