All eyes will be on Team USA, the top seeds in the open section, as the 44th chess Olympiad kicks off in Chennai from July 28. The team comprising --- Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez and Sam Shankland --- have an average rating of 2771 which is a whopping 66 points higher than the second seeded Azerbaijan.
Wesley --- the World no. 6 --- doesn’t want to read too much on the favourites' tag. "First of all --- I think it is very nice to be considered one of the favourites. Secondly, I don't think it means much. Any player, in any sport, on any given day, can produce a good performance or a bad one. When you have hundreds and hundreds of players involved, anything can happen," Wesley told TOI ahead of the tournament.
The tournament will not have the two powerhouses in the sport --- Russia and China. While FIDE --- the game's governing body --- banned Russia from team events after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, China chose not to be part of the tournament. Wesley feels Russia and China's absence will give other teams a shot at podium finish. "Not having two great teams like those is extremely sad. There are many teams from other smaller countries who can never be discounted. They will feel it is their moment to shine," Wesley pointed out.
The 28-year-old is heartbroken not to be facing the Russians in the high-profile tournament. "It is terrible when an entire generation of chess players from one country pay a price for crimes they had nothing to do with. How can it not break your heart to see their lives and careers paralyzed? Yet I also see the point of organisers --- anything that can be done which might encourage their leadership to stop this insanity must be done," Wesley stressed. Asked about his own preparations for the event, Wesley stated, "It's going well. I have always prepared by myself so it's not as if I am doing anything different."
For the 28-year-old --- India will be the team to watch out for. "I think India will do beautifully. They are not only strong and well balanced they will have home court advantage and that is a huge asset," he said.
