Both the Indian chess teams find themselves on the cusp of history-making gold medals in the open section and the women’s sections at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the most prestigious team event in the sport for national teams.
Heading into Sunday’s final round of matches, both Indian teams are on top of the Olympiad standings at the time of going to press. In the open section India defeated the USA, the top seeds heading into the tournament but who have been shaky heading into the home stretch. Gukesh took down World No 3 Fabiano Caruana while Arjun Erigaisi defeated Leinier Dominguez Perez after another long marathon game to offset Praggnanandhaa’s loss to Wesley So. Vidit Gujrathi played out a draw against Levon Aronian.
The Indian women’s team, who was in second place in Chess Olympiad standings coming into the 10th round, defeated a depleted version of China, which was missing all their top players like Tan Zhongyi, Hou Yifan, Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie, who have been women’s world champions or contenders for the women’s world champion’s crown. While all of the Indian players drew, it was Divya Deshmukh’s victory that handed India a win. India share the top spot with Kazakhstan.
INTERACTIVE: How Gukesh defeated Fabiano Caruana at Chess Olympiad
The Indian team in the open section is currently on 19 points with China on 17 and USA and Uzbekistan on 15. A win over USA all but assured Indian a gold medal with a round to spare in the open section. The women’s team, meanwhile, were tentatively top of the standings with 17 points while Kazakhstan, who were league leaders ahead of the 10th round, were still in action.
India winning a gold medal in the two sections at the Budapest Olympiad would be another milestone in what has been one of the greatest years for Indian chess. We have seen three Indian players qualify for the cut-throat Candidates tournament for the first time ever; a 17-year-old Gukesh becoming the youngest-ever player to win the Candidates; Praggnanandhaa taking down world no 1 Magnus Carlsen for the first time in the classical format at the Norway Chess tournament; and Arjun Erigaisi propelling himself into the world’s top 5 ranking spots.
INTERACTIVE: How Praggnanandhaa lost to Wesley So at Chess Olympiad
The year could get even better in December with Gukesh having the opportunity to become the youngest-ever world champion at the age of 18, if he can beat world champion Ding Liren.
After Gukesh had won the Candidates tournament earlier this year, the legendary Garry Kasparov had remarked: “The Indian earthquake in Toronto is the culmination of the shifting tectonic plates in the chess world as the 17-year-old Gukesh D will face the Chinese champion Ding Liren for the highest title. The ‘children’ of Vishy Anand are on the loose.”
The tremors of this ‘Indian earthquake’ are being felt at every successive elite chess tournament in the world, from the FIDE World Cup, where Pragg made it to the final to the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament, won by Vidit Gujrathi and Vaishali, and the Candidates, where there were two Indian players in the Women’s Candidates besides three Indians in the open Candidates.
INTERACTIVE: How Arjun Erigaisi defeated Leinier Dominguez Perez at Chess Olympiad
At the Chess Olympiad in Chennai two years ago, the current open team of five players was split into two as India were allowed to field more than one team as hosts. At that Olympiad two years ago, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa played on the India B team and won bronze while Pentala Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi played in the India A team which ended fourth. But in Budapest, these five players have come together to form a formidable outfit.
Arjun Erigaisi has been the destroyer-in-chief for the Indian team at the Olympiad in Budapest. India have gained a massive edge at the Olympiad by having a world no 4 playing against the third-best players from other teams. Arjun has so far won seven out of his nine games. (PHOTO: Mark Livshitz/FIDE)
“This is certainly the strongest team India has ever sent to an Olympiad. They have a pretty decent chance of winning the gold, and a fair chance of winning a medal. Everyone has certainly become stronger in the last year,” Srinath Narayanan, the captain of the Indian team, told The Indian Express before the Olympiad began.
INTERACTIVE: How Vidit Santosh Gujrathi drew with Levon Aronian at Chess Olympiad
Heading into Saturday’s 10th round at the Olympiad, the Indian team was unbeaten in 36 matches (four matches in each of the nine rounds) in the open section. Pragg’s defeat to So is the only game India has lost in 40 games in the open section. While the overall tie against defending champions Uzbekistan ended in a draw, in other matchups, the Indians have successfully bulldozed their way past opponents.
The Indian team’s strength can be gauged by the fact that world no 4 Arjun Erigaisi is only playing on the third board — at the Olympiad, most countries choose to arrange their board order (which player will play on which board number) by strength, meaning top players feature on the first or the second board. So far in Budapest, both Gukesh (six wins and two draws in eight games) and Arjun (seven wins and two draws in nine games) have played like unstoppable forces while Pragg has played like an immovable object (drawing six out of his eight games). Vidit and Harikrishna, the oldest veterans in the team, have played measured chess. What’s even more remarkable is that they have not needed the semi-retired Viswanathan Anand, currently ranked 11th in the world, or the fourth member of India’s prodigy quartet, Nihal Sarin, to feature in the team thus highlighting the depth in Indian chess.
Previously, India has won bronze medals in 2014 and 2022. The Indians also shared gold at the 2020 Online Chess Olympiad, which is a completely different format.
“India are playing insanely well. It’s great to see. Gukesh and Arjun are really on fire. Pragg is playing really solid chess. Vidit and Harikrishna are playing really well. This Indian team is stronger than ever this year! The team spirit is excellent, they’re all very motivated. Obviously, if Viswanathan Anand was there in the team it would have been even more insane,” Nihal tells The Indian Express with a smile.
Nihal, who won a gold on the second board at Chennai two years ago, admits that being the top-ranked player in India is one of the most difficult things in world chess at present. He admits to feeling a slight pang at not being a part of the Indian team, but concedes: “I have to play better.”
Talking about the mindset of the other Indian prodigies, Nihal says: “They are most importantly very good chess players. They’re hardworking, very confident, optimistic as well. If they’re playing against Magnus Carlsen, while some people may panic, they’ll see it as a chance to learn. You always get stronger by playing stronger players. If you push yourself that way, your level will also increase.”
