Confident of doing well in 44th chess Olympiad: India ‘A’ captain GM Srinath Narayanan

Chennai is in the midst of a chess wave. Everywhere in the city one can see banners and bill boards of the 44th chess Olympiad to be held at Mahabalipuram from July 28.
A statue of Thambi, mascot of the Chess Olympiad, on ECR median | Ashwin prasath
A statue of Thambi, mascot of the Chess Olympiad, on ECR median | Ashwin prasath

CHENNAI: Chennai is in the midst of a chess wave. Everywhere in the city, one can see banners and billboards of the 44th chess Olympiad to be held at Mahabalipuram from July 28. All eyes will be on the India ‘A’ men’s team comprising of Vidit Gujrathi, P Harikrishna, Arjun Erigaisi, SL Narayanan, K Sasikiran. They have an average rating of 2696.

They will start as the third seed in the Open section and will be coached by GM Srinath Narayanan. He is excited to captain the Indian team in his home town and is confident of a good show by his wards. Excerpts of an interview:

How excited are you about Chennai hosting the Chess Olympiad?
It is definitely one of the biggest moments in my career. All the players are training and keen to do well for the country as the event is being played at home.

How is to be captain of the first Indian team?
It is a great feeling. Given my skill sets, I feel that this is the best way I can contribute to the country. Really honoured and excited about the opportunity.

How productive was the training camp with Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand?
The camp with Anand and Gelfand was very useful and we saw the results instantly in Harikrishna’s next event in Prague Masters. The value such legends bring in terms of their abundance of knowledge cannot be described in words.

India won a historic bronze in the Open section of the 2014 Olympiad. Can India better their Tromso performance?
As I said earlier, we are preparing well for the event. We are optimistic that India can do well in the Olympiad and even better than what they did last time (in Tromso).

Can you elaborate on the role of being a team captain?
It means you get to work with some of the best players in the world. It gives you an opportunity to watch and train them at close quarters. It serves as an opportunity to groom some young talent.

Which team is the favourite to win in the Open section?
USA start as favourites, on paper. They have some top players, but you never know.

Do you think having Magnus Carlsen will create more excitement?
You do not get to see World No 1 in action very often. Plus after his announcement that he will not defend his world title, people will like him all the more to see him in action.

How happy are you on having three of your students in the team?
I am very very proud to see how far they have grown. Really happy for them.

Will there be the pressure of playing at home?
There will definitely be pressure, but there will be advantages of the home support as well, which will make a lot of difference in bringing a positive feeling within the group.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com