KOCHI, MAR 2: The elevation of Abhijit Kunte and Krishnan Sasikiran as Grandmasters has brought in its wake a new-found status for India when they play in the biennial Olympiad in Turkey in September.With four Grandmasters, excluding Viswanathan Anand, who has not been playing in the Olympiad since 1992, India can boast of an all-GM squad which not many teams outside Europe have at present.Though a team has six members in the men's Olympiad, for average rating purposes it is the top four that are included while the fifth and sixth are called the reserve boards.This new status for India also means that Anand can now look forward to playing for the country again without seriously affecting his personal interests. With two or three strong GMs to support him on the lower boards, Anand would be able to give a terrific boost to India's chances in the Olympiad, which is a team competition featuring all the World's chess playing nations.Anand, a few years ago, had mentioned that he would have played for India if the team had qualified for the World Team Championship, which is quite a herculean task. It was not a generous remark because he knew too well that without him, India had no chance to qualify as the best team from Asia. For India's benefit, Anand should review his stand and play for the country because he alone can lift the team to World standards and this is the most appropriate time for him to act.It may be recalled that India finished a creditable 10th in the Novi Saad Olympiad in 1990 with Anand and Barua in top form. That was by far the best performance by the Indian men's team in the Olympiad.With a little luck (half a point more), India could have even got the fifth or sixth place at Novi Saad because the tie-break in such a big field could be so fatal to many teams in the final placings.The most crucial point that should be stressed about the Novi Saad performance is that it was achieved when Anand was just about the 25th ranked player in the World with an Elo-rating of 2,610.It is a different Anand now and India could hope to get the moon if he is on the top board. The main worry for Anand might have been, like the Tendulkar factor in Indian cricket, that in team competitions, other boards also have to contribute. He was the lone warrior in the Manila Olympiad in 1992.With Barua, Sasikiran and Abhijit Kunte to look after the lower boards and a GM like Thipsay waiting among the reserves, India desperately needs Anand to man the top board in the Olympiad. It is not necessary that Anand should play all the games, but he can choose his opponents (2,600 and above) and take drops in between.Indian chess is poised to take a big leap as more teenagers like Sandeepan Chanda, Surya Sekhar Ganguly and Harikrishna are marhcing towards their GM title. There is no better way for Anand to give something in return to the country and encourage the next generation than by leading its challenge in the Chess Olympics.