Savitha’s brilliance, Gukesh’s confidence, Vaishali’s slump – India at 2026 Chess Olympiad

And that’s what transpired over the next few days with the Indian open team bagging the silver medal and the top seeded women’s team taking home only a bronze.

But for what it matters, India were still named the best overall team, winning the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy for a third edition in a row to complete a memorable hat-trick. Only Russia, from 1998 to 2004, have won it four times consecutively.

For Pravin Thipsay, the third Indian to earn the Grandmaster title, the eventual result in Samarkand was disappointing but he insists on keeping expectations in check.

“The result was a bit disappointing,” Thipsay told The Bridge. “In the open section, India were second seeds, in women they were top seeds. So somewhere in both sections we’ve not done well.”

“However, expectations have skyrocketed. That image of India being unbeatable doesn’t exist in chess players but among the non-chess players or amateurs.

“Somewhere a balance has to be maintained. They can’t be expected to win all the Olympiads or tournaments that happen, but yes a better show was expected, especially from the women,” he added.

Savitha's brilliance, Vaishali's struggles

Four out of the five Indian women did end up winning individual medals. However, they failed to click as a unit during matches. Koneru Humpy picked up the bronze on the top Board as did Vantika Agarwal on Board 4.

Divya Deshmukh also went home with an individual silver. But the real star of the show was the young IM Savitha Shri, who went on a seven match winning spree in the tournament before finishing unbeaten with 9 wins in ten matches to win the gold medal on the reserve board.

“Savitha Shri is a practical player. She is completely natural and she doesn’t play with strategic accuracy,” the 67-year-old Thipsay said.

“She is a street fighter,” he added.

The best example of her Savitha’s fighting spirit was well on display in the final round against Georgia, where she fought back from a losing position to hold for a draw eventually helped salvage a bronze medal from a dire situation.

“Savitha's performance reminded me of Gukesh’s top-board show for India 2 at the 2022 Olympiad, where he won eight matches in a row,” opined Thipsay.

“She should be the one India should watch for in the next two years. If she can follow in Gukesh’s footsteps, in the sense that she improves continuously, then she could really be a force to reckon with,” he added.

While Savitha’s stocks skyrocketed over the last few days, it was the women’s world championship challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu, who faced a major dip.

With just a solitary win in six matches and an average performance rating of 2197 on Board 2, Vaishali had a tournament to forget.

“Vaishali’s form is a matter of concern,” said Thipsay. “It was always a matter of concern.”

“She was going to play at the Grand Swiss and from that tournament she ended up qualifying and winning the Candidates, where she was the lowest rated player. In history, no lowest rated player had won the Candidates. It was a miracle.

“Her form otherwise has been a big concern for a long time. Inconsistency has been her problem and I am sure Pragg and her trainers are working on it to help her find a way out,” he added.

Gukesh on Board 4

If the women’s world championship challenger struggled, the world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju found some semblance of form, winning an individual silver medal on Board 4.

“I think it worked well for Gukesh, even though he had a loss to a comparatively lower rated player in the last round,” said Thipsay.

“I don’t know if he had recovered enough from the lean patch at this moment to play players rated above 2750 on top boards. Since becoming the world champion, he has lost rating points in every tournament.

“This was the only tournament he was going to play before the world championship later this year. So as a preparation, this tournament has helped him gain some confidence, if he had lost any,” he added.