New Delhi. Today was a super Sunday for Indian chess lovers. Grandmaster D Gukesh and Arjun Erigesi won their respective matches in the 11th round against Slovenia, creating history as India won its first gold medal in the 45th Chess Olympiad. Grandmaster and World Championship Challenger Gukesh defeated Vladimir Fedoseev while Erigesi defeated Jan Subelj. In 2022, the Indian men's team won the bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad, while in 2014 also it won the bronze by finishing third.

Earlier, D Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana of America and brought the Indian team very close to becoming the gold medalist in the Open category. Gukesh, who is set to play the next World Championship match in Singapore in November this year, continued to display his excellent skills against the top-seeded teams and defeated higher-ranked Caruana in another tough match a day earlier.

Gukesh's win was very special because it gave America an early lead after Wesley So defeated R Praggnanandhaa. Despite America's lead, the Indian team was never in a position to lose this match as Arjun Erigaisi had a tight grip on Lennier Dominguez Perez. Arjun managed to win the marathon match of almost five hours, while Vidit Gujrati was successful in holding Levon Aronian to a draw. In the open category, India topped the table with 19 points and a two-point lead over China.