Fresh from his exploits in India’s first-ever Chess Olympiad title campaign, grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi has decided not to defend his crown at the 10th Vugar Gashimov Memorial Super Chess Tournament in Azerbaijan for an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday. Gujrathi had won the Azerbaijan event last year after outperforming his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
He was part of the Indian men’s team, which also included D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun, which won a historic gold medal in the Chess Olympiad in the Open category.
Gujrathi took to ‘X’, formerly Twitter, to inform that he had arrived in Baku for the event but decided to return to India to meet Modi and learn more about the felicitation feature .
“I arrived in Baku and learned that our honorable Prime Minister wanted to congratulate the Indian team. I was delighted when I heard this and wanted to be a part of it. It’s amazing how he takes such a short time for us,” Gujrathi wrote on ‘X’.
Gujrathi, 29, has been replaced by Aravindh Chithambaram for the event which will be held from September 25 to 30.
“I contacted Sarkhan Gashimov (organizer) and he understood my feelings. Many thanks to him! I wish Aravindh all the best to play against the best players in this prestigious event,” Gujrathi wrote.
After winning the 2024 Chess Olympiad, Vidit Gujrathi, a member of India’s victorious men’s team, remarked that the golden age of chess has just begun for his country.
India put in a remarkable performance at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, winning gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events on Sunday.
“We can call it a golden age for Indian chess because gold was won. The same team participated in the Asian Games, but I think everyone has stepped up their game in the past year We won by significant margins, and it was a dominant performance,” Vidit said while speaking to ANI.
The chess player also spoke about the incident in which he failed to shake the hand of his opponent, Levon Aronian.
“I use to meditate before every match, which helps me stay focused and perform better. I was busy with that, that’s why I couldn’t shake his hand. When I “I opened my eyes, then shook his hand,” the 29-year-old explained.
With ANI inputs
Topics mentioned in this article
