[Watch] Czech Republic players win hearts by not starting the clocks after Indian women's chess team arrives late in Olympiad

The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad is currently underway in Budapest. India's women's team was scheduled to take on the Czech Republic in the first round on Thursday, September 12. However, due to conveyance issues, the Indian players could not arrive on time.

Showing the true spirit of the game, the Czech Republic players decided to wait for their opponents and did not start the clocks for the match. It is pertinent to note that when some members of the Indian team arrived, the arbiter asked the Czech players to start, but they refused.

Chess Base India's official X handle tweeted a clip regarding the same, with the following caption:

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"Due to conveyance issues, the Indian women team arrived late. After some of the team members arrived and the arbiter asked to start the clocks, the Czech Republic players decided not to start the clocks and wait for their opponents. This is true sportsmanship!"

You can watch the video here:

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India win against Czech Republic in FIDE 45th Chess Olympiad

As mentioned ahead, the FIDE 45th Chess Olympiad is happening in Budapest. India were up against Czech Republic in the first round of the women's category. India cruised to a 3.5-0.5 win in the battle against the Czech Republic. Divya Deshmukh won her game comfortably, while Tania Sachdev managed a draw against Martina.

Later, Vantika Agrawal recorded a win against Tereza Rodshtein, and Harika Dronavalli also emerged victorious for India. The Indian women's team will be up against Iceland in the second round.

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Meanwhile, in the men's division, India battled against Iceland in the first round and won by 4-0. It will be interesting to see how the Indian teams perform in the upcoming rounds of men's and women's categories. The 45th FIDE Olympiad continues in Budapest, with the end date for the event being September 23.

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