Srinath Narayanan was the non-playing captain of the India men’s team that took home the gold medal at the 2024 Chess Olympiad
Members of India’s innovative chess teams were welcomed back to Chennai on Tuesday morning by supporters, authorities, and their families following their historic gold at the Chess Olympiad.
Who is GM Srinath Narayanan captain and coach of India men’s team in 2024 Chess Olympiad, biography, age and FIDE rating
Srinath, an experienced captain, has led India in high-profile events, including the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad 2020 (where India was joint winner with Russia), the 2021 Online Chess Olympiad and 2022 Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram and the 2022 Asian Games.
The men’s team captain and coach Srinath Narayanan, D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, R. Vaishali, and the other four members of the team arrived with much fanfare after their incredible feat of winning gold medals for both the men’s and women’s divisions at the Chess Olympiad in Hungary. This triumph strengthened India’s standing as a developing chess superpower.
30-year-old Srinath Narayanan was born on 14 February 1994 in Chennai. Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan (peak 2572 FIDE) younger years saw him win the World U12 Championship in 2005.
Born: 14 February 1994 (age 30 years), Chennai
FIDE rating: 2516 (September 2024)
Peak rating: 2572 (November 2018)
🇮🇳 India wins the 45th FIDE #ChessOlympiad! 🏆 ♟️
Congratulations to Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna and Srinath Narayanan (Captain)! 👏 👏
Gukesh D beats Vladimir Fedoseev, and Arjun Erigaisi prevails against Jan Subelj; India… pic.twitter.com/jOGrjwsyJc
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 22, 2024
Srinath Narayanan career
Srinath Narayanan was five years old when he began to play chess. In 2002, at the age of 8, he became India’s youngest FIDE rated player, with an initial rating of 2088. He defeated Sanan Sjugirov, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, and Wesley So on a tiebreak to win the gold medal in the U12 class at the World Youth Chess Championships in Belfort, France, in July 2005.
He won the 7th Dubai Juniors Chess Championship in 2008. Srinath participated in the 2010 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad representing India, where they took home the silver medal.
The Faroes Open was won by Srinath in 2018.He also won the Kolkata Open in 2018. In Bangladesh, he got placed third in the Sheikh Russel International Chess Tournament of 2021. Prodigies including Grandmasters Nihal Sarin, Arjun Erigaisi, and International Master Divya Deshmukh were coached by Srinath in the past.
He has contributed significantly to the Indian Chess Team. At the 2018 World Youth Chess Olympiad, he served as the coach of the junior team that took home the silver medal.That year, he served as the Senior team’s assistant coach as well. In the 2019 World Teams, he captained the Indian squad.
After Hou Yifan, Srinath became the second youngest person in the world and the youngest person in the nation when he was granted the title of FIDE Senior Trainer in May 2024.