Chess Olympiad: Unstoppable forces and immovable objects – Decoding the strengths of the five players who have brought India gold

Put together, the 5 players are truthful bully that successful the 44 games that they person played successful Budapest during the Olympiad, they person mislaid conscionable 1 game.

With assistance from RB Ramesh and our ain idiosyncratic observations during games, we tried to portion unneurotic on- and off-board personalities of the fabulous 5 of the Indian team.

D Gukesh

Gukesh is perchance the astir superior teen successful the world. He astir enters a portion a fewer days earlier a tourney starts and aft that, there’s small that tin distract him. It’s that benignant of absorption that has seen him triumph 8 games and gully the remaining 2 retired of the 10 rounds he’s played astatine Budapest. He wears a imperishable crippled look during tournaments. During games, his visage seldom bleeds his interior emotions portion his eyes flit from portion to portion arsenic helium calculates lines heavy into the extremity game. Viswanathan Anand had erstwhile told The Indian Express that erstwhile helium faced Gukesh successful a accelerated lucifer astatine the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia tourney past year, helium saw a wholly caller broadside of the teenager.

“I got to spot a somewhat newer broadside of him. He looked precise cold. Very distant. I realised helium was conscionable trying to absorption earlier the game,” Anand said past year.

Arjun Erigaisi

Having a satellite nary 4 similar Arjun Erigaisi playing connected the 3rd committee and facing mostly the third-best players of each squad has been the top limb for the Indian team. Arjun has scythed done opponents, winning 9 games and drafting the remaining two. He’s the lone subordinate for India who’s played successful each 11 rounds. In games, Arjun tin beryllium seen staring into the region arsenic helium calculates moves. He’s usually the subordinate who has plentifulness of clip near connected his clock. On Sunday, helium bushed his hostile Jan Subelj portion having 1 afloat hr near connected his clock. The Slovenian subordinate had 16 minutes. It’s the benignant of duress helium puts players under, which saw Magnus Carlsen telephone him a “mad antheral connected the chess board” successful an interrogation with The Indian Express.

Grandmaster RB Ramesh, who was a skipper of the Indian squad astatine the past Olympiad, pointed retired the similarities betwixt Gukesh and Arjun.

“Gukesh has done truly good playing against immoderate pugnacious absorption players connected the apical board. At the past Olympiad also, helium had a akin show and repeating it is not easy. Probably among the champion performances. Gukesh is simply a precise assured subordinate who has plentifulness of self-belief. That’s his main strength. He believes helium tin bushed anyone and that’s fixed him the assurance to instrumentality each kinds of decisions connected the board. He takes plentifulness of risks trying to play for a win. He plays close chess, doesn’t marque excessively galore mistakes. He’s not idiosyncratic who’s satisfied with a draw, truthful helium takes his chances. He’s a warring player,” Ramesh told The Indian Express connected Sunday.

Talking astir Arjun, Ramesh added: “Arjun is precise akin to Gukesh. Both of them are highly self-confident. They instrumentality a batch of risks and play for wins. They some enactment a batch of vigor implicit the board. For some Arjun and Gukesh, their wide cognition is their strength. They similar to fight, truthful it doesn’t substance if it is the mediate crippled oregon the endgame. They similar to combat successful each phase. Arjun’s precise good prepared opening-wise.”

R Praggnanandhaa

Praggnanandhaa, who played connected the 2nd committee for India, is besides 1 of the astir focused players successful the sport, stoic connected the board. He did not person a bully tally of results successful the past fewer weeks. But it’s a testament to his quality that he’s lone had 1 nonaccomplishment successful the full tournament, to a grandmaster rated implicit 2750.

“Pragg is simply a precise antithetic subordinate from Arjun and Gukesh. He’s a much coagulated player. Not conscionable him, Harikrishna and Vidit arsenic well. They’re much positionally-inclined players connected the board. Pragg has been going done a unsmooth spot for the past 3 months. That’s wherefore helium has been having a batch of draws. But he’s playing rather coagulated chess. The nonaccomplishment against Wesley So was unfortunate, but sometimes you person to spell done these moments and recover. To triumph games, helium relies much connected the endgame phase. But that doesn’t ever work. Some games you tin win, but galore games volition extremity successful a draw,” says Ramesh, who helped Pragg and his sister R Vaishali instrumentality their archetypal steps towards greatness.

Vidit Gujrathi

Having a subordinate of Vidit’s spot connected the 4th committee with Harikrishna coming successful arsenic a replacement whenever needed has besides been a luxury for the Indian team. Vidit is simply a subordinate who was contending successful the super-competitive Candidates tourney earlier this year, an indicator of his form. Unlike the different 3 players, helium is idiosyncratic who volition unbend betwixt games. At the Bermuda Party successful the mediate of the Olympiad, helium and Arjun were the Indian players turned up.

“Vidit has been having bully performances successful general. Some tournaments spell severely for him. But successful general, successful astir of the caller tournaments, helium has had decent performances. Here he’s played precise affirmative chess. Overall, it’s a precise bully effect from him. He’s won immoderate captious games connected the 4th committee for India,” says Ramesh.

Pentala Harikrishna

And past comes Harikrishna, the seasoned of the team, who has played successful lone 3 games, winning 2 and drafting the third.

Ramesh says: “Harikrishna is the astir experienced subordinate for India, but has a little standing compared to the others. He’s not got galore chances to play. But whenever helium has played, he’s done his portion for the team.”