Grandmaster and World Championship challenger D Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana of the United States to put India on the cusp of a maiden gold medal in the 45th Chess Olympiad. Gukesh, who is all set for battle in the next World Championship match in Singapore in November, played out a challenging game and eked out a win against a higher-ranked Caruana.Earlier, R Praggananandhaa went down fighting against Wesley, but Arjun Erigaise was always in command against Lenier Dominguez Perez. Arjun won after over five hours of play, while Vidit Gujrathi played a rock-solid game against Levon Aronian.The Indian women's team is also on course to secure a historic gold medal at the Chess Olympiad 2024. Following their victory over China in Round 10, India has taken a commanding lead in the standings and appears to be on course for their first-ever gold medal in the tournament. Divya Deshmukh's victory against China was crucial in securing India's win.Although the technicalities and pairings for the next round are yet to be confirmed, India's position at the top of the standings is extremely strong.Winning a gold medal in both the men's and women's sections at the Budapest Olympiad would be a monumental achievement for Indian chess. It would cement India's status as a global powerhouse in the sport and inspire a new generation of chess players.Despite their near-certain victory, Srinath Narayanan, leader of the Indian open team for the Chess Olympiad, kept his feet firmly on the ground and said, "It's still not job complete yet".
"It's still not job complete yet" says Indian coach Srinath Narayanan as India (probably!) hasn't quite clinched Olympiad gold mathematically! #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/Gw7t9S1gfd
— chess24 (@chess24com) September 21, 2024
India has won bronze medals in 2014 and 2022 and also shared gold at the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad. "It feels like a magical time for India. As I said, with such players, you know that you'll have a certain amount of results, but they consistently exceeded," 5-time World Champion Vishy Anand told FIDE as India is closing in on a historic result.GM @ArjunErigaisi's latest win is his most important yet, as it looks set to give India its first ever #ChessOlympiad gold! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/ygX3BMgsuY
— chess24 (@chess24com) September 21, 2024
