Chess Olympiad team holds promise

mumbai: young and hungry. that's the indian team for the chess olympiad, scheduled in slovenia for october this year.after a gruelling 19-round national `a' in nagpur, india has spotted six players for the biennial event: k sasikiran (elo 2596), p harikrishna (2525), surya sekhar ganguly (2498), dibyendu barua (2515), abhijit kunte (2479) and r b ramesh (2480).four of these are grandmasters (gms): sasi, hari, barua and kunte. and ganguly is playing in a ``zone'' reminiscent of a grandmaster. even r b ramesh, who has three gm norms is only an elo rating away from the gm title.in 2000, five of these players were part of the olympiad team. however, their strength and maturity has reached a new high since.is it india's strongest team ever for the olympiad? could be.if v anand, a regular olympian till manila 1992, decides to have another go, it could be an icing on the cake. after looking at the rating and ages of the qualifiers (average rating 2511, average age 23), the world no 3 and former fide champion could well be tempted to re-emerge in the fold.without anand and kunte in 2000, india finished 10th. imagine what their presence could do to our prospects this year.``if anand plays, we can finish in the top five or even expect a medal,'' says raghunandan gokhale, a dronacharya awardee coach. ``even without anand, we should end among the top 10.''woman international master (wim) bhagyashree thipsay opted for a cautious path though. ``in the swiss league events (like olympiad), so much depends on the last three rounds that it's too early to predict anything at the moment.''despite a history of over-par performances in the olympiad, india has flattered to deceive, thanks to team spirit or a lack of it. only four players can actually play in a round. two have to sit out.it is here where team spirit goes for a toss and the captain's job becomes challenging as everyone wants to play. only anand has got the stature to change that.and this time around, he would also have sharp weapons on the boards on whom he can rely.sasi and hari, 21 and 15 respectively, revel in challenges. at 24, kunte is perhaps the most gifted player in the country. ganguly (18) has come of age and ramesh (25) plays like a super gm on his day.``he has done well against higher rated players in the european countries,'' informs gokhale. ``he's a totally different player on foreign soil.''apart from the wherewithal of these youngsters, india has got the experience and guile of 35-year-old barua. remember he had defeated the likes of viktor korchnoi at his peak and won the second board prize at the olympiad.says thipsay: ``young age of the qualifiers can't be a disadvantage. that's for sure. but we can't say whether it will be advantageous.''adds gokhale: ``their average rating could be 2511. but given more exposure, this team could even reach 2575.''in a nutshell, even without anand, hopes are high of a good performance from the indian olympiad team. that's heartening.