Pakistan Chess Team Holds Indian Flag High in 2024 Chess Olympiad, Heartwarming Moment Goes Viral

A heartwarming moment unfolded at the 45th International Chess Federation (FIDE) Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where India clinched a historic double gold in the team events. The unforgettable incident that took place during the post-tournament photo shoot was recorded on video and became a trending topic on social media. In the now viral video, the Pakistan chess team, which stood alongside the winning Team India, chose to hold the Indian flag high instead of their own flag in celebration.

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“Pakistan Chess Team is the 2024 Chess Olympiad Champion – With Team India!” wrote popular chess platform “ChessBase India” while sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter).

Watch the video here:

India’s historic gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad

The International Chess Federation shared a congratulatory post about X: “India triumphed in the 45th Chess Olympiad by winning both the Open and Women’s events.” . Young talents emerged and became one of the best players in the world. Gukesh D won the Candidates Tournament earlier this year and now India has completely dominated the 45th Chess Olympiad.”

In the men’s competition, known as the Open event, the wins of Gukesh Dommaraju, famously known as Gukesh D, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, also known as Pragg, and Arjun Erigaisi, the Mad Man of Chess, secured gold medals. In the women’s event, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev won their respective games and secured the gold medal.

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Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh and Agrawal won individual gold medals in their respective boards.

India goes on record spree at 2024 Chess Olympiad

“When you bring your country its first team gold in a #ChessOlympics… And that’s in both divisions: Open and Women!” wrote FIDE while sharing a video of the celebration in the Hungarian capital.

FIDE added: “India made history yesterday by not only winning gold medals in both events, but also by becoming the third country to achieve this feat at the same Olympics!”

India’s historic gold medal at the Budapest Chess Olympiad earned them a place in the 2025 FIDE World Cup. This tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2026 World Chess Championship, which will determine the new world champion. The upcoming title match will be a showdown between reigning champion Ding Liren and challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, who emerged victorious from the Candidates Tournament earlier this year.