India claimed a historic gold medal in the open section of the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, and the women’s team is also on the brink of a title win after defeating Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the final round.
In the open section, India’s maiden title win was secured following Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Jan Subelj of Slovenia in the final round of the competition. At the same time, second-placed China dropped crucial points against the USA in their fixture, and India officially clinched the title. Earlier, advancing into the final round, India was on top of the rankings with 19 points, while China was second with 17 and Slovenia was third with 16 points.
The Indian team for the open category included Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Srinath Narayanan. In the open section, India’s best performances prior to this year have been the bronze medals in 2022 and 2014.
Moreover, in the women’s section final, the Indian women’s team defeated Azerbaijan and emerged as the top contender for the title win. The final results are awaited as second-placed Kazakhstan is playing against the USA and trailing 0-1. The official result will be announced after the Kazakhstan and USA match.