No Player Is Bigger Than the Team
20 September 2026
This is a heartwarming story from the ongoing Chess Olympiad.
Gukesh is the reigning World Chess Champion. Right now, at the Chess Olympiad, he is playing Board 4 for India, not Board 1.
In team chess events, every player gets a fixed board number for the whole tournament, based on who is in the best form. That number decides who you play every round.
Board 1 always faces the opposing team’s Board 1. Board 4 always faces their Board 4.
Board 1 is normally reserved for the team’s strongest or most prominent player, so a sitting World Champion playing anywhere else is almost unheard of. It is the chess equivalent of a star batsman choosing to bat lower in the order because his teammates are in better form that season.
India currently has three players performing better than Gukesh in recent form: Praggnanandhaa on Board 1, Arjun Erigaisi on Board 2, and Nihal Sarin on Board 3.
Rather than the team adjusting the lineup around his title, Gukesh suggested the move himself.
When fans criticised the coach online for what looked like disrespecting the champion, Gukesh responded plainly:
“If the team needs it, I would rest all the games. No player is bigger than the country. I’m just happy to do whatever it takes for the team to do well.”
Sportspeople are often defined by ego, by staying put, by refusing to give up ground that’s rightfully theirs.
Gukesh’s gesture is humility at its best: putting team before self.
Kudos, champion.
