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India and Russia won the gold medal in the finals of FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on August 30, after the internet played spoilsport on India's end.
According to a News18 report, Russia went into the final as slight favourites but the first round ended in a 3-3 deadlock. In the first round of the final, Russia made a few good saves to earn themselves a draw.
The second round saw Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh lost connection and hence, the points. On time, India forfeited the game. Humpy Koneru also faced internet problems, thus losing time.
However, India filed an official appeal against the decision and the matter was investigated, following which it was decided to give gold medals to both teams.
The internet chess organisation took to twitter to make the formal announcement:FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made a decision to give gold medals of FIDE Online #ChessOlympiad to both teams - India and Russia. More details & an official statement to follow.
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 30, 2020
India's top-ranked player world No.15 Vishwanathan Anand sat out of the first round as captain Vidit Gujrathi occupied the first board against the current world No.4 Ian Nepomniachtchi. Despite Vidit had a clear advantage in the middle game, Nepomniachtchi managed to force a draw.
As for the women, Humpy Koneru squandered an advantage and had to settle for a draw against Kateryna Lagno, the report said.
