Fresh from his exploits in India’s first-ever title-winning campaign at the Chess Olympiad, Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi has decided against defending his crown at the 10th Vugar Gashimov Memorial Chess Super Tournament in Azerbaijan for an audience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday. Gujrathi had won the Azerbaijan event last year after outperforming compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.

He was a part of the Indian men’s team, which also included D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun, that won a historic Chess Olympiad gold in the Open category.

Gujrathi took to ‘X’, formerly twitter, to inform that he reached Baku for the event but decided to return to India to meet Modi on learning about the felicitation function.

“I reached Baku and I got to know our Hon’ble PM wants to felicitate the Indian team. I was overjoyed when I heard this and I wanted to be a part of it. It’s amazing at how such short notice he is taking out time for us,” Gujrathi wrote on ‘X’.

Gujrathi, 29, has been replaced by Aravindh Chithambaram for the event to be held from September 25-30.

“I contacted Sarkhan Gashimov (organiser) and he understood my sentiments. Big thanks to him! Wishing Aravindh the best to play against top players in this prestigious event,” Gujrathi wrote.

After winning the Chess Olympiad 2024, Vidit Gujrathi, a member of India’s victorious men’s squad, remarked that the golden era of chess has just begun for his country.

India delivered a remarkable performance at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, securing gold medals in both the men’s and women’s events on Sunday.

“We can call it a golden era for Indian chess, as gold has been won. The same team competed in the Asian Games, but I think everyone has stepped up their game over the past year. We were winning by significant margins, and it was a dominant performance,” Vidit said while speaking to ANI.

The chess player also addressed the incident where he missed shaking hands with his opponent, Levon Aronian.

“I have a routine of meditating before every match, which helps me stay focused and perform better. I was busy with that, which is why I missed shaking hands with him. When I opened my eyes, I then shook hands with him,” the 29-year-old explained.

With ANI inputs