Chakaravarthy's Best Not Enough for an India Encore

Chakaravarthy's Form Not Good Enough To Earn Him A Chance To Play At Home

Despite being in the form of his life, Tamil Nadu's R. Praggnanandhaa failed to make the cut for the upcoming 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Chennai from July 28 to August 10.

The 16-year-old, who became the youngest Indian to breach the 2600 Elo mark in April, has been in scintillating form this year, winning tournaments in Serbia, Romania and Italy.

However, he fell short of the All India Chess Federation's (AICF) stringent qualification criteria for the Olympiad, which required players to have an average Elo rating of 2650 over the last six months.

Praggnanandhaa's average rating over the qualifying period was 2639, just short of the cut-off.

The AICF also considered the players' performances in recent international events, and Praggnanandhaa's relatively poor showing in the recent Chessable Masters (where he finished ninth) may have counted against him.

The Indian team for the Olympiad will be led by five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who will be making his ninth appearance at the event.

Other members of the team include P. Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin and D. Gukesh.

The women's team will be led by Koneru Humpy, who will be making her eighth appearance at the Olympiad.

Other members of the team include D. Harika, R. Vaishali, Bhakti Kulkarni and Tania Sachdev.

Reactions To Praggnanandhaa's Omission

Praggnanandhaa's omission from the Indian team has been met with disappointment from many quarters.

Former world champion Anand said that he was "surprised" by the decision, while Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly called it a "big loss" for the Indian team.

Praggnanandhaa himself said that he was "disappointed" to miss out on the Olympiad, but added that he would continue to work hard and improve his game.