‘Vishy’s Children Are All Grown Up’: Gary Kasparov in Awe of India’s Double Gold at Chess Olympiad

Team India made history after securing double gold medal finish at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. It is the first time that India secured the feat, and they have joined an elite level of countries who have secured double gold in the same edition of the tournament. Both the men's and women's teams received a lot of praise after their solid finish. One of the game's legendary figure, Gary Kasparov, has expressed his thoughts on India's finish at the FIDE Chess Olympiad.

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Gary Kasparov Hails India’s Double Gold Medal Finish at Fide Chess Olympiad in Budapest

Legendary Chess player Gary Kasparov applauded India's finish at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest. He also acknowledged that Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand's 'kids' have grown up well and they are ready to assert their dominance in the realm of world chess. Anand has been a supreme force who was a force to reckon with in his time, but the emergence of stars like D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, R Vaishali, & more have made India an imposing power.  

"A very impressive double gold achievement by India. 'Vishy's children' are all grown up and chess is coming home! Two American flags on the podiums as well, worthy of note. Add Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, with no European flags," Kasparov tweeted via 'X'.

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India won the final round 3.5-0.5, overwhelming Azerbaijan. Vantika, Divya, Harika, won their matches, with Vaishali holding a draw. Even though India's performance in the women's open section was overpowering their chances of winning the title depended on the United States of America defeating Kazakhstan. Eventually, India was declared the winner after the USA held Kazakhstan to a 2-2 draw. If Kazakhstan had prevailed, tie-breaks would have been used to decide the winner.

Prior to that, India won their first-ever Chess Olympiad title after significant wins from D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi. India competed in Budapest, winning the open section after defeating China and defeating Slovenia in the final round.