Indian men's & women's teams win gold in the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad

Indian Men’s and Women's chess teams won gold medals in their respective events at the 45th edition of the FIDE Chess Olympiad, held in the Hungarian capital of Budapest from 10-23 September 2024. The next 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan 2026.

The last time a country won gold both in the Open(men’s) and women's section of the chess Olympiad was China in 2018. Batumi, Georgia, 

The Indian team retained the Gaprindashvili Cup, which is awarded to the best combined result in the Open and Women’s sections. In the last 43rd edition of the Chess Olympiad, which was held in Chennai, Tami Nadu, in 2022, the Indian team won the Gaprindashvili Cup.

India became the second country after Russia which successfully retained the   Gaprindashvili Cup.

Indian Men's Team Win Hamilton-Russell Cup

The Indian team consisting of Arjun Erigasi, Rameshbabu Pragannandha, Dommaraju Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna won the gold medal in the Open section. The Indian men’s team was awarded the gold medal and the Hamilton Russell Cup. 

The Indian team topped the points table with 21 points, followed by the United States in second place and Uzbekistan in third place.  

Indian Women Wins Vera Menchik Cup

The Indian women's team of Vantika Agarwal, Divya Deshmukh, Harika Dranavali, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Tania Sachdev won the gold medal and the Vera Menchik Cup.

The Kazakhstan team was awarded the silver medal, while the USA team settled for the bronze medal.

Board Prizes for Best Individual Performance 

The Chess Olympiad is a team event, but board prizes are also awarded to honour the individual performances. The best Indian performances are as follows :

Open – Board 1:

• Gold: Gukesh D, India
  Silver: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Uzbekistan
  Bronze: Magnus Carlsen, Norway

Open – Board 3:

• Gold: Arjun Erigaisi, India
  Silver:Yu Yangyi, China
  Bronze:Le Tuan Minh, Vietnam

Women – Board 3:

• Gold: Divya Deshmukh, India
  Silver: Sabrina Vega Gutierrez, Spain
  Bronze:Elina Danielian, Armenia

Women – Board 4:

• Gold: Vantika Agrawal, India
  Silver: Alice Lee, USA
  Bronze:Anna M. Sargsyan, Armenia

About Chess Olympiad 

• The first Chess Olympiad, organised as the Tournament of Nations by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 1927, was held in London, United Kingdom. Hungary won the inaugural edition.
• Since the 9th edition of 1950, the event has been held every two years.
• In 1952, the event's name was changed to the Chess Olympiad.
• The Women's Chess Olympiad was started in 1957 at Emmen, the Netherlands. 
• Both events were held together in 1972, but they were separated again in 1974. However, both events have been held together since 1976. 
• The Soviet Union/Russia is the most successful team in the Chess Olympiad, with a combined 24 titles.

International Chess Federation or  FIDE 

The International Chess Federation, or French acronym FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is the world’s chess governing body. It was established on 20 July 1924 in Paris, France. President of  FIDE:  Arkady Dvorkovich, 

Headquarters of FIDE: Lausanne, Switzerland