India's formidable chess contingent, featuring world champion D Gukesh, in-form R Praggnanandhaa, and Candidates winner R Vaishali, is set to defend its titles at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, this September.
Key Points
- India's star-studded chess team, including D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and R Vaishali, will compete in the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
- Both the Indian men's and women's teams are the defending champions from 2024, aiming to retain their titles.
- The Open team features Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin (new addition), and Vidit Gujrathi alongside Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.
- The Women's team includes Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Savitha Shri B, alongside Vaishali.
World champion D Gukesh, the in-form R Praggnanandhaa and Candidates winner R Vaishali headline a star-studded Indian team for the FIDE Chess Olympiad to be played from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Both the Indian teams of five men and five women are the defending champions, having won the respective titles in 2024 in a historic achievement.
Meet The Indian Open And Women's Teams
The other members of the team in the Open section are Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi.
Sarin is the only new addition to the team that won the 2024 Open title.
The women's team comprises all the top stars of the country -- Koneru Humpy, Vaishali, World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B.
Humpy was not a part of the title-winning team in 2024 and neither was Savitha.
Recent Form Of Key Players
The 20-year-old Praggnanandhaa has been in top form, winning the Norway Chess tournament in June. He had defeated World No 1 and five-time World champion Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh, among others, on his way to the title.
Gukesh, however, has not been at his best for some time. In the recently-concluded Chennai Grand Masters, Gukesh lost three of his seven matches and finished last with just two points.
In April this year, Vaishali became the first Indian woman chess player to win the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament, earning the right to challenge China's Ju Wenjun for the Women's World Championship title.
Indian Team for Chess Olympiad:
Open: Gukesh D, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi. Captain: Srinath Narayanan
Women: Humpy Koneru, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B. Captain: Swayams Mishra.
