India's Koneru Humpy in action against China's Yuxin Song during FIDE Women's World Cup 2025. (Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE) The Indian contingent that will head to Samarkand in September to defend its twin Chess Olympiad gold medals could be even stronger than it was at the last edition two years ago as veteran Koneru Humpy is open to playing at the prestigious event. Humpy was one of the notable absentees at the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest where the open team and women’s team claimed six gold medals between them, including four medals for individual boards. Humpy is the country’s top woman chess player, with her No. 6 spot in the FIDE women’s ratings list for May 2026 making her the only Indian in the top 10 in the open section or the women’s event. The women’s team at the 2024 Olympiad consisted of Harika Dronavalli, R. Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal and Tania Sachdev.…