Sports

Chess Olympiad: Viswanathan Anand To Mentor India, AICF Name Two Teams Each In Open And Women’s


Two teams each will represent India in the Open and Women’s section at the 44th Chess Olympiad with five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand appointed as the home team’s mentor for the prestigious tournament. scheduled to take place from 28 July to 10 August. India as the host is entitled to enter two teams each – in the Open as well as in the women’s category for the first time. It cemented the home team’s chances of winning a medal at the 14-day event, which is expected to see participation from the world’s top names from more than 150 countries.

Vidit Gujrathi, who led India to a gold medal in the 2020 Chess Olympics, which will be held virtual, will be part of India’s first team in the opening alongside Pentala Harikrishna and Krishnan Sasikiran in Chennai, who has represented India many times.

19-year-old Arjun Erigaisi and SL Narayanan will also feature in the first team.

Arjun has been impressive for the past year and will be one of the notable players when he makes his debut at the event alongside SL Narayanan, who has been in impressive form.

On the other hand, the second team will consist of young talents who have caught the eye with their steady performances over the past few years, including Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal Sarin, Gukesh D and Raunak Sadhwani.

They will debut at the Chess Olympics. The team will also feature seasoned player Adhiban B, who was a member of the Indian team that won bronze in 2014.

In the women’s section, the first team will feature the incredibly talented Koneru Humpy and the world No. 10 Harika Dronavalli, who have made their mark in many international tournaments, and the prolific Tania Sachdev with R Vaishali and Bhakti Kulkarni.

The second team will include national champions Soumya Swaminathan, Mary Ann Gomes and Padmini Rout along with Vantika Agarwal and Divya Deshmukh, 15.

Anand, who has decided not to compete at the upcoming Chess competition, will be active as a mentor to the Indian teams.

Anand said: “I’m playing very few events these days and after playing many Olympiads I think it’s time for the younger ones.

Interestingly, Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali will be the second pair of brothers to represent the country at the same Olympics after N Saritha and N Sudhakar Babu, who played in the 1988 edition held in Greece.

GM Pravin Thipsay will be the Head of the Delegation. GM Srinath and GM RB Ramesh will coach the first and second teams of the opening, respectively.

GM Abhijit Kunte will be Coach for the Women’s first team and GM Swapnil Dhopade for the second.

India won the bronze medal at the 2014 Tromso Chess Olympiad. While in the two virtual Olympics, India won the joint gold with Russia in 2020 and the women’s team won the bronze medal in 2021.

“The opportunity for two teams to compete at the Chess Olympiad opens the door for many young Indian talents to showcase their game on the biggest stage that would otherwise be possible after a few years of waiting.

“The teams look strong and have a good mix of experience and young talent and I’m confident they’ll make the most of this once in a while. I wish all the members the best of luck. best for this event and their preparations,” said AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan.

The Chess Olympiad was moved out of Russia after it invaded Ukraine and was given to Chennai in March.

Along with the Olympics, the 94th FIDE Congress and elections will also be held in the city.

Teams: Open –

India A:Vidit Gujrathi, P Harikrishna, Arjun Erigaisi, SL Narayanan, K Sasikiran.

India B:Nihal Sarin, D Gukesh, B Adhiban, R Praggnanandhaa, Raunak Sadhwani.

Women:

Promote

India A:Koneru Humpy, D Harika, R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev, Bhakti Kulkarni.

Team B of India: Vantika Agarwal, Soumya Swaminathan, Mary Ann Gomes, Padmini Rout, Divya Deshmukh.

Topics covered in this article



Source link

news7h

News7h: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button