The video records a post‑match press conference after India’s women’s team defeated Germany at the 2026 Chess Olympiad. Team captain Koneru Humpy discusses her own game, describing a balanced position that turned in her favour after a tactical error by her opponent and outlining her assessment that Germany is weaker than the USA based on board‑by‑board ratings. She emphasizes the importance of strong performances on the third and fourth boards, noting the contributions of teammates Savitha Shri and Vandana (Vandika), and acknowledges a loss to Poland as a learning moment. Humpy explains the difficulty coaches face in deciding board order when multiple players are in form, and describes her routine of monitoring teammates’ positions to inform her own play. She mentions a relaxed rest day and the support of coaches and seconds. Savitha Shri, after a perfect 6‑out‑of‑6 score, reflects on her unexpected success, the reduced pressure after teammates secured wins, her preparation focusing on openings, and the confidence the team gains from her results. The interview also touches on the broader team strategy, the morale impact of scoring heavily, and the challenges of board‑order decisions for the captain and coach.
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Then you can go this way.
Hampi, congratulations, uh, great win today. Uh, how are you feeling after the game?
Yeah, thank you. Uh, I think it was very much an equal position, but then when she went for this take on d5 and Queen b3, I felt I was having slight pressure because, uh, this— both my rooks are getting activated on the b-pawn. Obviously, I felt like, uh, when I, when I played this Queen c2, the best would be to go Knight c3, Knight c6, and Queen c5. So, it's a normal position, but slightly she slipped out, and I had a very slight edge towards the endgame, and I was able to convert it.
How did you assess Germany as an opponent? Uh, like, would you say it was stronger than USA, weaker than—
I think it's weaker than USA because we are clearly better in the last 2 boards, and also on the first 2 boards, comparatively, the ratings are Quite low comparing with the US players.
Yeah, Amfi, how does it feel to get a win on board one at the Olympic?
Yeah, it feels good irrespective of any board. Whenever you win a game, you feel good.
Yeah, and how does it feel that Savita and Vandika both are performing so well?
Yeah, it's really important for us to that the third and fourth board players are in good shape, and so far we are happy like as a team. Like we were able to do that in Some of the important matches. Of course, we failed against Poland, but I think it's still we are in the fighting place. So yeah, it depends on how we do with tough opponents like China and Tajikistan.
And Hampi, do you think there's a dilemma right now in the team because both Vantika and Savita are playing so well in both sports?
True, true. Like it's a tough choice for a coach to take that decision.
And Hampi, you have been leading not only the team but Indian chess for the longest time. After the loss in that round, how did— did you say anything or share any of your experience with the team to motivate them?
No, I think not really. We have our coaches and all the players here are all well experienced. It's not the first time like they were playing. Yeah, it was some sort of pressure as well in that particular round when we drew all the boards. So obviously that played a key role.
Yeah.
And Hampi, we don't see you get up much and like other players get up much. We see you more concentrated. Do you get time to see what's happening on the other board?
Of course, I check on what's going on with the in my team, like how are the positions so that I know on what kind of decisions I should take on my board.
Yeah. Okay. This this round seems a smooth round. Any other team you are looking forward to face in the coming rounds?
Of course, I think we'll face the major teams. Obviously China, Tajikistan.
When you finish with a win and your teammates are still playing, do you also feel nerves?
Uh, today not really because we already got 2 wins, but of course when we played with Poland, yes, I felt so.
And Hampi, what did you get up to on the rest day?
I just had a relaxed day in the hotel. So I have been here before, so I went around earlier. So I just had good rest in the hotel. Yeah.
And is there someone helping you remotely with openings, or is it just—
Of course we have our coaches here and they're working for us.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Hello. Let's do an interview for you first. Savita, six out of six. This is a dream run in the Olympiad. How happy are you with this run?
Yeah, I'm happy, especially with this game. Like I wasn't expecting it to win. I was actually defending. But yeah, somehow like she kind of messed it up and I got one up. I think still it should be a draw, but it was difficult for her then.
Yeah.
Did you get a little bit relaxed seeing that Divya and Hampi had already won their games, or were you like, okay, let's see, I have to win?
In the middle game, I was worse, I think. So, uh, yeah, I mean, of course, thank God they both won. Yeah, like, uh, so that's why, like, I wasn't really caring about my game more because, like, anyway the team was gonna win, so it was less pressure.
And Savita, how is the mindset coming into each round? Because somehow it seems to me Like you are, you know, pushing for the full point every day, and you are, I think, creating big dilemmas for Soyan sir because he has to pick every day who to play in the board four.
That's your answer.
Yeah, maybe.
But are you happy every day that you are getting picked and you are scoring every day? Are you? Are you? Is that giving you more confidence?
I'm grateful for the team for believing in me and giving me a chance. And yeah, so far it's going in our way.
Your debut Olympiad and you are already proving why you deserve a chance. Can you please tell us what? Training you went through to come before you came here because it's showing up.
Yeah, like as every tournament, I was also working for this one. But for the Olympia time, I mainly worked a lot on openings. And of course, we have such a strong team here, and also the seconds are helping so much.
So, Swams, coming back to the question about board order, if you can say a bit like how how difficult is it to pick? Because you know when the entire team is performing well, I'm sure it's not so easy to bench someone for the match.
Yeah, of course.
I think.
I'll be more than happy with this scenario instead of some players being out of shape and being an easy decision. So of course, yeah, it's a tough call, but the players are understanding and they understand what the team requires at certain situation, and everyone is being supportive. So I'm glad I have such a supportive team.
And you know, is scoring heavily in each match quite important? Because as you know, the team is trailing by a little bit, and also China and Kazakhstan group E, so the difference will Is the mentality like to win with as many points as possible, or is it like not like anything like that?
I think the players, uh, everyone wants, uh, to win all the games. Uh, definitely, I think, uh, that helps, uh, the morale of the players as well. And, uh, in general, okay, we are just looking at, uh, we are taking one game at a time, just thinking about our games, uh, not thinking about other, uh, results.
Yeah.
And Savita, when When you first got to know that you will play this Olympiad, which I believe was not very long back actually, maybe, maybe a few months before you played the Biele Open, did you imagine yourself in this position that you will be on 6 out of 6?
No, like coming to this tournament, I wasn't really expecting much. Like whenever I have expectations, things were not going my way. So I thought, okay, I'll just take it game by game. And, uh, yeah, so far it's going pretty good.
Savita, when we asked Hampi about your performance, that you are doing so well and Vandika is also doing well, does that give a team confidence? And she was very happy that you guys are performing so well. So does it feel good to like score every round and give the team the confidence that they can also take their game accordingly?
Yeah, we'll take all the wins, of course. Uh, uh, yeah, okay, this round I think I was a bit lucky, but, uh, the like previous all the games I think I played pretty good.
So I have noticed you're not one of those captains who reads a book during the match. You're always walking around, you know, checking the games. Uh, is it like something where you are also taking notes of the opening speed in the different matches?
Yeah, I think there are a lot of exciting games going on and interesting games, not just openings. I think there were quite exciting games. So of course, as a fan, I think chess fan, it's one of the best places to be. So I could watch these games very closely as well.
So speaking of the captain's role, you had to rest Vandika today.
Not an easy choice. Can you tell us more about that?
Yeah, I think Vandika has been doing very well as well. Like she has scored 4.5 out of 5. So definitely a very hard call. for me. And yeah, I think it— the team, we wanted to field this team for this against Germany. And I think whatever the matchup suits up, we try to go for that. And yes, I think Vartika was very supportive in that aspect. I'm sure she'll come back and deliver for us as well.
