India, Sept. 30 -- Shortly after the Indian Olympiad team was announced, 19-year-old Savitha Shri's phone buzzed. It was a message from Judit Polgar. The Hungarian legend wrote - This is your chance.

Savitha turned those words into rocket fuel.

Playing her debut Olympiad, the international master from Chennai went unbeaten, scored 9/10 and won India's only individual gold on Board 5 at the Fide Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. She won eight games and drew two, and helped the defending champions return with a bronze.

On most days, she was the last one standing, with the team's fortunes pivoting on her game. Speaking to HT in an interview on Tuesday, Savitha said: "Throughout the tournament, I managed to swindle my opponents. Of course, it w...