On September 22, India achieved a historic feat in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, winning gold in the men’s and women’s categories. An impressive double for India was completed when the women’s team—including coach Abhijit Kunte, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev—won first place, following the triumph of the men’s team.
India defeated Azerbaijan by a score of 3.5 to 0.5 in the last round. Vaishali was in a tie, while Harika, Divya, and Vantika all came out on top. What happened between the United States and Kazakhstan would determine India’s medal fate. As a result of the United States’ 2-2 draw, India won the championship. A tie-break would have been triggered had Kazakhstan won.
Prior to this, Vantika Agrawal had a key role in winning the ninth round against Grandmaster Irina Krush to tie India with the United States. In spite of setbacks, such as R Vaishali’s defeat and Tania Sachdev’s failed opportunity to secure a victory, the squad demonstrated resiliency.
The men’s Indian team had earlier won the Chess Olympiad for the first time, defeating Slovenia. Their main rival, China, lost ground to the United States, giving India the victory.
