Time flies. It has been two years since those beautiful images from Budapest caught India’s imagination — the country’s young chess players, men and women, posing for photographs after their twin success at the Chess Olympiad. It was one of the country’s greatest days in its sporting history.

Chess Olympiad is an event as huge and competitive as the name suggests. It is even huger this time.

The 46th edition of the biggest team event in chess — it is like tennis’ Davis Cup or badminton’s Thomas Cup — starts in Samarkand on Wednesday.

In the fray are 208 in the open section and 191 in the women’s.

India is certainly among the favourites in both categories, despite some changes in the squads and the big dip in form of one of the key players.

There is no denying the fact that the way D. Gukesh has struggled after becoming the youngest World champion has raised concerns. That, however, doesn’t mean he cannot regain his form.

Remember, he was an absolute beast for India in the last two Olympiads. He was brilliant against some of the world’s strongest players and won the individual gold medal.

Gukesh may not be going into the Olympiad in perfect shape, but R. Praggnanandhaa is. He has been winning just about everything. India also banks heavily on Arjun Erigaisi. Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi complete the team.

The host Uzbekistan, which features two of the world’s best young players in Javokhir Sindarov (Gukesh’s opponent in the upcoming World title match), and the United States, the top seed, could be India’s strongest rivals. The Indian men are seeded second.

The women are seeded first. The return of Koneru Humpy, one of the best players of all time in the women’s game, has strengthened the team. Her class and experience should help. She hadn’t played in Budapest, and told The Hindu how excited she was to play in this Olympiad and help her team defend the title.

India needs Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali, two young women who have been gaining in strength, to perform well, too. Vantika Agrawal should be hoping for another solid show for India while the 19-year-old B. Savitha Shri is making her debut.

India could face strong challenges from the likes of Georgia, Kazakhstan and China.

The tournament, to be played over 11 rounds in the Swiss system, concludes on September 27.

G.B. Harshavardhan must have heaved a sigh of relief after becoming India’s latest Grandmaster, achieving the title in his hometown, four years after securing his first norm.

The 22-year-old is happy to end the wait after coming close several times. Now, he is keen to improve his rating and break into the top echelons of the sport.

“My immediate priority is to increase my rating and crack the top 10,” Harshavardhan, son of noted FIDE trainer K. Gopalakrishnan, told The Hindu.

Watching his father train players probably drew him to chess and he began playing when he was four. He quickly impressed with his skills and did well in age-group tournaments, winning medals at will. Among the notable triumphs were the FIDE World Youth Online under-18 gold in 2021 and a triumph in the Asian Juniors the next year.

However, despite the victories, the GM title kept eluding him after he had earned his maiden norm in 2022. “There were a lot of missed norms. The rating dipped a bit. I am happy I was able to achieve the third and final norm in Chennai,” said Harshavardhan, who is now coached by GM Deepan Chakkravarthy.

A B. Com graduate, he has now decided to focus completely on chess. “I want to play in Europe and improve my rating. It is also important that I learn from my mistakes,” said Harshavardhan.

For now, he is delighted to join the elite club of GMs and would be musing ‘better late than never’.