Now Reading: Indian women top seed, men second for Chess Olympiad
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Indian women top seed, men second for Chess Olympiad
The Indian women's team has been seeded first for the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, with the men's team seeded second behind the United States. India is the defending champion in both sections.…
The Story in Brief
The Indian women's team has been seeded first for the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, with the men's team seeded second behind the United States. India is the defending champion in both sections. Koneru Humpy, who missed the historic gold in Budapest, returns to lead the women's team. She acknowledged that defending the title will be tougher than winning it initially. The women's team also includes Divya Deshmukh, R. Vaishali, Vantika Agrawal and B. Savitha Shri. The men's team features D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi. The Olympiad has attracted a record 400 teams.
The Indian Opinion
The dominant narrative paints India as invincible after the Budapest double gold. But Humpy's warning about the difficulty of defending is the reality check this team needs. Georgia and Kazakhstan in the women's section, and Uzbekistan and the US in the open, are genuine threats. Overlooking the absence of China's best players or the strength of the US lineup would be naive. The real test begins in Samarkand: can this reshuffled squad handle the pressure of being the hunted rather than the hunter?
Sources (2): thehindu.com, thehindu.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
