Chess Olympiad 2024: Indians in action, schedule, format, and live-streaming details

Modified Sep 12, 2024 08:36 IST

D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi will represent India at the 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 (Images via Getty)

The 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 is currently taking place in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. The biggest names in the international chess circuit are competing in the FIDE-organised event to compete for the gold medals in the open and women’s categories.

A strong Indian team will go against heavyweights such as the top-seeded United States, China, and Georgia to win their first-ever individual Chess Olympiad title. Meanwhile, last year’s winners Uzbekistan (open category) and Ukraine (women’s category) will be formidable opponents.

The 45th Chess Olympiad 2024 will take place between Tuesday, September 10, and Monday, September 23.

Chess Olympiad 2024: Indians in action

After decades of returning empty-handed from the Chess Olympiads, India finally won their first title in 2020, jointly sharing that feat with Russia. India will look to do better this year, as it has sent its strongest and highest-ranked team to this year’s Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

Despite lacking high-ranking players such as Viswanathan Anand and Koneru Humpy, the Indian team will be hopeful of producing their career-best performances in this tournament.

Let’s take a look at the Indian squad members competing in the open and women’s categories.

Open Category: Arjun Erigaisi (World No. 4, Rating 2778), D Gukesh (World No. 7, Rating 2764), R Praggnanandhaa (World No. 12, Rating 2750), Vidit Gujrathi (World No. 24, Rating 2720), P Harikrishna (World No. 41, Rating 2686)

Women’s Category: Harika Dronavalli (World No. 11, Rating 2502), R Vaishali (World No. 12, Rating 2498), Divya Deshmukh (World No. 15, Rating 2483), Tania Sachdev (World No. 58, Rating 2386), Vantika Agarwal (World No. 75, Rating 2370)

Chess Olympiad 2024: Schedule

September 11: Round 1 at 6:30 pm IST

September 12: Round 2 at 6:30 pm IST

September 13: Round 3 at 6:30 pm IST

September 14: Round 4 at 6:30 pm IST

September 15: Round 5 at 6:30 pm IST

September 16: Round 6 at 6:30 pm IST

September 18: Round 7 at 6:30 pm IST

September 19: Round 8 at 6:30 pm IST

September 20: Round 9 at 6:30 pm IST

September 21: Round 10 at 6:30 pm IST

September 22: Round 11 at 6:30 pm IST

Chess Olympiad 2024: Format

Chess Olympiad uses the Swiss System for their matches in both the open and women’s categories. The Swiss System is a non-elimination format that lets each team and player take part in 11 matches.

A win will result in two match points, while a draw is worth one match point. The eventual winner will be the team ending the tournament with the highest points accumulated.

The tournament will feature a complex timing system for its players. Each player will have a time control of 90 minutes for their first 40 moves, and 30 minutes for the rest of the match. There will also be an increment of 30 seconds per move from Move 1 onwards.