Kings and queens of 64 squares

The All India Chess Federation announced Rs 3.2 crore in rewards for the historic Olympiad-winning Indian teams during a felicitation ceremony. Each player from the winning teams will receive Rs 25 lakh, while the captains, Abhijeet Kunte (women’s team) and Srinath Narayanan (men’s team), will be rewarded with Rs 15 lakh each. Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, head of the Indian delegation, will receive Rs 10 lakh, and the assistant coaches will be rewarded Rs 7.5 lakh.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded India’s young chess players for their historic achievement. In a video shared on social media, Modi interacted with the chess champions. The players presented the Prime Minister with a chessboard, after which Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi played a quick game of chess, which left Modi spellbound.

Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi decided against defending his crown at the 10th Vugar Gashimov Memorial Chess Super Tournament in Azerbaijan for an audience with the Prime Minister. “I reached Baku and I got to know our Hon’ble PM wants to felicitate the Indian team. I was overjoyed when I heard this and I wanted to be a part of it,” Gujrathi posted online.