The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad is underway in Budapest, Hungary. With over 190 teams in the Open and over 180 teams in the Women’s sections, the event has registered a new record for the highest number of teams participating! The venue for the same is the SYMA Sports and Conference Centre, Budapest. At stake are the Olympiad titles and various board medals! The games start at 6:30 PM IST for all rounds, except the final round, when it’ll start at 2:30 PM IST.
Team India at the Olympiad comprises some of the best chess players in the world. Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and Pentala Harikrishna are donning the Indian colors in the Open section. The team is captained by GM Srinath Narayanan. Grandmasters Vaibhav Suri and Sankalp Gupta are working with the team as assistant coaches. In the Women’s section, we have Grandmasters Harika Dronavalli and Vaishali R, and International Masters Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agarwal, and Tania Sachdev representing the country. This team is captained by GM Abhijeet Kunte and GM Swayams Mishra is with the team as the assistant coach.
Going by the average rating of the players, the Indian women’s team is the top seed of the tournament. The men’s team is seeded in the second place, only behind USA.
The Chess Olympiad is the biggest team event that takes place in chess. Participants, young and old, are always seen excited to be representing their countries. This year, the oldest player in the event is 83-year-old Pauline Woodward, representing Guernsey.
With 9 more rounds to go, we are sure to witness many more thrilling games, and exciting finishes. We wish the Indian squad the very best for the tournament!
Photo Credits: Michal Walusza/FIDE
