Chess Olympiad: Strength of India squad raises hopes of higher-placed finish

India's ability to handle expectations will be severely tested when their two teams start the Olympiad campaign in Budapest, Hungary, from Wednesday.

While the Open (men) team is seeded second in the 11-round Swiss League team championship, just behind USA, the women are the top seeds. The absence of Russia - banned from the team events due the Ukraine invasion - is going to be a factor. Their men have not won the Olympiad gold since 2002 but the women have been top performers.

The Russian women's absence is offset by the presence of China this time. The world giants from Asia had skipped the 2022 Olympiad in India. And though they are the fourth seeds this time, expect them to perform like top-two teams.

The last time India men were the second seeds was way back in Turin 2006. But they had finished 30th despite the presence of V Anand on the top board. Since then, they have won two bronze medals (2014 and 2022) apart from finishing highly creditable fourth in 2016.

India team captain N Srinath said, "We can't compare 2006 to 2024. That time we had only one top player in Anand. But now, we have a complete team, like the bowling attack of our cricket team."

Srinath has a point. Among the top-8 players playing in the Olympiad, three are Indian (Gukesh Elo 2764, Arjun 2778 and Pragg 2750). There was no Indian in the top-8 last time. That raises the expectations manifold. "Any medal would have been cherished last time," said 30-year-old GM Srinath. "But with the kind of team we have now, anything less than gold will be viewed differently.

"The players are aware of these external expectations. And they know how to deal with that so that it doesn't affect their decision making. They are more focused on managing internal expectations. We don't have a mental conditioning trainer for the team but I am sure players are addressing that aspect individually," said Srinath.

"Practically speaking, things are not entirely in your hands in the Swiss League event. It can get random and the timing of your form and pairings also play a role. We have to back each other as a unit."

Srinath also pointed out a significant difference in the evolution of chess' landscape. "Russians were quite strong till the mid 2000s. The difference in strength between them and other teams was quite a bit. But now there are many teams having equal strength."

Despite K Humpy's absence, the women have retained their status as a medal prospect, thanks to R Vaishali's progress. But with top-rated Harika not expected to be a great strike-force, the onus to score big will fall on lower boards. Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal could well be a part of a memorable Olympiad.


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