Indians Training Hard for 2008 Chess Olympiad

From The Hindu.com Indians training hard for Olympiad Arvind Aaron September 12, 2008 CHENNAI: The Indian team’s training camp for the Chess Olympiad is on in full swing in Chennai and New Delhi. For the first time, both the men’s and women’s teams will field Grandmasters on all boards. Senior Grandmaster Lev Psakhis of Israel is training the men’s squad here and Elizbar Ubilava, who was with the men’s team at Calvia 2004 and Turin 2006, has been assigned the task of handling the women’s side. The camp, which began on September 9, will run till 23. “Such camps are required as the team members should know each other better. I have some material and want to analyse that with the five boys,” said Psakhis. The men’s team comprises Krishnan Sasikiran (TN, captain), P. Harikrishna (AP), Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Sandipan Chanda (both Bengal) and G.N. Gopal (Ker). The women’s side has Dronavalli Harika (AP), Tania Sachdev (Del), Nisha Mohota, Mary Ann Gomes (both Ben) and Swati Ghate (Mah). The players have been training for seven hours a day and the focus has been on endings so far, according to Harikrishna. “A role of a coach is to make the player think and play better. Success rests with the concerned player,” said Psakhis, the key man behind India’s gold medal winning performance at the 2006 Doha Asiad. Psakhis expects India, minus Viswanathan Anand, to match a team like Israel. About the placing one can expect, he said it would depend on how well the boys play. “India is already a top nation and in four years it will equal Russia in terms of quality of play at the top,” said Psakhis about India’s growing presence in the game. Predictions can go awry in a Chess Olympiad. A strong Russian team with Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Morozevich and other strong players could finish only sixth. “I am giving the boys a lot of work and I am trying to make them think. Computers are not there at the camp since we are not analysing the openings and what we learn today can become out of fashion when the games begin on November 12,” said Psakhis. New rules The Chess Olympiad to be held at Dresden (Germany) will see many changes. By increasing the players from four to five and boards from three to four, women’s chess stands to benefit. On the contrary, the numbers came down from six to five in the men’s event with the same four playing members. One important rule is that the players have to be at their table five minutes before the start of play. Also, a player cannot leave the table without the permission of the match arbiter when it is his turn to move.

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Did GM Koneru Humpy decline the invitation to a board on the Indian Men's Olympiad Team because she thought she'd still be playing in Nalchik while the "mandatory" Olympiad training camps were being held?

The Indian Women's Team is a powerful one: Dronavalli Harika, Tania Sachdev, Nisha Mohota, Mary Ann Gomes and Swati Ghati. I would not be surprised if the Indian women place higher in the final standings than the Indian men.