Led by world number three Koneru Humpy, the Indian women's team will look for an unprecedented medal haul when it competes in the World Team Chess Championship that gets underway here.
Humpy, who was ousted in the quarterfinals of the world women championship recently, will be the mainstay while the likes of Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika and Woman Grandmaster Padmini Rout will look forward to rally around her in the strong competition featuring ten teams from around the globe.
Former world junior girls' champion Soumya Swaminathan and twice national champion Mary Ann Gomes complete the Indian line-up.
After a mediocre performance in the last Chess Olympiad sans Humpy, there was little chance to get an entry in the World championship but a wild card has facilitated the much needed chance that this talented bunch deserves.
There will be nine rounds in all under the round-robin system and the team scoring more match points will be declared the winner.
Two points will be given for every match victory while in case of a tied result, the teams involved will share the points.
Out of the five players, four will have to play in each round and Indians will have to be wary of hosts China, Russia, Armenia and Georgia, the four strongest teams in the competition.
USA, Poland, Armenia, Egypt and Kazakhstan are the remaining participants.
The time control will be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and thirty minutes for the remaining part of the game with an increment of 30 seconds from move one.
