Indian Chess 'Mirrors Cricket'; Challenge Is In Maintaining That: GM Srinath Narayanan

The Indian open section team did not just win the 45th Chess Olympiad. It absolutely dominated oppositions and had virtually confirmed the historic gold with a match to spare. While the members of the team, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna, were seen on the chessboard, the man doing all the strategizing behind the scene was Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan. (More Chess News)

The captain and coach of the open team, Srinath was a key man in the mix. Narayanan feels Indian chess somewhat mirrors cricket in terms of the strength of the best players and the reserve players. However, he also cautions that it will be tough to maintain this.

Talking to Outlook India, Narayanan opened up on a variety of topics, including the team's strategy in the tournament and ahead of it, the camaraderie, and the future of Indian chess. He also talked about the upcoming World Championship match, where D Gukesh will aim to become the youngest-ever World Champion against China’s Ding Liren.

Excerpts of the conversation below:

Q. What was the overall strategy, heading into the Olympiad?

A. We were trying to be as aggressive as possible. In the past, against many teams, India were the underdogs. For instance, against teams like Russia and China, we used to be the underdogs, and it was generally a good result if we didn't lose on any of the four boards, and a 2-2 draw was a good result. So we had built a solid team which was difficult to beat in the past few years.

But this time, I felt that with a stronger team, it was important to be as aggressive as we can so as to maximize the chances of a win. Accordingly, we devised a strategy where we generally applied pressure on at least three of the four boards, if one of them was an even match-up, and I felt this maximized our chances in terms of probability. When you have three potential games with pressure, the chances of conversion are accordingly higher, and hence we won with a margin of two wins or three wins in almost every match.

Q. What was your approach as a captain and coach?

A. First, we decide our team line-up, and then we look at the possible opponents and make plans on how we are going to approach each of these opponents. And as captain, I have an overview of all the four boards and what the general strategy will be. So, this also helps in making decisions on the individual boards and how to approach it. Whether you want to approach a certain board in a defensive way and be solid and let the opponent try things, or whether you want to go aggressive. So this is the general strategy.

Q. For you as a coach, how was the experience at the tournament?

A. During the tournament itself, it was quite hectic. I would go to the tournament hall and come back immediately, have a team meeting, and start preparing for the next games. But in general, it felt really pleasant that there were not a lot of games where we were in doubt that we would actually win. I think out of the 11 games, there were maybe three or four games where it was not entirely clear that we were going to win. And in all the other games we dominated. So overall, it was a very pleasant experience.

Q. The open team totally dominated the tournament. It seems like a really special bunch of players.

A. Absolutely, it's a very special bunch. And the good news is that it's not just them; we also have a number of other promising youngsters, juniors who are coming up. So, bench strength is also pretty strong. In that sense, I feel we mirror cricket a bit in terms of being one of the best teams out there right now, and also having a strong enough B team, a C team, which can also challenge the best teams in the world.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about their styles and individual strengths?

A. They're all pretty universal right now in the sense that they could play any type of position really well. But Gukesh and Arjun have been especially impressive with their ability to win with black pieces as well, against very strong, but slightly lower rated grandmasters. Gukesh, in particular, is very good at creating complexity and just outplaying his opponent. Arjun's approach is a little more directly aggressive, but also similarly effective. Praggnanandhaa (is) a very strong classical player. And Vidit is slightly older, so he's a bit more on the classical mold. And again, a very solid player.

Q. How important is camaraderie within the team in a chess tournament?

A. It certainly plays a role. On one hand, there is the strength of the team, and on the second, there is camaraderie. I think both these factors are important. You might not be able to say that good team camaraderie guarantees success, but there is enough evidence to say that an overall positive environment helps you play better individually, and playing better increases the team's chances.

Q. Viswanathan Anand had a massive impact on Indian chess. Please tell us a bit about how his brilliance helped the youngsters.

A. Vishy inspired everyone by simply being so brilliant. Examples like him show us that it's possible for an Indian to be out there in the world, being a world beater, being the best. Vishy instilled this self belief in us. He inspired us to take up chess. And I'm sure he had a role in almost everyone from the team taking up chess by being that light who showed the path.

Apart from his sheer individual brilliance, Vishy has also taken active steps to always be there for the upcoming talents. From my personal experiences, I can narrate that when I was a promising young player, Vishy invited me to his house, once in Spain, once in Chennai, interacting with me, clarifying all my doubts and answering all my questions patiently. I was barely 12 years old when Vishy did that gesture, which has stayed with me forever. He's been doing similar things for all the upcoming generations as well, and he is always just a message or call away in case we require anything right now.

Q. What does the future hold for India chess?

A. The way bad results teach one what went wrong, the good results also teach what went right. So I think it's important to identify the processes of what went right and continue doing that. It is going to be challenging to continue this kind of performance, because other teams are also learning. It's a lot wider out there, unlike 40 years ago, when Soviet Union dominated the entire chess landscape.

Now there are so many more players, so many more countries, and in general, the competition will keep growing. So it is going to be challenging to maintain this, but I do believe that we have an exciting set of talent as well as a very exciting reserve pool of talent. And if we continue the processes right and keep improving on things which can be improved, we can continue to stay at number one for many years to come.

Q. Does Gukesh start as favourite for the World Championship match?

A. Yes, Gukesh has clearly been playing stronger in recent times, and he certainly starts as a favourite. But Ding (Liren) is a world-class player. I mean, he's been the world champion. So it is important to avoid complacency, which can easily set in if you start believing that your opponent is much weaker than you. It's important not to get overconfident or too ahead of yourself. But if he (Gukesh) does all the things right, I think he should bring the world championship back home.