Two years ago, in Mamallapuram, an Indian temple hamlet by the sea, a 16-year-old named D Gukesh convinced everyone to take his vow seriously. He surprised Fabiano Caruana, the world No. 2 at the time, by winning eight of the eight rounds in his perfect 8/8 run at the Olympiad. For his achievements, he was awarded an individual gold medal.

There has been a lot of upheaval and development in Indian chess between the Chennai Olympiad and the one in Budapest that begins this week. Three Indians made their debuts in the Candidates; Arjun Erigaisi, now ranked No. 4 in the world, is the highest-ranked player from the nation, and Gukesh, ranked No. 7, is the youngest contender for the World Championship title. R Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach a World Cup final. Four Indian players—three of them under the age of 21—are in the top 12, and four of their female players are in the top 15 for the first time. It's been a significant jump.

The Chess Olympiad, a team competition that takes place in the Hungarian capital every two years, will involve more than 190 countries. The first round will take place on Wednesday, after the opening ceremony on Tuesday. Players from the same nation, who are usually rivals, form teams for the Olympiad. Srinath Narayanan, the captain of the Open division, describes the second-seeded Indian team—behind the USA—as the strongest they have ever been.

As the host nation, India was permitted to enter two teams in the open and women's divisions of the Chennai Olympiad. In the Open section, the 'B' team, which consists of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Raunak Sadhwani, and B Adhiban, defeated their better-ranked compatriots from the 'A' team to win bronze. India's first bronze medal at the Olympics since 2014. Since you're primarily playing for yourself when playing chess, teamwork isn't something that immediately comes to you. I suppose that everyone on the current side genuinely wants to win at some point. Perhaps having players that are both really strong and incredibly motivated is a great, uncommon sensation. It was "intense," according to Srinath, who captained the India "A" team the last time. "I thought that some of the team's more experienced players could have felt under strain because the other Indian team's members were developing at an incredible rate. This time, I anticipate a livelier and more laid-back crowd.