Chennai, After a month of delay, the Indian team for the Budapest Chess Olympiad in September will be finalized in "a week", Indian Chess Federation president Nitin Narang said.
"The selection process is underway and the team should be finalized in a week," Narang said without specifying the cause of the delay.
The tournament in Hungary begins on September 10 and, according to the guidelines, the squad had to be announced three months in advance.
According to a senior official, the "selection process took time," something that has made it difficult for the players to prepare.
The announcement is crucial on the part of the AICF as it would allow participating players to better plan and train beforehand.
However, the unexpected delay has caused a bit of frustration among some players, who are still unsure about their participation.
"I am not sure about my participation as the team has not been announced yet," said Indian GM Harika Dronavalli, who was part of last year's bronze medal-winning women's team.
"I have some tournaments scheduled. Hopefully the (team) announcement comes soon so I can plan accordingly."
Harika, however, said that the AICF had approached her for the Olympiad. "But I'm not very aware of the details (of the selection)."
India had hosted the previous edition of the Olympiad for the first time in 2022, where the hosts bagged the bronze medal in both the Open and Women's categories.
In the open event, the bronze-winning Indian team consisted of D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, Adhiban Baskaran and Raunak Sadhwani.
Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Rameshbabu Vaishali, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni took home the bronze in the women's section.
India also had a second team in the Open category with Pentala Harikrishna, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan and Krishnan Sasikiran, who finished fourth.
The Indian team also won the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy, which is awarded to a nation with the highest number of match points in the Open and Women's categories combined.
It will be the 45th edition of the Olympiad. Hungary will officially host the event for the first time, having hosted the second unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.
The AICF had mentioned earlier this year that the team would be chosen in June.
"The Indian team for the Olympiad will be selected three months before the scheduled start of the event after the publication of the FIDE Ranking List for June 2024 based on the average rating of the FRLs for April, May and June 2024 (three months of FRL before the selection date)", reads the statement.
The qualification criteria for players was that they had to play at least nine games until June of this year.
"The selection process is underway and the team should be finalized in a week," Narang said without specifying the cause of the delay.
The tournament in Hungary begins on September 10 and, according to the guidelines, the squad had to be announced three months in advance.
According to a senior official, the "selection process took time," something that has made it difficult for the players to prepare.
The announcement is crucial on the part of the AICF as it would allow participating players to better plan and train beforehand.
However, the unexpected delay has caused a bit of frustration among some players, who are still unsure about their participation.
"I am not sure about my participation as the team has not been announced yet," said Indian GM Harika Dronavalli, who was part of last year's bronze medal-winning women's team.
"I have some tournaments scheduled. Hopefully the (team) announcement comes soon so I can plan accordingly."
Harika, however, said that the AICF had approached her for the Olympiad. "But I'm not very aware of the details (of the selection)."
India had hosted the previous edition of the Olympiad for the first time in 2022, where the hosts bagged the bronze medal in both the Open and Women's categories.
In the open event, the bronze-winning Indian team consisted of D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, Adhiban Baskaran and Raunak Sadhwani.
Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Rameshbabu Vaishali, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni took home the bronze in the women's section.
India also had a second team in the Open category with Pentala Harikrishna, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan and Krishnan Sasikiran, who finished fourth.
The Indian team also won the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy, which is awarded to a nation with the highest number of match points in the Open and Women's categories combined.
It will be the 45th edition of the Olympiad. Hungary will officially host the event for the first time, having hosted the second unofficial Chess Olympiad in 1926.
The AICF had mentioned earlier this year that the team would be chosen in June.
"The Indian team for the Olympiad will be selected three months before the scheduled start of the event after the publication of the FIDE Ranking List for June 2024 based on the average rating of the FRLs for April, May and June 2024 (three months of FRL before the selection date)", reads the statement.
The qualification criteria for players was that they had to play at least nine games until June of this year.
