๐Ÿฏ AICF announces Indian Squad for 44th Chess Olympiad๏ƒ

All India Chess Federation (AICF) on Monday announced Indiaโ€™s 20 member squad which is the biggest ever Olympiad squad, for the 44th Chess Olympiad as India prepares to host the prestigious tournament of Chess in Chennai, India. Olympiad will be held from 28th July to 10th August.


India being the host are eligible to field two teams each in the Open category as well as womenโ€™s section for the first time ever. Being able to play with two teams each in both fields has certainly increased the chances of winning medals for India. The event is the biggest chess event and likely to witness participation of whooping 150 countries and more.


India A team consist of GM Vidit Gujrathi, who led India in the 2020 online chess Olympiad to win Gold alongside GM Pentala Harikrishna the top Indian, GM Krishnan Sasikiran, young star Arjun Erigaisi and S L Narayanan in the open section.


The last one year was an impressive for Arjun Erigaisi winning and competing in top events and he will be the player to watch out for as he makes debut. Also it will be debut event for S L Narayanan.


Team India A; credits: AICF India

Team India A; credits: AICF India


India B team consist of young Indian guns performing consistently who are the topic of discussion in chess world, Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Raunak Sadhwani. All are under 20 and will be making their debut in this event. Along with them we also have experienced player Adhiban Baskaran who has also won the bronze in team in 2014 chess Olympiad.


Team India B; credits: AICF India

Team India B; credits: AICF India


AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said โ€œOpportunity 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 only have been possible after a wait of probably another couple of years. Itโ€™s a huge opportunity for them so early in their careers. Teams look strong and have a good mix of experience as well as young talents and Iโ€™m confident that they will make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I wish all the members the best luck for the event and their preparations,โ€


The Indian women teams will have extremely experienced and talented Koneru Humpy and World no. 10 Harika Dronavalli, who have showcased their world class play in many international tournaments. Tania Sachdev included in the first team along with Vaishali R and Bhakti Kulkarni, who will be making their debuts.


Team India A women's section; credits: AICF India

Team India A womenโ€™s section; credits: AICF India


The second team, in the womenโ€™s section, will consist of national champions Soumya Swaminathan, Mary Ann Gomes and Padmini Rout along with Vantika Agrawal and 16-year-old Divya Deshmukh.


Team India B women's section; credits: AICF India

Team India B womenโ€™s section; credits: AICF India


The five-time World Champion and Indian star legendary Viswanathan Anand, who decided not to play in the upcoming Chess Olympiad, will be very much in action as the mentor of the Indian teams. โ€œI am playing very few events these days and after playing many Olympiads, I thought it was time for the younger ones to play. India has many talented youngsters like Nihal, Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Arjun and a few more,โ€ Anand said.


Interesting fact, Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali will be the second set of siblings to represent the country at the same Olympiad after N Saritha and N Sudhakar Babu, who played in 1988โ€™s edition held in Greece. GM Pravin Thipsay will be the Head of the Indian Delegation.

About the Author๏ƒ

Jashwaneel Patil is a student pursuing Bachelor of Engineering and a young mind who likes to explore and research in different areas. His vision lies in making Earth to make a better place to live with taking small steps towards sustainability and making best use of technology available to make easier life for mankind.