India seeks to repeat Budapest double as 46th Chess Olympiad gets under way in Samarkand

India heads into the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, which starts on Wednesday, aiming to replicate the twin successes it celebrated in Budapest two years ago. The Indian teams enter the event among the favourites in both the open and women’s sections.

FIDE interim president Viswanathan Anand and AICF president Nitin Narang handed over the Chess Olympiad flame to Sindarov as Samarkand prepared to host the tournament. The Olympiad is the premier team event in chess and has been likened in scale to tennis’ Davis Cup or badminton’s Thomas Cup. India arrives despite changes to its squads and concern over a dip in form from one of its leading players.

D. Gukesh has struggled since becoming the youngest World champion, a drop in results that has prompted questions about his form. That decline does not erase his previous contributions: he was described as "an absolute beast" for India in the last two Olympiads, was brilliant against some of the world’s strongest players and won the individual gold medal. The selectors and supporters will be watching to see whether he regains his earlier level.

R. Praggnanandhaa arrives in strong form, having been "winning just about everything", and India also fields Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi in the open team. The Indian men are seeded second at the event. Hosts Uzbekistan, featuring Javokhir Sindarov — Gukesh’s opponent in the upcoming World title match — and the United States, the top seed, are named among India’s main rivals.

The Indian women go into the Olympiad as the top seed, bolstered by the return of Koneru Humpy. Koneru had not played in Budapest and told The Hindu how excited she was to play in this Olympiad and help her team defend the title. The squad also includes Divya Deshmukh, R. Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal, while 19-year-old B. Savitha Shri is making her debut.

The competition is scheduled to be played over 11 rounds under the Swiss system. The organisers list the game days as September 16-27, with the tournament due to conclude on September 27. Entry numbers underline the event’s scale, with 208 teams in the open section and 191 in the women’s.

Play begins on September 16 and runs through September 27, with 11 Swiss rounds deciding the team and individual honours at the Samarkand Olympiad.