Chess Olympiad: Time to play the right moves

India, with six teams, will be one of the favourites in the 44th OlympiadIt was in 2013 that home boy Viswanathan Anand lost the World Championship title at India's chess capital, Chennai. Nine years have gone by and top-flight chess is back in Tamil Nadu with the 44th Olympiad starting at Mamallapuram, a sea town 60 km from Chennai, on Friday. Chennai is all geared up, the iconic Napier Bridge has been painted in black and white and the event's mascot Thambi --- the knight clad in a traditional south Indian attire of white shirt and veshti --- is on every other billboard. The players are trooping in - there are about 2000 from about 187 countries - and the excitement around the event is palpable. There's a sense of missing out though with Russia not being there -- being barred from world events due to the Ukraine war -- and China preferring to stay away. But there will be no shortage of star value as the likes of World no. 1 Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian and Anish Giri will be in action. And then, there will be six Indian teams (three in open and three in women's categories) - trying to better their bronze won in 2014 over-the-board Olympiad.

India ready to fire on all cylindersViswanathan Anand won't be playing the event and will be associated with the Indian team only as a mentor. Carlsen feels Anand's absence will be a big weakness for India, but not everyone thinks so. P Harikrishna, who will be playing in his 10th Olympiad, feels the Indian line-up will rely on its depth to do well. "India has a very good team this time around. Obviously, not having Anand is going to make a big difference. That said, this side has a perfect mix of young and experienced players and we are capable of doing really well,"