From uplifting a heartbroken team to causing hotel mayhem at the Chess Olympiad: Srinath is the man you can count on in India

Srinath Narayanan is an Indian man you can rely on NEW DELHI: It was the final round of the Global Chess League (GCL) in Bengaluru last Saturday and American Gambits needed a big win by eight points to reach the finals. Mumba Masters were rivals. As the match went on, Gambits, playing with Black, went all out. Javokhir Sindarov, playing on the Icon board, won his game. On the next board, Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin had an early advantage, which translated into a near-win position. But then disaster struck.The clock is up. Sarin lost in time. His team lost to him.The next moment, Nihal was pressed against the side glass of the dugout, her face to the panel, and it looked as if the floodgates might open and tears might burst forth at any second. Then he felt a hand lightly settle on his shoulder. It was none other than Gambits captain and coach Srinath Narayanan.“It was very painful,” Srinath told TimesofIndia.com later during an exclusive interaction. “Usually you need some time and space for the emotions to work out. And I think that’s pretty much the only thing that can heal things.”

Srinath with Nihal Sarin

There was no tactical report that night, no posthumous scramble. Srinath instead took the team to a team dinner. Later in the hotel they pulled out board games like Salem and Avalon and played into the night.“We tried to detach ourselves from these things,” Srinath recalled with a smile. “And then we played some fun games at night to help us deal with it.The response the next day indicated that it had worked. Facing the same Mumba Masters in the third place match, Gambits crushed them through both legs. Nihal won both his matches. Gambits took the bronze.

Srinath was there; he’s here too

“Overall, we are quite happy because it would be very depressing and disappointing if we lose today,” said Srinath, praising his team’s performance in GCL 2026. “But it also feels like a slight understatement for the team’s potential.”“We felt like we were definitely one of the contenders to win the tournament. And we played like that for the most part. So we just lost those last two games where things were decided at the very end, in the last few seconds.”He is a man who knows what winning a team event actually looks like and what it takes. When India won gold in Budapest at the 2024 Olympics, Srinath was there.He was also there on Tuesday when the Indian contingent landed in Samarkand for the 46th Olympics and found itself stranded without accommodation. And he was the first to break his silence publicly.“I had a terrible experience at the FIDE 2026 Olympiad,” he wrote on X. “The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still does not have rooms assigned and it is not at all clear when they will be assigned.”As reported by TimesofIndia.com later in the evening, the players ended up getting individual rooms. The coaching staff has been placed in shared rooms for the time being.When the tension over India’s board order finally lifted, the team went ahead with the direct ranking and placed Praggnanandha (2761) on board 1, Arjun Erigaisi (2759) on board 2, Nihal (2718) on board 3, D Gukesh (2703) on board 4 and Vida6 took the time again on board 5 X, S Vidit6, X Gujrathi) with more mischief.“Don’t blame me for keeping the order on the board in limbo. I had it on the chess results right from September 1st,” he wrote.

Captain in preparation for the Olympics in India

Preparation for the Olympics began long before the GCL concert in the form of a virtual camp with a complete line-up.When asked how it went, he said: “It went really well. We gelled really well as a whole. The players are all around a similar age. And we have Vidit who is quite experienced but still not that old.”One source of encouragement for the 32-year-old grandmaster was that three of his Olympic team, Nihal, Arjun and Vidit, were all in Bengaluru and all three finished with positive scores in the tournament.

All eyes will be on Gukesh (FIDE Photo)

“It is quite encouraging that the three players who are here have played quite well,” Srinath told the website. “All with positive scores. I think that’s also an encouraging sign for the team.“In general, the fact that we can all be friends, we can have fun outside of the tournament, I think that’s really special about the Olympics.”

From fast back to classic

There’s one obvious wrinkle going straight from a fast-paced league to the sport’s biggest classic team event. And Srinath does not deny it.“It can definitely take a game or two to get back,” he admitted. “But it won’t take much longer.“Generally, in the Olympics, the first few rounds are not the most challenging. So it gives us a lot of time to acclimatize.”And the composition of his squad helps it more.“The younger you are, the easier it is to adapt,” he said, a useful trait on a team where four out of five boards are occupied by players in their twenties or younger.READ ALSO: Konera Humpa’s 9-year-old daughter will remember the silver medal as a gold oneSrinath spent the fortnight hoovering up the devastated dressing room, calling out the governing body for the logistical mess and brazenly reminding everyone on social media that he had let the Indian board’s order be published for weeks.In Samarkand, he is the man India is counting on to do it all again.