D Gukesh with his parents (X)
Indian men had earlier won two bronze medals — in 2014 and 2022 (held in Chennai) — in the tournament.
World Championship challenger D Gukesh on Sunday said he didn’t think about his personal achievements and was prepared to do “whatever it takes” to secure India’s maiden gold medal at the Chess Olympiad following near-misses in previous editions.
The 18-year-old Gukesh was a key architect in India’s historic victory, as the men’s team defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5 in the final round to claim their first-ever gold at the prestigious event. The Indian women’s team also secured gold, marking a historic double for the country.
“I feel great, especially with the quality of my games and how we played as a team and despite many close misses in the past, we managed to dominantly win this time. I’m just super happy right now,” Grandmaster Gukesh, who secured eight wins in 11 rounds, told International Chess Federation (FIDE) after the match.
India’s men’s team was on the brink of winning the gold medal after defeating USA 2.5-1.5 on Saturday. Needing only a draw in the final round, the team went one better by defeating Slovenia to clinch the top spot.
“Yesterday we were in the team meeting, we were already in the celebrations mood. I was super excited but I hoped there would be no game. We forced ourselves to focus and come here, do the job, and then celebrate,” said Gukesh.
“I thought even if we lose the match, we still win on tie breaks. We wanted to win the match, of course. We were expecting a win. We were all pretty relaxed. But yeah, glad that me and Arjun got the job done.”
Indian men had earlier won two bronze medals — in 2014 and 2022 (held in Chennai) — in the tournament.
“This tournament for me, especially since what happened last time, we were so close as the team to win goal. This time I thought no matter what I’m going to do, whatever it takes to win the team goal,” Gukesh told Chess24.
“So I did not really think about the individual performance much. I just wanted the team to win this time.”
Gukesh will challenge China’s Ding Liren for the world title later this year, but he said that wasn’t on his mind during the Olympiad.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
