India win Gaprindashvili Trophy for third straight time at Samarkand Chess Olympiad
India took silver in the Open section and bronze in the women's section to complete a hat-trick of Gaprindashvili Trophy wins at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
Indian players turned in a strong showing at the 46th Chess Olympiad, which recently ended in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. On the strength of it, India won the Gaprindashvili Trophy for the third consecutive time. India took silver in the Open section and bronze in the women's section. These two results completed India's hat-trick in the general team championship.
The Indian team had earlier won the trophy after the Olympiads in Chennai in 2022 and Budapest in 2024. The trophy has now come to India at three Olympiads in a row.
The Open team was coached by Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan. The squad comprised Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, World Champion D. Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi. The women's team was coached by Grandmaster Swayams Mishra. It featured Grandmasters Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali, along with International Masters Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri.
Indians also did well in individual performances. Playing her first Olympiad, Savitha Shri scored 9 points out of 10 on the fifth board without losing a game and won the individual gold medal. In the last round against Georgia, the Indian women's match ended in a draw, which gave the team the bronze. Divya Deshmukh won silver on the second board, and D. Gukesh also won silver. Koneru Humpy and Vantika Agrawal won bronze medals.
All India Chess Federation chief coach Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte headed the Indian contingent. On his return to India, corporator Sunil Pandey welcomed him on behalf of Pune's chess enthusiasts. Asian teams dominated the Samarkand Olympiad, winning five of the six team medals. Uzbekistan, India and Germany finished in the top three places in the Open. In the women's section, China, Kazakhstan and India were the top three.
On the Indian players' performance, Kunte said, "This long journey has finally paid off. This is the fruit of the effort put in through new reforms, careful preparation and systems that offered every kind of support after I took over as chief coach. It is only because of the constant backing of the All India Chess Federation that we were able to win the Gaprindashvili Trophy at a third consecutive Olympiad."
Kunte also said, "Our coaches Srinath Narayanan and Swayams Mishra have worked tirelessly for the past six years and have proved to be the backbone of the team. Every player gave a hundred per cent, which is why this performance was possible."
The Pune District Chess Circle also praised Kunte, regarded as an important name in Pune's chess world. His work as a coach at the Olympiads has been commendable. At the Budapest 2024 Olympiad, he guided the Indian women's team to a historic gold medal. Now, under his leadership in Samarkand, India won silver in the Open and bronze in the women's section to take the Gaprindashvili Trophy for a third time running. The circle's statement said, "We heartily congratulate the entire Indian chess team on this unprecedented success. Thank you to the Indian team for giving us the chance to celebrate this win."
