olympiad: Hosting the Chess Olympiad is good; but winning it is more important

I was about 17 when I participated in my first Chess Olympiad in 2004. It was held in Spain. I remember not being very excited because by then I was already a grandmaster, playing in all the big events and one of the top players in the world. Although I didn’t feel anything special, I was definitely a little nervous because it was a team event, and I had no experience playing in a team.

In individual tournaments, the results depend only on your own performance. At the same time, everyone’s performance matters in the team event. At the 2004 incident, I remember seeing the results of other team members and felt the need to strike a balance or put in more effort to move forward. I was very conscious and there were sports in which I took too much risk. This really affected my performance.

That experience helped me understand that even though it’s a team event, it’s important to finish my own game before worrying about other boards. Staying focused and calm is very important. I think everyone should follow it, no matter what round we are playing in.

For those who are not well versed in the world of chess, Olympiad is our Olympics. Chess is not an Olympic sport (yet), so we have a separate Chess Olympiad. For us, its stature is similar to that of the Olympics. More than 150 countries participate in it. The ground is usually littered with current and former world champions. In such a situation, winning a medal in this event is a matter of pride for any country.

The only disappointment is that it is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport (

) Plus it has everything. We put in the same amount of hard work, we go through extensive training and we have even more competition from so many countries. It is not like some other sports where only 10-15 countries participate.

Recognition makes a big difference. This brings in a lot of money from the government to the game. People believe and think only in Olympic and Commonwealth Games medals. So, when we have that kind of stamping for this port, it will be more attractive.

I think All India Chess Federation (AICF) has also taken Chess Olympiad as a challenge and it is giving its best to help the players to perform well. There have been pretournament training camps in the past but they usually get the help of a local Indian Grandmaster for a few days. This is the first time they have brought in high level players like Boris Gelfand (six-time World Championship nominee) and Viswanathan Anand (five-time world champion) as coaches and mentors.

We have already had a 10-day training camp with Gelfand and Anand and another one is underway. I am not participating in the second because I am playing in an online speed chess tournament and my quarterfinal lineup is on Tuesday (July 19).

But I attended the first one and thoroughly enjoyed it. We did a session with Anand where he talked about various psychological aspects. He talked about how we think when we are in a bad situation and how and when to turn the situation around. Sessions with Gelfand focused entirely on chess. He helped us with middle and end sportsmanship.

The last two editions of the Chess Olympiad were played online and India finished on the podium both times – joint winners in 2020 and third in 2021. So, this time the expectations will be high, especially because we are playing at home.

While it is not fair to compare the last two events with this year’s event as they are played in different formats – rapid vs classical – using different platforms – online vs physical – India have a good run this time too. is likely to. Both our men’s and women’s teams have, in general, the best players ever – both teams have an average rating of one of the best.

Furthermore, the two best teams that fight for the gold medal most of the time – Russia and China – are not playing in the event this time around.

Then there are the added advantages of being hosts that allow us to enter two teams each in the Open and Women’s categories, which increases the chances of a medal.

You also get a lot of support from the fans in the house, you get to eat the food of your choice, you get used to the climate and your body clock doesn’t need adjustment. All these issues have an impact on the performance of the player.

But there is also the pressure of expectations.

So, in a way, it’s a double-edged sword. Playing at home is an advantage only if you know how to use it. When I play in a tournament, I try to focus on my game and be in good form. As a player it is more important than the outside conditions.

India is hosting the Chess Olympiad for the first time. I believe it can act as a catalyst in making chess more popular in the country. But just hosting itself won’t be enough to make a long-term impact. Sure, it might bring some eyes to the game but you need a champion to turn that attention into participation. Like Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic gold medal in Tokyo did for athletics.

We need to win to inspire the next generation to take up chess as a profession.

Koneru Humpy is the Grandmaster and winner of the 2019 Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship. He spoke to Amit Chowdhary

Originally published at Pen 18