CHENNAI: Less inactive compared to sportsmen from other disciplines thanks to the internet, chess players of the world are looking forward to the Online Nations Cup. Organised by world body FIDE and Chess.com, this competition to be held from May 5-10 features six teams: Europe, USA, Russia, China, India and Rest of the World.
Other than Magnus Carlsen, almost all top players are on the starting list for the show in rapid format. The teams play each other twice in a double round robin league, from which the top two contest in the final. There are big names in other roles. According to Chess.com, Garry Kasparov is the captain of Europe. The man who beat him to become world champion in 2000, Vladimir Kramnik, is the captain of India.
With the tournament coming closer and players having started preparations, the Indians are still to start interacting with Kramnik. The Russian settled in Switzerland could not be contacted, while some of the team members said they did not know the details. Busy fighting internal disorder, the All India Chess Federation (AICF) also does not know who will coordinate between Kramnik and the Indian team.
“We have not started interacting with him (Kramnik),” said Vidit Gujrathi, India No 2 and a part of the team which also includes Viswanathan Anand, P Harikrishna and Koneru Humpy. B Adhiban and D Harika are the reserves. Three men and a woman will play in each round. “We have started preparing. We have not heard from Kramnik yet. Not heard from AICF either,” said Gujarathi, who is ranked 21st in the world.
The captain’s role is important. Chess.com says: “Each team’s board order is decided by the team captain no later than 24 hours before the beginning of the first round and cannot be modified once determined. Each team captain decides on his team composition for each match. This decision will be announced no later than 30 minutes before the beginning of the relevant round.”
Kramnik had earlier been appointed coach of the Indian men’s team for the Chess Olympiad, which was scheduled for August and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I am not sure when Kramnik will start working with us for the Nations Cup. I expect it to happen soon,” said Adhiban.
Sources close to AICF president PR Venketrama Raja said the FIDE had consulted him before making Kramnik the advisor of the Indian team for this competition. They could not say when the 44-year-old will get in touch with the players. The AICF secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said since the appointment for this event was made directly by FIDE, the federation cannot tell how the arrangement works.
It can be noted that in a recent online meeting, members chose a five-member committee to run the AICF until elections are held. Neither Raja nor Chauhan are part of the committee. It is not clear whether that meeting is valid or not, but members claimed afterwards that at present, the AICF doesn’t have a president or secretary. The Raja camp had disputed these claims.
This five-member committee does not know when Kramnik will start assisting the Indian players. “I have to discuss with other members. Before that, I can’t confirm,” said Naresh Sharma, a member of the committee.