Historic win for India in Online Chess Olympiad; Declared winners along with Russia after a hard fought 3:3 tie

India won the online Chess Olympiad along with Russia on Sunday as both the countries were declared joint winners of the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad. This was the first victory for India in a Chess Olympiad, and the first one for Russia since 2002. However, the final matches of the tournament was marred by internet disconnection and server malfunction.

After a 3-3 tie in the first round, where all six games ended in a draw, the second and decisive match was impacted by a global internet outage, that severely affected many countries including India as per FIDE. Two of the Indian players, Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh, lost connection towards the end of the game, subsequently losing on time. The incident happened when three games ended in draws and the outcome of the match was still unclear.

Russia were initially declared winners after two Indian players — Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh — lost out on time in the final after suffering a disconnection with the server. India lodged a protest against the controversial decision which was reviewed. This was the first time FIDE, the international chess federation, was holding the Olympiad in an online format, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FIDE report notes that until technical difficulties got in the way of the final, the match between India and Russia had been one of the most thrilling and balanced seen at the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad. In the first round, all games ended in a draw, but it was actually a narrow escape by Russia, as India was clearly pressing for a match win.

After scrutinising the technical reports of outage and other parameters FIDE decided that given the unprecedented circumstances, the gold medals would be awarded to both teams. This was the first victory of India in a Chess Olympiad, and the first one for Russia since 2002.

The India team was represented by Vishwanathan Anand, Vidit, Harikrishna, Koneru Hampy, Harika, Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh. The Russian team consisted of Nepomniachtchi, Dubov, Goryachkina, Artemiev, Esipenko, Lagno, Kosteniuk, Sarana and Shuvalova.

“We are the champions !! Congrats Russia!” tweeted Chess legend Vishwanathan Anand after the hard fought victory.

PM Modi congratulated the winners. “Congratulations to our chess players for winning the FIDE Online #ChessOlympiad. Their hard work and dedication are admirable. Their success will surely motivate other chess players. I would like to congratulate the Russian team as well”, he tweeted.

President Ramnath Kovid congratulated the players. He tweeted “Congratulations to the Indian Chess Team on winning the FIDE online #ChessOlympiad. India is delighted by your stellar performance. We are all very proud of you. Congratulations to the Russian team too”.