2024 Chess Olympiad: Round 10
2024 Chess Olympiad: Round 10
Saturday, 21 September 2024
India close to making history!
Open
Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
Wow! In the penultimate round of the 2024 Chess Olympiad, India impressively beat the U.S. and has virtually clinched the gold medal. Wesley So opened with a win over Praggnanandhaa and would be America’s only ray of hope. Dommaraju Gukesh won a key game against Fabiano Caruana and is now on 8/9, while Arjun Erigaisi is on 9/10. It will be India’s third Olympiad medal in the Open section, with the first being 2014 in Tromso (bronze) and 2022 in Chennai (bronze).
?? India defeats ?? USA in Round 10 of the #ChessOlympiad with a 2.5-1.5 score!
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 21, 2024
The match began with a victory for Wesley So over Praggnanandhaa R, giving the USA an early 1-0 lead. But India quickly bounced back as World Championship Challenger Gukesh D took down World #3… pic.twitter.com/aG0tXxfXTL
The Chess Drum chatted with GMs Maurice Ashley and Pontus Carlsson after the 10th round and there was a consensus that this was a proverbial “passing of the torch.” Top tier players who are only in their 30s are being replaced by a cadre of younger elite players in their teens and early 20s… and more are coming.
Both Indian teams won the bronze medal in Chennai, but if they both win gold, it will be the first time a nation has won gold medals in both sections since China did so in 2018 at the Batumi Olympiad. While Viswanathan Anand is given so much credit (rightfully so), one fact that is overlooked is the role that ChessBase India has played in drawing attention to the chess revolution in India.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
Sagar Shah and his wife Amruta Mokal have provided a vibrant mouthpiece for Indian chess excellence, attracted a lot of positive attention throughout the world, and helped inspire the young stars. Let’s not forget Vijay Kumar, the India photojournalist who traveled around the world covering Viswanathan Anand’s tournaments.
Women
Today would be India’s day as both the open and women’s teams won thrilling matches. For the Indian women, they have a showdown with Azerbaijan while Kazahkstan plays the U.S. on board 1. Both frontrunners have done well without their strongest players (Zhansaya Abdumalik and Humpy Koneru) and have a chance to attain glory. Divya Deshmukh has been the star of the Indian side with 8.5/10! She gave this nice interview with Mike Klein of chess.com.
Divya Deshmukh (8.5/10!) after a crucial win today keeps India's gold medal hopes alive: "Every setback is tough to deal with, but I think we dealt with it in a good way!" #ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/Bja0VnHdfa
— chess24 (@chess24com) September 21, 2024
The U.S. will play Kazahkstan, and they will have a great chance of winning a medal if they win. They won a key match against the Ukraine and could’ve won by a larger margin. Varuzhan Akobian told The Chess Drum that Irina Krush had the crushing 52.Qe4! which would have given the Americans a better tiebreak. Nevertheless, the U.S. will have a great chance with its strongest lineup.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
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