Nineteen-year-old Savitha Shri's journey to India's Chess Olympiad team has been anything but ordinary. From learning the game by watching her elder brother play to overcoming financial hardships that saw her family pawn jewellery and her father quit his job abroad, the Chennai-based player has earned a place among India's finest. Now, she is set for the biggest challenge of her career as she replaces Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli in the Indian women's team for the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Savitha was part of India's silver medal-winning women's team at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou alongside Koneru Humpy, Harika, Vaishali and Vantika. Now, she returns to the national team for one of the biggest assignments of her career.
