Vidit Gujrathi assesses India's chances of winning consecutive gold at 2026 Chess Olympiad: 'Wouldn't say impossible, but...'

Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi opened up on the chances of Team India repeating their 2024 heroics at the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. He said that securing back-to-back gold would be a major challenge.

India made history at the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, after winning gold in both the open and women's categories. It was the first time that an Indian team claimed an overall win at the tournament.

'Wouldn't say it's impossible, but very tough'

Speaking on the Chess with Mustreader Podcast, Gujrathi acknowledged that replicating their 2024 run would be extremely difficult, noting that the team was in peak form at that time and that players naturally experience fluctuations in form. He emphasised that while repeating the feat isn’t impossible, it will be tough.

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"I think it will be very difficult for us to repeat the performance we had in 2024. We've all realised that what we achieved back then was truly something special. Out of 44 games, we lost just one!

"Repeating that result will be extremely difficult. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it will be very tough. At that time, everyone in the team was probably in the best form they could have been. Of course, players go through ups and downs, but overall, we were in excellent shape," Gujrathi said.

Gujrathi expect tougher competition this year

The Indian GM added that he is expected to have a tougher challenge this year, with Uzbekistan, China and the US as strong contenders and that India would need to deliver something exceptional to win gold once again.

"I think this Olympiad will be much tougher. Uzbekistan has a very strong team. I don't know if Russia will be playing, but if they do, they'll be another major contender. You can never underestimate China, and the United States is also very strong. I wouldn't say we're the clear favourites. To win gold again, we'll have to produce something exceptional," he added.

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The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place from September 15 to September 28, 2026, in Uzbekistan. The national teams will compete in 11 rounds, using the Swiss system in the Open and Women's team events, and the team securing the most points wins the gold medal.