The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with the winners of the Chess Olympiad at his residence today.

Chef-de-Mission, Dibyendu Barua informed the Prime Minister that India won gold medals for the first time where the boys' team secured 21 out of 22 points and the girls’ team secured 19 out of 22 points making a total of 40 out of 44 available points.

Upon the Prime Minister’s inquiry about the atmosphere in the arena, Chess player Harika Dronavalli expressed happiness for the victory and said even their opponents joined the celebration. Vidit Gujrathi highlighted the soaring popularity of chess in India and said it was a great feeling owing to the unending support. Tania Sachdev informed the Prime Minister about the participation of 180 countries. She recalled the last edition of the Chess Olympiad held in Chennai where both Indian teams had won bronze, and the gold medal had slipped out of the women's team after their defeat against the USA. She mentioned playing them again this edition with increased motivation and eventually winning gold even though the match was very close and ended in a draw.

The Prime Minister acknowledged their winning mentality with immense pride and enquired about the reaction of the organizers upon securing 21 and 19 out of 22 points respectively. Tania further mentioned the team’s convincing victory, especially in the open team, where no opponent could even come close. She spoke about the journey of winning the first seven matches, facing a small setback and coming back stronger with greater resilience. Gukesh Dommaraju credited the great team effort where every single player was in excellent form, and super motivated due to missing the gold medal by fine margins in the 2022 Olympiad. He said that the entire team was highly motivated from the start of the tournament.

Upon the Prime Minister’s enquiry about the application of artificial intelligence to correct mistakes in their game or understand the nature of the opponents’ game, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa highlighted the evolution of Chess with AI where new technology and better computers bring in a lot of new ideas in chess. He said that there is a lot to learn with the growing technology. Vidit Gujrathi further added that AI is being used in preparation as it has become available to everyone.

Divya Deshmukh acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the entire team to reach the final stage. Further delving into the family background of the players, the Prime Minister noted that the parents of most players are doctors. Vidit Gujrathi affirmed and added that even his sister is a doctor. Tania Sachdev thanked the Prime Minister for his immense support towards every sportsperson in the country and asked about his connection with sport. The Prime Minister explained his understanding that a country becomes developed not just with its wealth, industries and GDP but requires mastery in every field be it the film industry, science or sports. Recalling his time as the Chief Minister of Gujarat when he used to organize a sports Maha Kumbh witnessing the participation of lakhs of children, the Prime Minister expressed happiness with the emergence of talent among children. Shri Modi expressed the belief that the youth of our country have the potential. He also emphasized inculcating a sportsman spirit not just in sports players but as a culture in social life to create a good environment for social life in the country.

Replying to Vidit Gujrathi and Tania Sachedev’s questions about taking many huge decisions and handling pressure at the same time, the Prime Minister stressed the need to be physically fit and develop habits that aid performance. He said, “For good decision-making, you need a lot of information - both positive and negative. It's human nature to only want to hear what is pleasant, but that can lead to mistakes in decisions.” He suggested analyzing all types of information, understanding different perspectives and asking experts without hesitation. “You will find it easier to navigate challenges. Some things come with experience, and as I’ve said before, yoga and meditation have real power”, he added. The Prime Minister further added that one should never feel satisfied with anything because that’s when complacency starts emerging. “There should always be a hunger inside us to do something new, to do more”, he added.

Dibyendu Barua thanked the Prime Minister for his support and expressed happiness about the Prime Minister’s announcement on India winning two historic gold medals. He informed about witnessing the Prime Minister’s speech on their return journey on the bus. Recalling his first Chess Olympiad in 1998 where autographs of players like Garry Kasparov and Karpov were sought after, Shri Barua expressed immense happiness in witnessing  Gukesh, Brahmananda, Arjun, Divya, Harika and others handing out autographs in this edition. He credited the Prime Minister's vision for the transformation of the confidence of the new generation of players.

The Prime Minister underlined that his value lies in all of the players and expressed confidence that they will become a great source of inspiration for others who play chess. He informed about organizing a huge chess event that saw the participation of 20,000 chess players as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and said that the success of others sometimes acts as a motivating factor. Chess player Vantika Agrawal informed the Prime Minister about her presence at that event and said that his encouragement motivated her to win more medals for India. She also presented a photograph from the event where the Prime Minister can be seen awarding her. The Prime Minister concluded the interaction by conveying his best wishes for the future.

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MJPS/TS