India has gained recent success in the 2024 Chess Olympiad. They won a historic double gold in the competition in Budapest, Hungary. The nation clinched the top spot in both the open event and women’s team competitions. These victories will forever remain among India’s greatest achievements in sport. Chess enjoys huge popularity across the world. India has produced some of the greatest grandmasters in recent years.
The fact that the Indian team had so many young players. Years of top-level experience make India’s maiden Olympiad victory all the more stunning. Last year, the Indian team came very near to winning the Olympiad but failed at the decisive moment. D Gukesh, the 18-year-old Grandmaster representing India on Board 1 at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, was one of the individuals who witnessed this agony firsthand last year.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) regards chess as a sport and recognises the International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation (FIDE) as an official federation. However, chess is not currently an Olympic sport. In a recent interview with the Hindu Viswanathan Anand and Pravin Thipsay discuss the matter in an interview mediated by P.K. Ajith Kumar. India will be thinking of another chance to win a medal with the talent they have in the game.
Chess will never be in the Olympics
Will Chess be in the next Olympic Frontier? In the LA 2028 Olympics, there is no chess as of now and the traditional Olympic sports will continue. But in the later part of the multinational events the Olympic Committee will surely consider including it in the competition. The Olympic Games have recognised sports that need physical exercise. Board games, on the other hand, have never been featured on the list of Olympic events.
Viswanathan Anand said, “Here is the thing. We are already part of the Olympic movement, but chess is not an Olympic sport. If it does become an Olympic sport, it would facilitate interactions between the federation the government, and the sports ministries in many countries across the world.”
