India is getting ready to host the 44th Chess Olympiad
India announces the biggest ever squad
AICF announces biggest Indian squad. All India Chess Federation ( AICF) announced the country’s biggest ever 20 member squad. India is hosting the prestigious tournament from July 28 to August 10.Two teams shall represent India as they are entitled being the host country. Top players from over 150 countries shall participate in the event. Here are India’s top players who are carrying the baton forward.
India’s Top Players
Men’s Team
First Team
- Vidit Gujrathi, who led India to gold medal in the 2020 Chess Olympiad,
- Pentala Harikrishna
- Chennai-based Krishnan Sasikiran who have represented India on numerous occasions.
- 19-year-old Arjun Erigaisi
- SL Narayanan
Indian contingent comprises of all players who were very impressive during the last year. On one hand Arjun impressed with his moves, and on the other while SL Narayanan, solid style has impressed one and all. So far the AICF announced biggest Indian squad which includes two teams in both men and women.
Second Team
While the first team consists of experienced players, the second team is comprised of young talent. These players have consistently performed in various events over the last couple of years.
Team players
- Praggnanandhaa R
- Nihal Sarin
- Gukesh D
- Raunak Sadhwani.
- Adbhiban B
All these people shall make their debut except Adbhiban B. Also the team shall have an experienced person like Adbhiban B”. Advantage of having two teams is that it allows other talented players to showcase the talent at the world’s largest stage.
Women’s Team
Similarly the women’s team is divided into two .
First Team
- Koneru Humpy
- World No 10 Harika Dronavalli
- Tania Sachdev
- Debutants R Vaishali and Bhakti Kulkarni
Koneru, Harika and Tania have made their marks at world stage many competitions.
Second Team
- Soumya Swaminathan
- Mary Ann Gomes
- Padmini Rout
- Vantika Agarwal
- Divya Deshmukh.
Siblings represent India again at the Olympics
Before Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, N Saritha and N Sudhakar Babu, represented the country in 1988’s edition in Greece. India won a bronze medal at the Tromso Chess Olympiad in 2014. During the two virtual Olympiads, India won gold jointly with Russia in 2020 and the women’s team won bronze in 2021.
Management
The following will lead the Indian contingent during the entire tournament
- Pravin Thipsay – Head of the Delegation
- Srinath-First Team Coach
- RB Ramesh -Second team Coach
- Abhijit Kunte will be the Coach for the Women’s first team and GM Swapnil Dhopade for the second team.
