Chess olympiad: Smells like team spirit
The maiden Chess Olympiad gold is a dream come true for the five-member Indian men’s team, spearheaded by the youngest ever challenger to the world title — D Gukesh.
The 18-year-old issued a statement of sorts ahead of his eagerly-anticipated World Championship clash against Ding Liren of China in November by registering one of the best individual performances in the just-concluded 45th Olympiad. “I am just super happy right now,” said Gukesh, who notched up nine points out of 10 games, conceding just a couple of draws besides eight wins.
This phenomenal performance helped the team clinch gold as India scored a dominating 21 points out of a possible 22, winning 10 and drawing just one. “It was a very nice experience for me personally and for the team... this was basically a dream come true,” Gukesh said.
Another key contributor to the men’s success was Arjun Erigaisi, who scored 10 points playing all the 11 games in the event. He has now elevated himself to No. 3 in live world rankings behind Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Hikaru Nakamura of the US.
With a rating of 2797, Arjun is just three points shy of the magical 2800 mark and five behind Nakamura. Carlsen, on 2830, is still some distance away. On why he played on Board 3 despite being the highest rated player in the Indian team at the start of the Olympiad, Erigaisi said it was part of the strategy.
“We thought Gukesh would do well on Board 1 and I would do good on Board 3. It worked out well, so obviously no regrets,” he said.
While both Gukesh and Erigaisi won individual gold for their best performances on Board 1 and 3, respectively, Vidit Gujrathi missed out on personal glory. He scored 7.5 points from his 10 games but could only finish fourth in performance rating on Board 4. R Praggnanandhaa’s performance might not have been up to his own lofty expectations but he played the perfect anchor, especially till the ninth game, giving the much-needed stability to the team.
Team captain N Srinath was obviously delighted. “I don’t have to give them a lot of advice as these guys are professionals, they know what to do. Basically it was some preparation, bringing them together but mostly just sitting back and watching them flow,” he said.
20-year wait ends
Veteran D Harika had to endure a long wait to realise her dream of winning the Olympiad title but she was finally glad to have achieved it even though she was not satisfied with her performance. “Definitely for me it is much more emotional. I have been playing for 20 years,” the 33-year-old said.
“I am extremely happy and proud of the girls, youngsters came up in the team and they did extremely well. I am glad that we managed to come back strongly after the setback,” she added.
After seven successive wins, India suffered a setback with a defeat to Poland and a draw with the US. However, they won the final two matches to finish at 19 points, one more than Kazakhstan.
“It started off quite well, but in the middle we had a few setbacks and I am really proud of the way my team and I handled it,” Divya Deshmukh said. “I am overwhelmed with emotions,” the 18-year-old added.
Playing on the third board, Divya ended with 9.5 points from her 11 games and her performance also netted her the individual gold medal.
Vantika Agrawal was in a class of her own, scoring 7.5 out of nine. Vantika also won a gold medal for her individual performance on the fourth board.
