Hampi and Vidit Gujarati
– Photo: Social Media
Expansion
Two-time gold medalist Koneru Humpy and bronze medalist Dronavalli Harika will lead a 10-member Indian chess team at the Asian Games starting in Hangzhou on September 23. In the men’s section, Vidit Gujarati and youth Arjun Erigaisi and in the women’s section Humpy and Harika will compete in the individual categories.
The men’s team comprises Grandmasters D Gukesh, Gujarati, Erigaisi, P Harikrishna and R Praggnanandha while the women’s team comprising Humpy, Harika, R Vaishali, Vantika Agarwal and Savita Shree will challenge in the team event. All the players are coming after facing tough challenges in the recent Global Chess League (GCL). In the event, he faced top-level competition from some of the world’s greatest chess players, including five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
The team was announced during the general body meeting of the All India Chess Federation (AICF) in Kanpur on Sunday, which was presided over by its president Sanjay Kapoor. Thirty-six-year-old Humpy is the most experienced player in the team. She won the women’s individual and mixed team gold medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games. The other Asian Games medalist in the team is Harika, who won an individual bronze medal in the 2010 season in Guangzhou. Chess was not part of the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta Games.
Indian team
- Male: D Gukesh, Vidit Gujarathi, Arjun Erigaisi, P Harikrishna and R Praggnananda.
- Women: Koneru Humpy, D. Harika, R. Vaishali, Vantika Agarwal and Savita Shree.
