The night of September 22 had so much in it for Indian chess and yet for some of the stars who lit up that night, it all happened so fast that they could hardly measure the gravity of their achievement.
In Budapest on that eventful Sunday night, the Indian men’s and women’s teams bagged double gold at the Chess Olympiad.
While the men’s team defeated Slovenia to secure the title, the women’s team (comprising Dronavalli Harika, Tania Sachdev, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Vaishali Rameshbabu) got the better of Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 in the 11th round to confirm the gold. In the final round, Divya, Vantika and Harika chalked up wins while Vaishali settled for a draw.
Harika was overwhelmed with emotions while recollecting their triumph.
“It was a crazy night, the day we clinched the gold,” Harika told The Telegraph from her home in Hyderabad on Tuesday. “We laughed, hugged each other and celebrated and did not sleep a wink. We took photos with the trophy and before we realised it, the night was over and it was time to travel.
“To be honest,” she continued, “the realisation is yet to sink in.”
Harika has been on the circuit for 20 years now and played in 10 Olympiads, with the women’s best performance so far being a bronze, won at the last edition in Chennai. Her first Olympiad was in 2004 in Calvia on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
“Having been around for so long and never reached the top of the podium, only I know what this win means to me... this is something the youngsters on the team probably would not realise, having got where they have so soon.
“Last year we were so close to a gold but we missed it,” she said.
Harika was in the final stretch of her pregnancy during the last edition, in 2022, and had to sit out the last round. “The guilt that had racked me then has now vanished. All my negative emotions have been washed away. Destiny gives you when you least expect...” she trailed off.
For the soon-to-be 22 Vantika, the situation is different. Her’s was a class act in Budapest as she won the individual gold along with the team gold.
“An amazing feeling,” said Vantika from Noida. “I’m so glad I could score for Team India whenever they needed me.
“We were in a bit of a pressure after we lost to Poland, going into our last 3 rounds. I’m glad I could win that important game against the US. Then we won against China and finally against Azerbaijan.”
Vantika had started playing chess ‘just for fun’ when she was about 8. At that time, she was doing sundry other things, like dancing, playing the piano, dabbling in art, playing tennis and cricket and skating.
“But my love affair with chess started soon as I started winning tournaments, which
is when I started taking to the game seriously.”
She mentions the contribution of her parents and brother, particularly her mother, who has been travelling to every tournament with her over the last 14 years. “I played 28 over the board tournaments last year, just to give you an idea,” she added.
Vantika was in the second team in the earlier edition. So how was her experience this time? “Far different from last year. Being on the second team I hardly felt any pressure, but this time there was a lot of pressure.”
So how did she handle it?
“By playing just as I would play any other tournament. By not letting the occasion intimidate me,” said Harika.
“We had reached a situation very similar to last year but we have learnt from our failures and were determined to give the story a different ending this time, a happy ending. And we did.”
For now, it’s a short break for both. Harika will return to her ‘mommy duties’.
Both will be back in business soon. While the 33-year-old Harika will take part in the Global Chess League in London from October 3, Vantika has several Open tournaments lined up — in Norway, Croatia and several meets in Asia.
