India 'B' team capable of podium finish in Chess Olympiad: Coach Ramesh

The 'B' team, seeded 11th comprises Nihal Sarin, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, B Adhiban and Raunak Sadhwani, all Grandmasters, and Ramesh believes if the players can keep their focus during the 11 rounds of the Olympiad, beginning at nearby Mamallapuram on July 28, they can finish on the podium. Barring Adhiban, who is 29, the rest of the squad are in their teens. "The preparations have gone very well.

The men's second team (B team) which I am coaching has got very good chances of a podium finish. We (team) have to play well throughout the tournament," Ramesh told PTI in an interaction. "The players need to keep their focus during the entire duration of the Olympiad.

The youngsters have been in good form. Praggu and Gukesh have done well in recent times and that should give them confidence. We have had two preparatory camps and they were fruitful." Ramesh said the legendary Viswanathan Anand interacted with the players and shared his expertise.

The 46-year old Ramesh, a former Commonwealth chess champion and a renowned coach now, said all the three teams fielded by India in the Open section were strong. "The three Indian teams are strong and we could be competing against each other at some stage of the Olympiad," he said, adding that even in the women's section, the host would be fielding three teams with the 'A' squad being the top-seed. The absence of powerhouses like Russia and China have boosted India's chances, he said, but cautioned against taking any opponent lightly.