Chess Olympiad 2024- 10 players who won gold for India: Gukesh-Arjun are invincible, Divya-Vantika got individual gold

ndia performed historically in the 45th Chess Olympiad by winning gold medals in the open and women’s categories. The country also got 4 gold medals in the individual category, 2 players each secured first place in both men’s and women’s categories.

5 players each represented India in both the categories. After 11 rounds, the open team scored 21 out of 22 points. The women’s team won the gold with 19 points.

Let’s know about 5 players from both the teams in the story…

Women’s team defeated defending champion China

In the women’s team, Tania Sachdev, Vaishali Remshababu, Harika Dronavalli, Vantika Agrawal and Divya Deshmukh won the gold. The team won 9 out of 11 rounds and played only one draw. The team’s only defeat came against Poland. However, India secured the first position with 19 points. The team also defeated defending champion China in the 10th round. 

1. Tania Sachdev

Sports commentator Tania Sachdev became a Grandmaster in 2008. However, at that time India was not doing anything special in women’s chess. Due to which she got the first international gold of her career in the team event. She has already won the individual bronze in the 2012 Olympiad. Tania played 5 matches in Budapest, she won 2, while 3 were draws. She did not lose a single match. 

2. Harika Dronavalli

Harika Dronavalli achieved the title of Grandmaster in 2011. After winning silver in the individual event at the 2010 Asian Games, she also won bronze in the 2015 World Chess Championship. In 2019, she was awarded the Padma Shri. In 2022, she was also part of the team that won the Asian Games silver. Harika has now won 3 out of 9 matches of the Chess Olympiad and drew only 3 matches. However, she also had to face defeat in 3. 

3. Vaishali Rameshbabu

Vaishali Rameshbabu, who will become a Grandmaster in 2024, won the Asian Games silver medal with the women’s team in 2022. She has now played 10 matches of the Chess Olympiad and won 4. She also lost 2, but by drawing 4 matches, she did not let the team’s score deteriorate. 

4. Vantika Agarwal

Playing on board-4, Vantika Agarwal also won the gold medal in Women’s Individual. She played 9 matches in 11 rounds and lost only one. She won 5 matches, while she drew 3 matches. She achieved the title of Grandmaster in 2023, before that in 2022 she was also a part of the team that won silver in the Asian Games.

5. Divya Deshmukh

The strongest player of India in the women’s team was 18-year-old Divya Deshmukh. She is also the country’s number-1 women’s chess player. She played all 11 matches in the Olympiad, winning 8 and drawing only 3. She also won the individual gold for Board-3 with a score of 9.5 points.

Divya has also won individual bronze in the 2022 Chennai Olympiad. She also won gold in the team event in the 2020 Online Olympiad. She has also won gold in the individual event of the Asian Championship in 2023. She received the title of International Grandmaster only last year. 

2 players from the open team also won individual gold

India’s open team included Pentala Harikrishna, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi. Gukesh and Arjun also won individual gold. The team remained undefeated in 11 rounds, winning 10 while the only draw was against Uzbekistan. The team lost only one match against America in 11 rounds and 44 matches.

1. Pentala Harikrishna

The most senior player of the team, Pentala Harikrishna, played only 3 matches, but he remained undefeated in them. He won 2 matches and drew one. After becoming a Grandmaster in 2001, he won 3 medals in the Asian Games. In 2006, he won gold with the mixed team, in 2022 he won silver with the men’s team and in 2010 also he won bronze with the men’s team. 

2. Rameshbabu Pragannanda

R Praggnanandhaa became a Grandmaster at the age of 12. He was then the youngest Grandmaster from India and the second youngest Grandmaster in the world. He played 10 matches in the Chess Olympiad and won 3. India’s only defeat in the open event was against the USA. However, he drew 6 matches and did not let the team’s score deteriorate.

Praggnanandhaa has won individual gold in the 2022 Chennai Olympiad. He also won bronze with the men’s team then. He was also part of the men’s team that won the silver medal in the 2022 Asian Games. After which he was also awarded the Arjuna Award at the age of 17.

3.Vidit Gujarati

Vidit Gujarati was the third best player from India in the open event. He played 10 matches, won 5 and drew 5. After becoming a Grandmaster in 2013, he won his first major medal at the international level in the form of a men’s team silver in the 2022 Asian Games. Now he has also won his first gold by securing the first position in the team event in the Chess Olympiad. 

4. Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh has been proving to be India’s top player in Chess Olympiad for the last 2 years. This time too he played 10 matches and won 8. His opponents were able to hold him to a draw in only 2 matches. He defeated world number-3 Fabiano Caruana of America in the 10th round.

Gukesh became a Grandmaster in 2019 at the age of 12. Then he surpassed Praggnanandhaa to become India’s youngest Grandmaster. Now at the age of 18, he has also won individual gold on board-1 in the Chess Olympiad. He has also won individual gold in the Chennai Olympiad. 

5. Arjun Erigaisi

21-year-old Arjun Erigaisi proved to be India’s best player in the 2024 Chess Olympiad. He won 9 out of 11 matches and also won individual gold on board-3. He also played 2 draws. After becoming a Grandmaster in 2018, he also won individual gold in the Chennai Olympiad in 2022.