The 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary concluded on Sunday and ended up producing one of the greatest moments in Indian chess history. In the century that has passed since the tournament first took place alongside the Paris Olympics in 1924, the Indians had never won gold until Sunday. And what made the occasion even more special was the fact that India won a medal not just in the Open category, but also in the women’s event .
Men’s chess in India has quite the history, starting with the legendary Viswanathan Anand becoming its first-ever Grandmaster in 1988 and later going on to win the World Chess Championship five times. The men’s team had also won their first-ever Chess Olympiad medal a lot earlier — a bronze in the 2014 edition in Tromso, Norway. Eight years later, they would add a second bronze to their collection on home soil in Chennai, with the women’s team collecting its maiden medal also with a bronze.
Read: The rapid rise of Indian chess and the leaders behind the revolution Whether the gold medal won in dominant fashion by the men’s team — the likes of D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi helping India virtually clinch Open gold with a round to spare — is the greatest moment in Indian men’s chess or not is debatable. But women’s chess surely has announced itself before the world by being crowned champions in Budapest. ‘More youngsters will be coming in’ Vantika Agrawal, who was part of the gold-winning Indian women’s team in Budapest, agree.
