Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated the Indian chess teams for winning silver and bronze medals at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and retaining the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy.
India, the defending champion in the Open section, secured the silver medal after a 2-2 draw with Hungary in the final round. The Indian women’s team won bronze following a 2-2 draw with Georgia.
“Congratulations to our Chess players! Their passion and determination are exemplary. May these successes motivate several more youngsters to play chess and excel,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
India retained the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy after finishing as the best overall nation based on its combined performance in the Open and women’s sections. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand presented the trophy to India.
India has now won the trophy in three consecutive editions. It first claimed the honour at the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, followed by a historic double gold in Budapest in 2024 and the silver and bronze finishes in Samarkand this year.
Uzbekistan won the Open section on home soil, defeating Ukraine 2.5-1.5 in the final round to claim its second Olympiad title after its 2022 triumph in Chennai.
India settled for silver after its 2-2 draw with Hungary. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Peter Leko with the black pieces on board two, while Hungary’s Gleb Dudin defeated world champion Gukesh D on board four.
Dudin’s victory earned him the individual gold medal on the first reserve board, while Gukesh finished with the silver medal on board four.
Germany won the Open bronze after defeating the Netherlands 2.5-1.5, with Matthias Bluebaum securing the decisive victory over Jorden van Foreest on board two. Frederik Svane claimed the individual gold medal on board three with a performance rating of 2,796.
All three medal-winning teams had occupied the top boards for much of the tournament, with their final positions reflecting consistent performances across the 11 rounds.
In the women’s section, China won gold after defeating Vietnam 3-1 in the final round. Kazakhstan took silver following a 2-2 draw with Poland, while India secured bronze on tiebreak after also drawing 2-2 with Georgia.
(IANS Inputs)
