D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa set to represent India at Chess Olympiad in Budapest
The two young talents in chess, D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa, will be representing India at the Chess Olympiad scheduled to take place in September this year in Budapest, Hungary. These child prodigies blend all achievements and comely potential for Indian chess, making their foray into playing on an international platform.
D. Gukesh, currently No. 7 in the world according to the International Chess Federation, or FIDE, is treating the Chess Olympiad as "some big dress rehearsal" for his match for the World Chess Championship with Ding Liren in November. At 17, Gukesh is already the third-youngest GM in chess history and the youngest player to ever break 2750.
He continued earning a reputation with a win in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament, becoming the youngest participant ever for the World Chess Champion title. Adding to this is the fact that in the just-concluded well-known Tata Steel Chess Tournament, he tied for first place with 9 points from 14 matches, making him one of the strong players in the sport.
Gukesh's setback against Praggnanandhaa was minor in the 12th round. His resilience was on show when he defeated Anish Giri in the semifinals but lost to Wei Yi in the final by a hair's breadth.
Another young rising star, Praggnanandhaa, ranked No. 8 in international rankings, earned fame quickly in the chess realm. His remarkable journey to the Chess World Cup 2023 final saw him becoming the youngest player to attain this record.
Not only this, but dominating Fabiano Caruana in the semifinal and ending as a runner-up to Magnus Carlsen in the rapid tie-breaks of the grand finale proved that Praggnanandhaa's skills are unmatchable at his age.
The fifth place he finished at the 2024 Candidates Tournament, combined with the win against Carlsen at the Norway Chess 2024 tournament, definitely set Praggnanandhaa on a promising path.
Top-rated Indian players set to compete at Chess Olympiad
Other members of the Indian chess team at the Chess Olympiad include Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala, while Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev are at the helm of women's team.
The 2022 season bronze medalist, Grandmaster Koneru Humpy is the big miss from the squad. All India Chess Federation President Nitin Narang has confirmed that a discussion with coaches for a pre-event camp in late August will take place to fine-tune the team. He was quoted as saying in a press release:
"Camp is scheduled for the end of August. The venue and date will be finalized soon.”
The 45th edition of the Chess Olympiad is the first of its type in Hungary. Notably, Hungary also hosted the second unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.
After India's astonishing performance in the 2022 Olympiad—with both the Open and women's teams winning bronze—it will be expected of them, the squads in blue, to pull off another sterling showcase in Budapest.
Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, at the helm of this rise, have ensured Indian chess fans are hooked to see what these young talents go on to do in the global arena.