Now comes the most challenging part. India have dominated the open section of the Chess Olympiad. They won eight successive rounds before settling for a draw against defending champions Uzbekistan in the ninth. With two rounds remaining and India having a two-point lead over the second-placed teams, the gold medal is almost within touching distance.
That ‘almost’ is a key word here. There is always a gap between the cup and the lip and India’s challenge is to make sure that this gap doesn’t get wider. In 2022 also, they had come close to winning the title before settling for bronze. That remains India’s best performance in the open section of the Olympiad alongside the bronze won in 2014.
The difference between the past and now is the changed mindset. The Indian players have improved leaps and bounds, their stature in the world has grown and a lot of them have excelled in top tournaments around the globe. “Our players are displaying aggression and confidence. It’s evident that other teams are afraid of our players,” Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua told RevSportz recently.
In the penultimate round in Budapest, India will face the USA. With 15 points, USA are second on the table. They are the top seeds, and board-for-board, the only team that tops the Indians on paper. World No 2 Fabiano Caruana, No 10 Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez Perez and Levon Aronian are seasoned players who have done exceedingly well at the highest level.
“The pressure grows now. They will be up against the stronger teams. It will come down to how they handle the pressure,” Grandmaster Sandipan Chanda had told RevSportz a few days back. In terms of experience, the Indians are behind the players from the USA. Arjun Erigaisi is 21, R Praggnanandhaa 19 and D Gukesh 18. Vidit Gujrathi at 30 seems to be the veteran of the lot.
On the positive side, the Indians have momentum on their side. In 36 games across the nine rounds, they have not lost any and won 22. In several rounds, they have bulldozed the opponents. The 3.5-0.5 win against a strong Iran side in the eighth round is a case in point. Arjun and Gukesh have delivered outstanding wins, Vidit and P Harikrishna have handled responsibility commendably on the fourth board. Only Pragg has been a bit low key in comparison.
Against the USA, India will face their toughest test in the competition. Not only because their opponents are the top seeds. More important is the situation. This is that time of the tournament where one slip can prove costly. Yes, India have a two-point cushion, but that may not count for a lot if they don’t do well in the last two rounds.
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Women’s team in second place
The Indian women were leading after seven rounds with seven wins on the trot. Defeat against Poland in the eighth and a draw against the USA in the ninth have seen them slip to second. With 15 points, they are still just one point behind leaders Kazakhstan. Very much in the reckoning for a medal, they have to raise their game in the last two rounds.
In the ninth round, China are India’s opponents. The worry for India is the form of their top player D Harika. She was not fielded against the USA after logging just three points from seven rounds. R Vaishali has also not been flawless. Under the circumstances, the team benefited from the performance of Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agarwal. Bronze winners last time, this team also has to cope with the pressure of the last two rounds to better the colour.
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