Chess Olympiad: Indian GM duo in charge of Brazil teams

The Brazilian teams that will take part in the Olympiad in Mahabalipuram this month have a few strong players both in open and women’s categories. In a bid to make an impression in the event, Brazil Chess Federation roped in two Indian Grandmasters, Priyadharshan Kannappan and Ankit Rajpara, as the captain-cum-coaches of the teams. While Tamil Nadu’s Priyadharshan will be at the helm of the open team, Ankit, from Gujarat, is in charge of the women’s side.

Interestingly, the Madurai-based Priyadharshan, who is India’s 44th Grandmaster, was recommended for the top job by his former college-mate Andre Diamant who is part of the open team. “Andre was my senior at Webster University in the USA and we have known each other for a long time. When Andre asked me to be part of the team, I was more than happy to do so.

I believe the Brazil team has a terrific line-up of players who will be a handful for many teams during the tournament,” Priyadharshan told TOI. Once Priyadharshan came on board, he got Ankit on board as well. While Priyadarshan has coached India’s sub-junior team in 2019, Ankit has only coached individual players so far.

“Coaching a team is a different experience altogether,” Ankit told TOI. Brazil possesses a rich history in chess thanks to Henrique Costa Mecking, the country’s first Grandmaster. Mecking remains one of the finest to have emerged from Brazil and achieved a peak ranking of world No.

3 in January 1978 behind the legendary Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi. If one glances through the Brazilian open team, all eyes will be on Luis Paulo Supi who earned global acclaim when he beat Magnus Carlsen in just 18 moves during an online game back in May, 2020. “The pandemic has seen chess players in Brazil