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India shatters records by dominating 45th Chess Olympiad 2024, marks the beginning of 'Golden era'

by Shahid Ahmed - 23/09/2024

Sunday 22nd September 2024 will always be remembered as the 'Golden day' in the Indian chess history, both literally and figuratively. India defeated Slovenia (Open) and Azerbaijan (Women) with the exact same score 3.5-0.5 to clinch the Gold. India has not only won both Open and Women's events but also the Nona Gaprindashvili Cup for the second consecutive edition. In fact, India only won Gold medals at this event. Apart from winning the team Gold, India won four individual Gold medals - GM D Gukesh on Board #1, GM Arjun Erigaisi on Board #3. In Women's event, IM Divya Deshmukh clinched Gold on Board #3 and IM Vantika Agrawal on Board #4. India scored 21/22 in Open, finishing four points ahead of USA and Uzbekistan. This is the biggest gap between Gold and Silver medal winners since the introduction of match points at 38th Olympiad in 2008. India won Women's event scoring 19/22, finishing a full point ahead of the runner-up - Kazakhstan 18/22. USA finished third 17/22. The 'Golden era' of Indian chess has officially begun. Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India claims only Gold medals, clinches Nona Gaprindashvili Cup second consecutive time

The history could not have been made in a better presence. The one who inspired the nation and beyond - GM Vishy Anand, greatest female chess player of all time - Judit Polgar, India's second Grandmaster and Chef de mission - GM Dibyendu Barua, India's fourth GM in history - Abhijit Kunte, also the Captain of India Women's team were present. Anand, Barua and Kunte, all three have played in various Olympiads as each others teammates. They got to witness history unfold firsthand and know that India is going to dominate the top of the chess universe for a really long time. It should also not be forgotten that Pentala Harikrishna played Olympiad with all three of them and this was his eleventh Olympiad as he mentioned in the pre-tournament interview.

India receives Nona Gaprindashvili Cup from the maestro Vishy Anand | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India scored 40/44, six points ahead of USA and Armenia 34/44. Overall, Russia has won it six times, China three times, Ukraine and now India twice.

Open Gold - India 21/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Despite losing to Poland in Round 8 by a minimum margin 2.5-1.5 and a draw against the USA in Round 9, Indian Women made a strong comeback by clinching the Gold and no tie-breaks were needed.

Women Gold - India 19/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

 

45th Chess Olympiad 2024 Official logo | Photo: Official site

Open: Slovenia - India: 0.5-2.5

GM D Gukesh (2764), GM R Praggnanandhaa (2750) and GM Arjun Erigaisi (2778) scored the wins over GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2692), GM Anton Demchenko (2597) and GM Jan Subelj (2498) respectively. GM Matej Sebenik (2515) held GM Vidit Gujrathi (2720) to a draw. Arjun was the first to score the win of the match. Then Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa followed suit. Vidit's game was the last to finish of the match.

Subelj - Arjun

Position after 38.Rb7+??

Everyone was surprised to see Arjun opting for the Center Counter/Scandinavian opening in a game where the team needed a draw to win the Gold. While it is not easy to equalize out of the opening, Arjun somehow managed to do so. In the above rook and few pawns endgame, White made the mistake of giving an unnecessary check 38.Rb7+?? It did not help White's case as Black got to improve his king's position 38...Kf6 and White got nothing out of the check. 39.b4 Rf2 40.Rb6 Rxg2 41.Rxa6 Rxh2 and Black checkmated the white king at the middle of the board in another eight moves.

Arjun Erigaisi glances his friend and teammate - R Praggnanandhaa's game | Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

Fedoseev - Gukesh

Position after 19...Rhc8

Gukesh faced Fedoseev twice in Classical rated games. Both ended in draws. This time, Gukesh is on a different level. White broke the position wide open 20.dxc5 e5 21.cxd5 cxd5 22.c6 Nb6 the exchange of pawns only helped Black to free his knight and open the bishop's path. 23.a3 Ra5 24.Ne1 Rb5 25.Nd3 d4 26.exd4 exd4 27.R3c2 Re8 28.Nf3 Rb3 29.Nfe1 Bb4+ 30.Kf1 Bxe1 31.Nxe1 Bxc2 32.Nxc2 d3 and things fell apart in a hurry for White.

D Gukesh defeated Vladimir Fedoseev to finish a 3056 performance and clinch Gold on Board no.1 for the second consecutive Olympiad | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Praggnanandhaa - Demchenko

Position after 44.Rb7+

Demchenko needed to move his king up, out in the open Kd6 and everything would have been fine. Instead, he retreated 44...Kf8?? Praggnanandhaa does not miss these opportunities 45.Be6+- Re4 46.Rh7 b4 47.Rh8+ White won the game in the next few moves.

R Praggnanandhaa scored his third win of the event | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

GM Matej Sebenik held GM Vidit Gjrathi to a draw | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Slovenia - India: 0.5-3.5

Arjun Erigaisi is now World no.3 with a live rating 2797.2, Gukesh World no.5 with 2794.1 | Source: 2700chess.com

Women: India - Azerbaijan: 3.5-0.5

GM Harika Dronavalli (2502), IM Divya Deshmukh (2483) and IM Vantika Agrawal (2370) defeated IM Gunay Mammadzada (2433), WGM Govhar Beydullayeva (2395) and IM Khanim Balajayeva (2384) respectively. GM R Vaishali (2498) was held to a draw by IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (2378).

Divya - Govhar

Position after 24.b5

In a battle of two World Junior Girls winners, the reigning champion prevailed over the 2022 winner - Govhar Beydullayeva. Black misjudged the position and played 24...c5? crippling her knight. 25.Ra1 Ra5? a rook trade where Black loses tempo 26.Rxa5 Qxa5 and also allowed 27.e5 is positionally lost. White had no trouble wrapping things up and scoring the first win of the team.

IM Divya Deshmukh en route her victory over WGM Govhar Beydullayeva and double Gold | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Khanim - Vantika

Position after 34.Qh4??

White blundered a whole rook 34.Qh4?? Vantika obviously spotted it 34...g5 35.Qg3 Nxe4 36.Rxf7+ Kxf7 37.Qe3 Qe5 38.Re2 Nf6 39.Qd3 Qf4 40.Nxe6 Qc1+ 41.Qf5 Rxb3 42.Nxg5+ Qxg5 43.Qxg5 Rxe2 and Black is still winning comfortably. Of course, Black would have preferred to keep the queen on the board but nevertheless, Vantika was never in any real danger and she navigated all threats quite well towards a victory and double Gold medal.

IM Vantika Agrawal scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 to claim double Gold | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva played solid to hold GM R Vaishali to a draw | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

IM Divya Deshmukh crossed 2500 in the live rating, now World no.11 and India no.2 in live ratings | Source: 2700chess.com

India - Azerbaijan: 3.5-0.5

Board prize

D Gukesh won Gold on Board no.1 for his second consecutive Olympiad. He bettered his previous performance of 2867 to 3056 this year which is quite possibly the greatest individual performance in an Olympiad. Gukesh is now World no.5 with a live rating of 2794.1

Gold on Board #1 Open - GM D Gukesh 3056 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Board #1 Open Top 3 (L to R): Silver - GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) 2884, Gold - GM D Gukesh 3056 and Bronze - GM Magnus Carlsen (NOR, absent) 2810 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Board #1 Open

Rk. NameRtgTeamRpGames
1
GMGukesh D2764India305610
2
GMAbdusattorov Nodirbek2766Uzbekistan288411
3
GMCarlsen Magnus2832Norway28108

Details

 

Arjun Erigaisi bettered his previous edition's individual Silver to Gold this year with a 2968 performance. He is now World no.3 with a live rating of 2797.2

Board #3 Gold - GM Arjun Erigaisi 2968 | Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

Board #3 Open Top 3 (L to R): Silver - GM Yangyi Yu (CHN) 2802, Gold - GM Arjun Erigaisi 2968 and Bronze - GM Tuan Minh Le (VIE) 2795 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Board #3 Open

Rk. NameRtgTeamRpGames
1
GMErigaisi Arjun2778India296811
2
GMYu Yangyi2703China280210
3
GMLe Tuan Minh2564Vietnam279511

Details

 

Divya Deshmukh also improved her previous year's Bronze on Board no.5 to Gold on Board no.3 this year. Her performance improved by a huge margin from 2298 to 2608 and she played all eleven games.

Board #3 Women: Gold - IM Divya Deshmukh 2608 | Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

Board #3 Women Top 3 (L to R): Silver - IM Sabrina Vega Gutierrez (ESP) 2505, Gold - IM Divya Deshmukh 2608 and Bronze - GM Elina Danielian (ARM) 2495 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Board #3 Women

Rk. NameRtgTeamRpGames
1
IMDivya Deshmukh2483India260811
2
IMVega Gutierrez Sabrina2374Spain250511
3
GMDanielian Elina2393Armenia249510

Details

 

Vantika Agrawal did not get an individual medal in 2022. However, she scored her second IM-norm at the 44th edition. This time, she not only won a team Gold, but also an individual Gold medal on Board no.4. Vantika's performance improved from 2439 to 2558 this time.

Board #4 Women Gold - IM Vantika Agrawal 2558 | Photo: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

Board #4 Women Top 3 (L to R): Silver - IM Alice Lee (USA) 2471, Gold - IM Vantika Agrawal 2558 and Bronze - IM Anna M Sargsyan (ARM) 2446 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Board #4 Women

Board 4
Rk. NameRtgTeamRpGames
1
IMVantika Agrawal2370India25589
2
IMLee Alice2384United States of America247110
3
IMSargsyan Anna M.2364Armenia244610

Details

Photo Gallery

Indian men are delighted for their historic Gold medal winning performance | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Team India takes a gentle bite of their medal | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Team India (L to R): GM Sankalp Gupta (second), GM Srinath Narayanan (Captain), GM Pentala Harikrishna, GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM D Gukesh, GM Vidit Gujrathi, GM R Praggnanandhaa and GM Vaibhav Suri (second).

India's performance in the Open event. Out of 44 games, India suffered only one individual game loss

Silver in Open - United States of America 17/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Bronze in Open - Uzbekistan 17/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Top 3 in Open (L to R): Silver - USA 17/22, Gold - 21/22 and Bronze - Uzbekistan 17/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

The Golden Indian Women's team | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Team India (L to R): GM FT Swayams Mishra (second), GM Arjun Kalyan (second), GM Harika Dronavalli, IM Divya Deshmukh, IM Vantika Agrawal, IM R Vaishali, IM Tania Sachdev and GM Abhijit Kunte (Captain).

Tiem for a selfie on the podium by the Captain - GM Abhijit Kunte | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

India's performance in the Women event. IM Divya Deshmukh and IM Vantika Agrawal played key roles, well supported by GM R Vaishali, GM Harika Dronavalli and IM Tania Sachdev

Silver - Kazakhstan 18/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Bronze - United States of America 17/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Top 3 in Women (L to R): Silver - Kazakhstan 18/22, Gold - India 19/22 and Bronze - United States of America 17/22 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Photo Gallery

Israel Women's team got a walk over against Iran as the latter did not turn up | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Round 11 in progress | Photo: FIDE/Mark Livshitz

Harika's tears of joy knowing that India has won a historic Gold medal for the first time in history | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

GM Abhijit Kunte, Captain of the team understands the players as he was in their shoes back in his days | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

An Arjun Erigaisi posing for a photo with the man himself, holding the latest edition of New in Chess magazine which has Arjun on the cover | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

All eyes on Gukesh | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi and Srinath Narayanan with their fans | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Nodirbek Abdusattorov receiving the FIDE torch and FIDE flag from FIDE President - Arkady Dvorkovich, as the 46th edition will take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan 2026 | Photo: FIDE/Michal Walusza

Replay live stream

Replay Round 11 Live Commentary by Amruta Mokal, IM Sagar Shah and GM Harshit Raja | Video: ChessBase India
Closing Ceremony of 45th Chess Olympiad | Video: ChessBase India

Video Gallery

Round 11 recap by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India
India at the closing ceremony | Video: ChessBase India
Press Conference of the Indian team | Video: ChessBase India
GM Harika Dronavalli after confirming India's historic Olympiad Gold | Video: ChessBase India
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa join the commentary after their game | Video: ChessBase India
Arjun Erigaisi after winning the Gold | Video: ChessBase India
All eyes on the Gold | Video: ChessBase India
Iran no shows against Israel | Video: ChessBase India

Schedule

Everyday round started at 3 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST from 11th to 22nd September 2024. The final round was on 22nd September at 11 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. IST. Rest day was on 17th September.

Replay Round 11 Open games

Replay Round 11 Women games

Round 11 Open results

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
126
SLOSlovenia2916½:1931½IndiaIND
2
213
ESPSpain26152:21524½Hungary *)HUN
9
33
CHNChina26½17:1527United States of AmericaUSA
1
44
UZBUzbekistan26½15:1526FranceFRA
14
516
SRBSerbia25½15:½1525½UkraineUKR
15
617
ARMArmenia2515:1424IranIRI
10
724
BULBulgaria25½14:1428GermanyGER
7
832
GEOGeorgia25½142:21424PolandPOL
11
939
BRABrazil24141:31425½AzerbaijanAZE
12
1018
ROURomania24½142:21424MoldovaMDA
34
1141
KAZKazakhstan2614:1425TurkiyeTUR
22
1247
CHIChile21½14:1425GreeceGRE
23
135
NEDNetherlands24½13:1325LithuaniaLTU
29
1428
ITAItaly2413:1324½NorwayNOR
6
158
ENGEngland23½133:11323SlovakiaSVK
43
1666
FAIFaroe Islands21½13:1327Czech RepublicCZE
19
1750
CANCanada22132:21325VietnamVIE
21
1820
ISRIsrael2512:1324TurkmenistanTKM
73
1925
HUNHungary B24123:11225½PhilippinesPHI
51
2049
BELBelgium2312½:1223½CroatiaCRO
27

Details

Final standings

Rk.SNoFED TeamGames  +   =   -  TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
12IND
India11101021476,535156
21USA
United States of America118121739529,5156
34UZB
Uzbekistan118121738729154
43CHN
China1181217379,528161
516SRB
Serbia1181217360,529151
617ARM
Armenia118121733527,5145
77GER
Germany1180316354,530,5134
812AZE
Azerbaijan117221635128,5145
926SLO
Slovenia1180316341,529,5143
1013ESP
Spain117221633928144

Details

Round 11 Women results

No.SNo FEDTeamPts.MPRes.:Res.MPPts.TeamFED SNo
110
KAZKazakhstan27½172:21628½United States of AmericaUSA
7
214
HUNHungary *)2815½:1529SpainESP
9
31
INDIndia27½17:½1526AzerbaijanAZE
6
43
POLPoland2716½:1525½GeorgiaGEO
2
511
ARMArmenia27½153:11426½GermanyGER
8
64
CHNChina3114:½1428VietnamVIE
20
75
UKRUkraine2414:½1426RomaniaROU
22
824
ITAItaly23½14½:1425BulgariaBUL
12
916
TURTurkiye2414:1423½UzbekistanUZB
34
1019
SRBSerbia2414:1427ArgentinaARG
26
1130
AUTAustria2213:1324FranceFRA
13
1232
SVKSlovakia23130:41322½NetherlandsNED
17
1318
MGLMongolia2413:½1324SwedenSWE
33
1435
NORNorway23½13:1324½SwitzerlandSUI
21
1539
PERPeru2513½:1325GreeceGRE
23
1625
ISRIsrael27134:01326½IranIRI
37
1727
CANCanada24½133:11323½LithuaniaLTU
45
1846
AUSAustralia22½132:21222½SloveniaSLO
28
1915
ENGEngland24½12:1225FinlandFIN
50
2049
HUNHungary C22½12½:1224½Hungary BHUN
31

Details

Final standings

Rk.SNoFED TeamGames  +   =   -  TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
11IND
India119111943231159
210KAZ
Kazakhstan118211837129,5150
37USA
United States of America117311741830,5160
49ESP
Spain118121740232,5143
511ARM
Armenia117311739130,5153
62GEO
Georgia117311738829158
74CHN
China118031643434,5148
85UKR
Ukraine1164116355,527,5150
93POL
Poland117221635227,5155
1012BUL
Bulgaria1172216348,528,5144

Details

Gaprindashvili Cup standings

Rk.flagFEDTeamRankSum TB1  TB2  TB3  TB4 
1
INDIndia240908,566315
2
USAUnited States of America53481360316
3
ARMArmenia113472658298
4
CHNChina1133813,562,5309
5
ESPSpain143374160,5287
6
UZBUzbekistan153370755303
7
AZEAzerbaijan233168455299
8
UKRUkraine243167953,5302
9
GEOGeorgia253270756,5298
10
GERGermany293068958280

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament Regulations


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