Why Viswanathan Anand is missing from India's chess Olympiad team for the second time in a row

India, the bronze medalist in the last edition, will be eyeing their first standalone gold medal in the 45th Chess Olympiad, which starts in the Hungarian capital of Budapest on Wednesday. Why Viswanathan Anand is missing from India's chess Olympiad team for the second time in a row The second-seeded Indian team, comprising Vidit Gujrathi, R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaise, and P Harikrishna, has all the ingredients to better their last outing, when they won the Bronze. The five-time world champion, who is widely credited for revolutionising chess in India, has decided not to play the world's biggest chess event for the second time running. Indian women's team gets top seed The Indian women's chess team, led by D Harika and R Vaishali, is a strong contender for the podium at the 45th Chess Olympiad. The absence of top Chinese players, Russia's suspension, and Ukraine's weakened team have cleared the path for India's women's team, seeded first, followed closely by Georgia.