At the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Indian chess teams are making a mark. Both the teams, in the open section and the women’s section, have begun their campaign with effortless victories in the first two rounds. The Indian team of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Vidit Gujrathi (with Pentala Harikrishna as the reserve player) is the strongest the country has sent to the Chess Olympiad, the most prestigious event the sport has to offer for national teams. Erigaisi who is ranking fifth in the world is only playing on the third board while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa occupy the top two boards.
This is already a watershed year for Indian chess with Gukesh becoming the youngest-ever player to win the cut-throat Candidates tournament, Praggnanandhaa taking down Magnus Carlsen at the Norway Chess tournament for the first time in the classical format and Erigaisi vaulting into the world’s top five ranking. Gukesh stands a very good chance of becoming the youngest-ever world champion at the age of 18. But before that, the Indian team has a chance to flex its collective muscle, by winning the Chess Olympiad gold medal.
Garry Kasparov had aptly summed up the state of affairs in world chess when he spoke of an “Indian earthquake” when Gukesh had won the Candidates tournament. “The children of Vishy Anand are on the loose,” declared the product of the famous Soviet School of Chess, with some envy. In Budapest, chess players from over 190 countries are experiencing the tremors of this earthquake. The prodigies have comes of age.
