India and Russia declared joint winners of FIDE Chess Olympiad after a dramatic final

India and Russia are declared joint winners of FIDE (The Fédération Internationale des Échecs) Chess Olympiad. This is for the first time Chess Olympiad held in an online format by FIDE.

India was initially declared to have lost the final round but it lodged an appeal saying their players lost internet connection due to a server failure. The decision was then reversed.

This was the first time that India reached the finals of the FIDE Chess Olympiad.

India's best finish at the Olympiad had come in 2014 when the contingent returned with a bronze medal.

The first round of the final between India and Russia finished as 3-3 draw after all six games finished in six draws.

Russia started the match against India as favourites after having their average rating of 12 players (2519) higher than India (2419).

The second round witnessed high drama as two Indian players — Sarin and Deshmukh — lost connection to their games and had to forfeit, following which India filed an official appeal for a consequent investigation.

FIDE President A. Dvorkovich sat out the appeal, as he represented Russia.

IO M.Khodarkovsky (USA) and IA Sava Stoisavljevic (Serbia) were tasked with issuing a verdict. 

It was declared that both India and Russia will be joint winners of the competition. 

(With inputs from ANI)