‘Long dream’: Nihal Sarin 'excited' but 'not thinking about' Olympiad title defence
Nihal Sarin is excited to represent India at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, where India will defend its Open title, but is currently focused on the Global Chess League. The 22-year-old calls the Olympiad a long-time dream. Meanwhile, American Gambits lead the GCL standings after two days, despite Nihal’s individual win over Levon Aronian.
BENGALURU: Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin, an avid chess player, is currently thrilled about representing India at the coming Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. However, he is not yet contemplating defending India's Open title, as the team gears up to compete in the Global Chess League (GCL). Nihal, a 22-year-old chess prodigy, stated that he is extremely enthusiastic about playing in the Olympiad and aims to give his best for the team. He expressed that this is a long-time dream of his.
Currently, Nihal is focusing on the GCL, finding it a relaxed tournament. After a match against Ganges Grandmasters on Sunday, he mentioned that he is just trying to chill on and off the board. If India successfully defends the title, it will face significant expectations, as four members of the previous winning squad return to the team.
However, there will be substantial changes to the board order, with Arjun Erigaisi leading the five-player lineup, followed by Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal, World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, and Vidit Gujrathi. Srinath Narayanan continues in his role as the team captain.
Defending the title will undoubtedly be a challenging task, as only Armenia has managed to retain the Open crown, accomplishing this feat twice since 2006. The last five editions of the Olympiad have seen four different champions, emphasizing the difficulty of maintaining dominance.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
