D Gukesh's passion for chess began as an extra-curricular activity in school and led him to become one of the world's top chess players. Gukesh led India to its first-ever gold medal in the Open category at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

A dream come true, a nice feeling. The maiden Chess Olympiad gold meant different things for the members of the five-strong Indian men’s team, spearheaded stupendously by the youngest ever challenger to the world title — D Gukesh.

While both Gukesh and Erigaisi won an individual gold for their best performances on board one and three respectively, one player who missed out on personal glory by a whisker was Vidit Gujrathi who scored 7.5 points from his 10 games but could only finish fourth in performance rating on board four.

The nation had not won gold in either category till date, winning a bronze twice (2014 and 2022) in the Open category and once (2022) in the Women’s event. On Sunday, India not only won their first ever gold medal,

The 18-year-old Gukesh was a key architect in India’s historic victory, as the men’s team defeated Slovenia 3.5-0.5 in the final round to claim their first-ever gold at the prestigious event. The Indian women’s team also secured gold,