Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 2: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) revealed on Monday the country’s largest-ever 20-member squad for the 44th Chess Olympiad, which will be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 10.
As the host country, India is allowed to field two teams in the Open category as well as a women’s section for the first time. It has undoubtedly boosted the medal possibilities in the 14-day tournament, which is scheduled to attract top athletes from more than 150 countries.
Vidit Gujrathi, who led India to gold in the virtual 2020 Chess Olympiad, will be part of India’s inaugural squad in the open segment, alongside Pentala Harikrishna and Chennai-based Krishnan Sasikiran, both of whom have previously represented India. Arjun Erigaisi, 19, and SL Narayanan, 19, will also be on the first team. Arjun has been impressive in the last year and will be one of the players to watch when he makes his debut at the event, alongside SL Narayanan, who has impressed with his strong style.
Presenting the 🇮🇳 squad for the 44th #ChessOlympiad scheduled to begin from July 28 in Chennai 😎
Get ready to cheer for the 🇮🇳 stars as they prepare for the historic, 1️⃣st ever Olympiad in their home country 🥳#FIDECHESSOLYMPIAD2022 | @FIDE_chess | @DrSK_AICF | @Bharatchess64 pic.twitter.com/tqF138G9SX
— All India Chess Federation (@aicfchess) May 2, 2022
The second squad, on the other hand, will be made up of emerging stars such as Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal Sarin, Gukesh D, and Raunak Sadhwani, who have been making headlines with their regular performances in recent years. They will compete in the Chess Olympiad for the first time. Adbhiban B, who was a member of the Indian squad that won the bronze medal in 2014, will also be on the team.
“Opportunity to field two teams at the Chess Olympiad opens the door for many young Indian talents to showcase their game at the biggest stage which otherwise would have been possible after a wait of probably another couple of years. It’s a huge opportunity for them so early in their careers,” said AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan.
The Indian women’s teams will feature the tremendously skilled Koneru Humpy and World No 10 Harika Dronavalli, who have stamped their authority on many international competitions, as well as the prolific Tania Sachdev, R Vaishali, and Bhakti Kulkarni, who will be making their debuts, in the first team.
National winners Soumya Swaminathan, Mary Ann Gomes, and Padmini Rout, as well as Vantika Agarwal and 15-year-old Divya Deshmukh, will make up the second team in the women’s event.
Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali will be the country’s second set of siblings to compete in the same Olympiad, following N Saritha and N Sudhakar Babu, who competed in the 1988 edition in Greece.
