India's quest for maiden Chess Olympiad gold complete with massive win over USA

India has scripted history in the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024. The Men's team beat the USA in Round 10 to clinch India's maiden gold in the history of the Chess Olympiad. Gukesh Dommaraju was the star of the show who beat Fabiano Caruana. While Arjun Erigaisi claimed a win and Vidit Gujarathi drew his match, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa lost his match.

On Board 1, Gukesh was up against Fabiano Caruana, one of the best players in the world. The star player overcame a higher-ranked player to give India a lead of 1-0 from the Board 1 which was massive in the context of the game. It had a Catalan opening and Gukesh was solid in the middle game.

Gukesh gained much-needed confidence ahead of his World Championship match in Singapore. On the second board, Praggnanandhaa was up against Wesley So who is known to beat the tough opponents regularly. Rameshbabu went down to the star player despite putting on a good performance.

India's unbeaten streak in the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2024

Arjun Erigaisi was on the third board against Leinier Perez. He got India back in the lead by beating Perez. India had a lead of 2-1 with a game to go. On the fourth board, Vidit Gujrathi was up against Levon Aronian. It turned out to be a draw and India ended up beating USA 2.5-1.5 to win the Round 10.

With the Round 11 match to go against Slovenia, India confirmed a gold medal in the Open Section. It will be India's first-ever massive win in the history of the Chess Olympiad. So far in the tournament, India has remained unbeaten with their only draw coming against Uzbekistan. 

India has a total Match Points of 19/20 and a total Game Points of 31.5/40 so far in the Open Section. They are well placed in the first position with the gold medal confirmed. China is in the second position with Match Points of 17/20 and Game Points of 26.5/40. Slovenia, USA, and Uzbekistan are placed in the third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.