Chess Olympiad: Indian men, women’s teams now the flavour of Budapest

The global chess fraternity is raving about India at the ongoing Chess Olympiad in Budapest. After seven rounds of the 11-round Swiss system are done, both men and women’s team are poised at their respective top of the tables and within striking distance of historic gold medals.

 A lot was said about how the Indian men’s team looked their strongest in history comprising of 18-year-old world title challenger Gukesh Dommaraj, Arjun Erigaisi,  R. Praggnanandhaa and Pentala Harikrishna on the eve of their campaign. Not only they lived up to the promise, but have taken the title aspirations a notch higher when Gukesh wore down world No.8  Wei Yi in a battle lasting over six hours with a brilliant endgame to help India secure a 2.5-1.5 verdict against China.

 They now top the table in the Open category with an unbeaten record for 14 points from seven matches, followed by Iran (13) and Uzbekistan (12) respectively.  The women’s team, comprising of Vaishali Rameshbabu, Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli and Divya Deshmukh are also on top with same points - being two match points ahead of second-placed Poland in the women’s section.

Critical late rounds

The final four rounds will of the tournament (with 196 men’s teams and 184 women’s) will be critical as teams are drawn to play the tougher opponents later – with same points or close ones -  making the fight for top honours open. The men’s team will take on Iran while the women’s team will be up against Poland in Round 8 as their form in Hungary, as well as the exploits throughout the year, have come in for allround praise.

 Speaking to Hindustan Times in an interview, Srinath Narayanan, captain of the Open team said: “Captains of other teams have expressed a lot of admiration and respect for Indian players. It’s not just the score, but also the way we’ve played that has been of a very high level. It’s possible that some teams might be intimidated by us. Some others might savour the challenge of taking on a team that’s playing so well.”

After Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, and Harikrishna were unable to break through the Chinese wall in Round 7 on Wednesday, the match-up seemed destined for a 2-2 draw. However, Gukesh, playing with the white pieces, kept pressing until Wei Yi finally faltered – to swing the tie in India’s favour.

In the women’s section, top-seeded India cruised past the Geogian challenge with ease. While Dronavalli and Deshmukh made solid draws, Vantika and Vaishali delivered for India with crucial wins when it mattered.