CHENNAI: If one glances through the latest FIDE top-10 junior rankings, three from India feature in them. Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi is in No. 2 spot behind Alireza Firouzja, while D Gukesh and Nihal Sarin are in the 6th and 10th spot respectively.
The other two young guns --- R Praggnanandhaa (11th) and Raunak Sadhwani (15th) aren’t too far behind. The 44th Olympiad --- kicking off on July 28 --- will see India’s next-generation stars in action at the big-ticket event.
Arjun is part of India A team in the open category, while the other four feature in the B team. The youngsters are well aware of the spotlight being on them but are keen not to have too many distractions. “I have been part of online Olympiad teams before. However, to play my first over-the-board Olympiad and that too at my hometown --- it can’t get bigger. While we understand the sense of occasion, it is important to keep distractions aside as the tournament comes closer,” Praggu told TOI. He warmed up for the Olympiad with a win in the Paracin Open tournament in Serbia earlier this month. He has had a memorable year with wins in the Norway open last month in addition to tasting success in Meltwater Champions Chess Tour --- an online tournament --- where he twice defeated World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.
Gukesh has been in the form of his life winning four tournaments in Spain this year. Last week, Gukesh became the youngest Indian to breach the 2700 ELO barrier in live ratings during the Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland. Gukesh was the third youngest --- after Wei Yi and Alireza Firouzja--- to achieve the feat. Arjun began the year by pocketing the Tata Steel Challengers in Wijk aan Zee. He went from strength to strength by clinching the National championship and followed it up by bagging the Delhi International Open. Arjun has been a force to reckon with at the Champions Chess Tour and the Olympiad gives the 18-year-old an opportunity to showcase his skill set against the best in the business.
Nihal and Raunak have been players who have often shown a strong game and matched it with an equally good temperament to win battles. The presence of Raunak in the lower boards augurs well for India B team especially when things get tight on the top boards. GM Srinath Narayanan feels the young guns are well-equipped to handle tight situations. “They are professionals with tunnel vision who know how to handle pressure thanks to playing both over-the-board and online tournaments on a regular basis. More than feeling the pressure, I sense a lot of excitement among them,” said Srinath, coach of the India A team.
RB Ramesh, coach of India B team, believes that experience could be a big factor when the going gets tough in the tournament. “They are all high-quality players but will be tested as the event progresses. They are short on experience and this tournament will be a test of their resilience,” Ramesh pointed out.
