TOI looks at some of the takeaways from the Chess Olympiad
Gukesh‘s striking form on the top board was easily the chess story of the Olympiad. He was the most sought-after player for selfies as players from other countries looked at him in awe at the closing ceremony.
Yes, you can score 9/11 at a club-level tournament. Or even at a Closed IM event. But not at the Olympiad, not on the top board.It is not a surprise then that Gukesh’s rating performance of Elo 3056 was surpassed only once in the history of chess – by Fabiano Caruana (3098) in the Sinquefield Cup 10 years ago. Vladimir Kramnik at his Olympiad debut in 1992 had amassed 8.5/9. But that was on the reserve board.
The World Championship challenger is now debt free: Gukesh said at a press conference, “This is a special win (team gold) for me because we came so close last time. And I had a personal debt to pay back. We could say that last time we could not win the team gold because of my mistake. Now, I think I have proved that it was just an accident and that I’m capable of more (good performances).”
Gukesh pressed for win in the penultimate round against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in 2022 and went on to lose when a draw would have kept India in the hunt. His loss had cost India one match-point. Now, with two Olympiad gold in the bag, Gukesh looks ready and sharp for the World Ch’ship match against Ding Liren from Nov 25 in Singapore.
Honesty personified: Gukesh was asked at a FIDE conference what he rates higher: his Candidates victory that gave him a shot at the World crown, the Olympiad individual gold on the top board or the Olympiad team gold? He picked the Candidates win. Not surprising, because chess is an individual sport.
Divya’s rise: With heavy scoring on the women’s third board, Divya Deshmukh cemented her position as world No. 1 among junior girls (U-20) with a live rating of 2500-plus. She values the team gold more because rating can be increased any time! Former seven-time National champion Praveen Thipsay said, “Divya’s aim should be to become the women’s world champion in two years.”
The New India: When you are in the running for the team gold, the individual medal doesn’t matter much. The Indian players experienced that, underlining how times have changed. In the 1990 Novi Sad Olympiad, Dibyendu Barua was in the running for the medal on the second board. The team decided to rest him for two of the last three rounds because the defeats would have hampered his prospects for an individual board prize. Barua was coach of the men’s team this time.
Busting Swiss League myth: Men’s team captain Srinath said India’s 3.5-0.5 over Serbia in the fourth round indicated that this team was setting up well for a special performance. In the process, the team underlined that the randomness of Swiss League format (the pairings, timing of slipup etc) is no hindrance.
Because if you win almost every match, you are relieved from contemplating on the fairness of final standings vis-a-vis real performance.
The colours of domination: When China had won the Olympiad gold in 2014, they too had lost just one game like India. But they had scored just 20 game wins. India scored 27 wins in 44 games. Still, India’s performance may not count as the most flawless Olympiad performance ever. The 1968 and 1974 USSR teams did not lose a single game en route to their gold medals, playing 74 and 88 games respectively. Anand told Revsportz: “During that time, the gap between the Soviets and others was that much bigger. But here the Indian players have outperformed their opponents who are in the similar rating bracket with comparable strength.”
Body language: Judit Polgar observed the body language of this young men’s Indian team. “It was clear in India in 2022 that the new generation of boys is going to take over,” she told Chessbase India stream. “They were the big candidates to take the gold medal. The way the Indian boys were seated on their boards, it appeared that expectations motivated them more than putting them under pressure.”
Carlsen skips again: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen had skipped the 11th and last round and the prize distribution ceremony at the last Olympiad in Mamallapuarm two years ago. He repeated that act in Budapest on Sunday. Of course, finishing 14th despite being seeded sixth must be a big pain for a high-flier like Carlsen. But the 33-year-old won the bronze medal on the top board with six points in eight games and a rating performance of 2810. FIDE uploaded the podium photo cropping the vacant bronze medal space. Carlsen’s wish of keeping Russia and Belarus banned from team events in chess was honoured. Kyrgyzstan had put a proposal in the FIDE congress to lift the ban which was shot down.
Make it count: D Harika was pregnant when she played in the last Olympiad. Being both mother and player is far more challenging, but she said that the dual responsibility works as motivation too. “If you have left your baby back in India, you better make it count.”
Gukesh‘s striking form on the top board was easily the chess story of the Olympiad. He was the most sought-after player for selfies as players from other countries looked at him in awe at the closing ceremony.
Yes, you can score 9/11 at a club-level tournament. Or even at a Closed IM event. But not at the Olympiad, not on the top board.It is not a surprise then that Gukesh’s rating performance of Elo 3056 was surpassed only once in the history of chess – by Fabiano Caruana (3098) in the Sinquefield Cup 10 years ago. Vladimir Kramnik at his Olympiad debut in 1992 had amassed 8.5/9. But that was on the reserve board.
The World Championship challenger is now debt free: Gukesh said at a press conference, “This is a special win (team gold) for me because we came so close last time. And I had a personal debt to pay back. We could say that last time we could not win the team gold because of my mistake. Now, I think I have proved that it was just an accident and that I’m capable of more (good performances).”
Gukesh pressed for win in the penultimate round against Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan in 2022 and went on to lose when a draw would have kept India in the hunt. His loss had cost India one match-point. Now, with two Olympiad gold in the bag, Gukesh looks ready and sharp for the World Ch’ship match against Ding Liren from Nov 25 in Singapore.
Honesty personified: Gukesh was asked at a FIDE conference what he rates higher: his Candidates victory that gave him a shot at the World crown, the Olympiad individual gold on the top board or the Olympiad team gold? He picked the Candidates win. Not surprising, because chess is an individual sport.
Divya’s rise: With heavy scoring on the women’s third board, Divya Deshmukh cemented her position as world No. 1 among junior girls (U-20) with a live rating of 2500-plus. She values the team gold more because rating can be increased any time! Former seven-time National champion Praveen Thipsay said, “Divya’s aim should be to become the women’s world champion in two years.”
The New India: When you are in the running for the team gold, the individual medal doesn’t matter much. The Indian players experienced that, underlining how times have changed. In the 1990 Novi Sad Olympiad, Dibyendu Barua was in the running for the medal on the second board. The team decided to rest him for two of the last three rounds because the defeats would have hampered his prospects for an individual board prize. Barua was coach of the men’s team this time.
Busting Swiss League myth: Men’s team captain Srinath said India’s 3.5-0.5 over Serbia in the fourth round indicated that this team was setting up well for a special performance. In the process, the team underlined that the randomness of Swiss League format (the pairings, timing of slipup etc) is no hindrance.
Because if you win almost every match, you are relieved from contemplating on the fairness of final standings vis-a-vis real performance.
The colours of domination: When China had won the Olympiad gold in 2014, they too had lost just one game like India. But they had scored just 20 game wins. India scored 27 wins in 44 games. Still, India’s performance may not count as the most flawless Olympiad performance ever. The 1968 and 1974 USSR teams did not lose a single game en route to their gold medals, playing 74 and 88 games respectively. Anand told Revsportz: “During that time, the gap between the Soviets and others was that much bigger. But here the Indian players have outperformed their opponents who are in the similar rating bracket with comparable strength.”
Body language: Judit Polgar observed the body language of this young men’s Indian team. “It was clear in India in 2022 that the new generation of boys is going to take over,” she told Chessbase India stream. “They were the big candidates to take the gold medal. The way the Indian boys were seated on their boards, it appeared that expectations motivated them more than putting them under pressure.”
Carlsen skips again: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen had skipped the 11th and last round and the prize distribution ceremony at the last Olympiad in Mamallapuarm two years ago. He repeated that act in Budapest on Sunday. Of course, finishing 14th despite being seeded sixth must be a big pain for a high-flier like Carlsen. But the 33-year-old won the bronze medal on the top board with six points in eight games and a rating performance of 2810. FIDE uploaded the podium photo cropping the vacant bronze medal space. Carlsen’s wish of keeping Russia and Belarus banned from team events in chess was honoured. Kyrgyzstan had put a proposal in the FIDE congress to lift the ban which was shot down.
Make it count: D Harika was pregnant when she played in the last Olympiad. Being both mother and player is far more challenging, but she said that the dual responsibility works as motivation too. “If you have left your baby back in India, you better make it count.”
