N.R. Anil Kumar
Increased popularity India dominated the field by winning two bronze and seven individual medals in the team event. Along with this, the implementation and popularity of the Olympics shocked other countries.
Indian Men’s Team Wins Bronze in Chess Olympiad | Photo: Print
PThe 44th Chess Olympiad was inaugurated with the seal of Thecalaches. Now chess lovers are waiting for the next Chess Olympiad to be held in 2024 in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. In the meantime, there is the brilliantly organized Olympics in Chennai to remember and cheer about.
Mahabalipuram set an all-time record for the number of participating teams. 187 countries from six continents participated. According to the World Chess Federation, the number of regular chess players is 60.5 crore. After Viswanathan Anand won the world title, chess has seen an unprecedented growth in India. India, which is emerging as a chess superpower along with Russia, now has 75 grandmasters. Mahabalipuram (60 km from Chennai) was visited by a huge crowd to watch the Chess Olympiad matches. Even though a day ticket was Rs 8000 for foreigners and Rs 3000 for Indians (200 for children and women) there was a long queue every day.
India is a great power
Chess was a monopoly of the old USSR. Now India and China have joined Russia. Russia and China did not participate in this Olympiad due to political reasons. For the first time in history, India won nine medals in this Olympiad. Two team medals and seven individual medals. India lost the gold in the open category and the women’s category due to hair color difference. In the open category, India’s second team bagged the bronze and the first team bagged the fourth position. In the women’s category, India’s first team won bronze and the second team finished eighth.
Almost a quarter of the total 30 individual medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze) were won by Indian players.
Youth Olympiad
The Olympics were the spring of youth that began with an eight-year-old Palestinian girl named Seder Randa. All but one of the Uzbek team, which won gold in the open category, is under 20. Gukesh and Raunak of the bronze-winning India-II team are 16-years-old, Pragnananda is 17 and Nihal is 18. In the women’s category, the average age of 31 teams is below 20. Chess is the arena where the most child talent shines.
Personal achievements
India’s 16-year-old Gukesh, Sweden’s 59-year-old Pia Kramling and Poland’s 22-year-old Olivia Kiolbasa are the outstanding stars of this Olympiad. Kerala’s Nihal Sarin went unbeaten with 7.5 points from 10 games to win the individual gold medal on the second board. India’s Arjun Erigaisi (8.5/11), who won the silver medal with a good performance in the third board, climbed above the rating of 2700. Malayalam SL lost the medal by a narrow margin. Narayanan also shined.
Old USSR In the new field
The former communist states that were part of the old Soviet Union, which came to be divided by perestroika and glasnost, still retain their chess traditions. Uzbekistan and Armenia won gold and silver in the open category. Ukraine and Georgia in women’s category.
The Fall of the Giants
Overthrows are the passion of sports. The mighty USA, who were confident of winning the gold in the open category. Relegated to fifth place. World champion Magnus Carlsen’s Norway is ranked 59th.
Chess Revolution in India
The Tamil Nadu Government and the All India Chess Federation have put in incredible hard work to make the Olympiad grand. Grandmasters Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, Pragnananda and Arjun Erigaisi are giving wings and a clear sense of purpose to the dreams of millions of young Indian chess enthusiasts.
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