Indian chess is about to enter one of the most defining stretches in its history. The time has come for this generation to prove that its golden run is more than just a moment. Over the next few months, D Gukesh will defend his world title, R Vaishali will chase India’s first women’s world crown, and both national teams will fight to retain their Olympiad gold. It all begins on Wednesday, in the ancient and picturesque Uzbek city of Samarkand, at the 46th Chess Olympiad.

For a side that boasts the reigning world champion, the winner of the two most competitive tournaments in the Grand Chess Tour and Norway Chess, R Praggnanandhaa, a player who reached 2800 in Arjun Erigaisi, a Candidates participant in Vidit Gujrathi, and a short-format specialist in Nihal Sarin, it might sound like overkill. But this time, the path will not be smooth for the Indian men’s team.

India, seeded second in the event, must defend their gold in a country that is just as passionate about chess and just as strong on the board. Uzbekistan has Javokhir Sindarov, the reigning World Cup and Candidates winner, who will challenge Gukesh for the world title. They also have Nodirbek Abdusattorov, a player who has troubled Gukesh on numerous occasions.

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From 2024 to now, the performances of Indian men’s players have certainly dipped, barring Praggnanandhaa, who peaked in classical chess with his Grand Chess Tour & Norway titles. For Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nihal Sarin, a title in a big-ticket event has remained elusive.

Does this mean Indian men’s chess is on a decline? Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand has a pragmatic way of looking at things.

Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi, D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa. (PHOTO: FIDE/FILE)

“Fundamentally, yes. Anybody not familiar with chess will look at 2026 and 2024 and leap to conclusions. At that point, we seemed unstoppable in Budapest. But Toronto was a very good sign. Singapore was a very good sign. And we have three players on the men’s side doing very well. You can always count on at least one of them,” Anand said.

“But it’s in the nature of things that others react. After 2024, people started taking them seriously. ‘Okay, I have to block two days for Arjun. I have to take a couple of days off for Pragg and make sure I’m well prepared against him.’ That effect comes in. It’s very hard to maintain such a streak for very long.”

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Anand remains optimistic about India’s chances in Samarkand, while acknowledging the strength of teams like Uzbekistan and the top-seeded USA. “There’s nothing saying they won’t win Samarkand either. But there are other very good teams. The Uzbeks have jumped a lot since 2024. The Turks are there. The Americans and the Chinese also have very good teams. So there will be others,” he said.

Assembling a team

With Praggnanandhaa occupied with GCT, Gukesh busy with his World Championship preparation against Sindarov, and other top Indian players tied up with their schedules, it was a difficult task for captain Srinath Narayanan to assemble everyone.

But Srinath managed it by going virtual, holding a five-day preparatory online camp to set the tone for the event.

“The camp was great. Getting those five players together in today’s intensely busy schedule was quite an achievement. But we managed to achieve it by having it online,” Srinath told .

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Srinath, the coach and non-playing captain who led India to the historic gold in Budapest, says the team is in high spirits and right where they were in Hungary two years ago.

“The players were also very enthusiastic about joining the training sessions, spending time together. Pragg came in right after the Sinquefield Cup. Gukesh came in the midst of his World Championship preparation,” he said.

“All these things bode very positively for the team. And the team is also having a lot of fun with each other, even outside of chess, informally. Which is again a very positive thing. So, in terms of team spirit, we are right where we left in Budapest.”

The big question

The biggest question Srinath must answer, with help from Sankalp Gupta and Vaibhav Suri, is the board order. In 2024, Srinath’s punt of playing Arjun Erigaisi on board three, despite him being the highest-rated Indian player, worked wonders. With Gukesh on top board, Praggnanandhaa on second, and Arjun on third, India demolished their opponents.

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This time, with Gukesh’s form a concern, will India still field him on the top board? Playing on board one is not just a matter of prestige. It means facing every opposition nation’s top player at the Olympiad.

Srinath is in no mood to reveal the board order. “We have discussed it internally. But everyone will know on the last day. As long as we have the deadline, we’d like to keep the flexibility. None of the teams have revealed their board order. So, we don’t see why we have to do it either,” he said. “I have been thinking about it and following the players and events closely for about three to four months now. I have also spoken personally to all the players. I understood what their comforts are. We have taken into account all these different things.”