Chess Olympiad: India on cusp of golden glory in men's and women's sections

The Indian men's team are inch closer to winning their maiden gold medal at the Chess Olympiad as they defeated the USA 2.5-1.5 in the 10th round on Saturday in Budapest.

D Gukesh, the World Championship challenger, defeated Fabiano Caruana to put India in command of the tie.

R Praggnanadhaa, however, lost to Wesley So which helped the USA to draw level. Arjun Erigaisi regained India's lead with a win over Leinier Perez.

Though Vidit Gujrathi played out a draw against Levon Aronian, it was enough for India to emerge triumphant.

India are currently on top of the standings in the Open section with 19 points and are in a strong position to win the gold medal.

The only team that can technically catch them is China. It would require India to lose to Slovenia in the 11th and final round and for China to beat the USA. This would trigger the tiebreaks, which are Olympiad Sonneborn Berger. Given that it would be challenging for China to beat the USA and India's chance of losing to Slovenia is highly unlikely, the fate of the Open section is more or less sealed.

In the women's section, the Indian team of D Harika, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal and Tania Sachdev are currently leading the board. However, with Kazakhstan are tied with them with 17 points, the 11th and final round is poised for a thrilling finish. The Indian women's team face Azerbaijan on Sunday.

If India win their tie in the final round, the chances of the women's team winning the gold is pretty high as Kazakstan face a tricky opponent in the USA.

The final round will begin four hours earlier than usual.