Online coaching has helped Indian chess coaches build a global clientele. Now, as India emerges as a chess powerhouse, its coaches are increasingly being recruited to train national teams for the Chess Olympiad, reflecting the country’s growing influence beyond producing elite players.
Grandmaster (GM) Priyadharshan Kannappan and International Master (IM) Atanu Lahiri will train the Chess Olympiad teams of Namibia, Bhutan and Eswatini ahead of the upcoming Olympiad.
Madurai-based Kannappan will coach Namibia’s Open team under the International Chess Federation’s (FIDE) Olympiad Training Support Programme, while Kolkata-based Lahiri will train the Open and Women’s teams of Bhutan and the Open team of Eswatini outside the FIDE programme.
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The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 15 to 28. India heads into the Olympiad as the defending champion in both the Open and Women’s sections after winning gold medals at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.
How FIDE backs emerging nations
The coaching assignments reflect FIDE’s efforts to strengthen developing chess nations through its Olympiad Training Support Programme.
“FIDE has this Olympiad Training Support Programme under which it assists developing chess countries falling under Levels 3, 4 and 5. FIDE classifies chess-playing nations into Levels 1 to 5. Countries in the top two levels are strong in chess, while the remaining ones are developing,” Kannappan told The Federal.
Under the programme, coaches selected by the national federations and funded by FIDE provide 10 hours of online coaching to their assigned teams. If a federation feels the need for the coach’s presence during the Olympiad, the expenses are co-financed by FIDE.
Kannappan Namibia mission
Kannappan had applied to be part of the FIDE coaching panel and was selected by both Namibia and Palestine.
“Since Namibia had expressed its willingness first, I was assigned to train the Namibian team for 10 hours starting August 1,” he said.
According to Kannappan, Namibia’s Open team has one International Master rated around 2,300, while the remaining players are rated between 1,900 and 2,100. The team’s average rating is about 2,050. He described Namibia as one of Africa’s ambitious chess nations, with the advantage of having a principal sponsor.
The country has been participating in the Chess Olympiad since the 1990s and has won two silver medals in its rating category.
“In the Olympiad, teams are classified into different categories based on their average rating strength. The target is to win the gold medal in the respective category while improving the overall ranking,” Kannappan said.
GM Priyadharshan Kannappan (left) and IM Atanu Lahiri will coach Namibia, Bhutan and Eswatini ahead of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
Explaining his coaching strategy, Kannappan said he would first assess the strengths and weaknesses of each player before tailoring the training programme accordingly.
Besides serving as coach, Kannappan will also be the non-playing captain of the Namibian team, deciding the board order in each round to maximise the team’s chances.
India’s 44th Grandmaster, Kannappan, who has a FIDE rating of 2,554, earned his GM title while studying in the United States on a chess scholarship. Back in Madurai, he runs Chess Gaja, which has around 175 trainees from 13-14 countries.
He has earlier coached the Olympiad teams of Brazil, Mauritius and Eritrea.
Lahiri’s dual assignments
Unlike Kannappan’s assignment, Lahiri’s coaching engagements with Bhutan and Eswatini are outside the FIDE support programme.
According to Lahiri, his association with the Bhutan Chess Federation goes back several years. “I am training the Open and Women’s teams of Bhutan. I will be going to the Olympiad as part of the Bhutanese team,” Lahiri told The Federal.
He said the Bhutanese teams will undergo intensive training over the next month before the Olympiad.
Building chess beyond India
Lahiri believes Bhutan has considerable chess potential despite certain challenges.
“One of the challenges is that the Bhutanese give more importance to academics. Secondly, many of them migrate. So, the real chess talent goes to another country,” he said.
At the same time, he sees encouraging changes. “However, the wind of change is blowing there, with the government wanting to do a lot to promote sports.”
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He also said communication has never been a hurdle. “The Bhutanese are fluent in English and they also speak Hindi, so language is not an issue for me. They are extremely cultured and decent,” Lahiri remarked.
On Eswatini, Lahiri said training is underway for around 15 players in the Open category, from whom the federation will later select its Olympiad team.
“The training of Eswatini players for the Open category is underway. There are about 15 players as trainees, and the team for the Olympiad will be decided later by that federation,” he said.
Lahiri, who is actively involved in promoting grassroots chess in Assam and West Bengal, has earlier coached the national teams of Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand and Guyana.