New Delhi: Five time world champion Viswanathan Anand presented the prestigious Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy to the Indian chess team following another impressive campaign at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
India secured the trophy for the third consecutive edition, continuing a remarkable run that began with its success at the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai and continued at the 2024 edition in Budapest. The award recognises the federation with the strongest combined performance across the Open and women’s sections.
In the Open section, hosts Uzbekistan claimed the gold medal after defeating Ukraine 2.5 to 1.5 in the final round. India finished with the silver medal after drawing 2-2 against Hungary. Germany took bronze.
India and Germany both ended the competition with 18 match points and 28.5 game points. India finished ahead on the basis of its head to head result against Germany.
The Indian women’s team also produced a strong performance, securing the bronze medal after a 2-2 draw against Georgia in the final round. China won gold after defeating Vietnam 3-1, while Kazakhstan finished with silver.
Several Indian players also made their mark individually. Savitha Shri won a gold medal, while Divya Deshmukh secured silver. Vantika Agrawal and Koneru Humpy added bronze medals to India’s tally.
In the Open section, D Gukesh claimed silver, while R Praggnanandhaa earned bronze.
The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy was introduced by FIDE in 1997 and named after legendary Georgian chess player Nona Gaprindashvili. It recognises the combined strength of a country’s teams across the Open and women’s competitions, making India’s third straight triumph another notable achievement in its recent Chess Olympiad record.
