Indian chess renaissance

The chess scenario in India couldn’t have been any better with its most promising players putting their best foot forward to leave their mark on prestigious tournaments -- surpassing records and setting new benchmarks. 

What is remarkable is that it is not just confined to an individual or two, but it is a bunch which is performing in tandem, gladdening the heart of every chess following Indian. In the last couple of years, Indian chess has been shining brightly. The very fact that five Indians -- Dommaraju Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Viswanathan Anand -- have been playing musical chairs since January 2024 to enjoy the tag of being the highest rated Indian in live ratings at some point or other in a span of just four months reflects India's strength, both in terms of quality and quantity. Incidentally, this race for the top rated Indian also comes with a placing in top 10 in world ratings.

Gukesh’s cool and classy triumph at the Candidates 2024 surpassed all expectations and the probability of the world witnessing the youngest ever World Champion is very much on the cards as he takes on reigning Champion Ding Liren of China in an all- Asian affair for the very first time in the history of Championships.

Last year Praggnanandhaa also had hit the record books as the youngest in the world to qualify for the finals of the World Cup. This was also the World Cup bursting with Indians as 17 from the country qualified for the 124-player event in Baku, Azerbaijan. Four of them advanced to the quarterfinals which amounted to a whopping 50 percent Indian presence.

Gujrathi and R Vaishali, too, defied all odds and ends by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss in both Open and Women's section, one of the toughest tournaments in the Calendar where the winner gets a qualification slot to the Candidates. Koneru Humpy had qualified for the Candidates as the highest rated player in the January 2024 FIDE-rating list. Interestingly, all these five Indians had plotted, planned and punched their way through different qualification routes to reach the elite eight of the Candidates.

Chennai remains the cradle of Indian chess but now players like Arjun Erigaisi, aged 20, from Telangana, Nihal Sarin from Kerala, Leon Mendonca from Goa, Raunak Sadhwani and Divya Deshmukh from Nagpur have been consistent performers and are on an upward move. It is becoming evident that behind the established stars, there is another bunch waiting for their turn in the Sun.

Erigaisi, the wonder boy from Warangal, has been winning prestigious International Open events like the Menorca Open, the Abudhabi Chess festival to name a couple and despite narrowly missing a qualifying slot to the Candidates, he is the highest rated Indian in the April 2024 Fide Ratings, ahead of the trio that played the Toronto tournament. Last year in December, at the Chennai Grandmaster, Arjun had tied for first place with Gukesh but had to settle for the second place after tie-break. Arjun had also won an Individual silver at the Chennai Chess Olympiad in 2022.

Sarin, 19-year-old, is tagged as the bullet boy for his prowess in speed chess. Sarin was part of the Indian team that won the Gold Medal at the Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and followed it up with an Individual Gold on Board 2 and a Team Bronze at the Chennai Olympiad. The 18-year-old Sadhwani is another talented player waiting to make that burst. A member of the bronze-medal winning India B team at the Chennai Olympiad, he has also entered the top 100 in FIDE Ratings.

Divya, 18, languishing in the shadows of Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and R Vaishali has been slowly and steadily making her presence felt. She was also a member of the Indian gold-medal winning team at the 2020 online Olympiad. Divya also bagged an individual bronze at Chennai Olympiad. Last year Divya won the Asian Women’s Chess Championship and had another fantastic run, finishing first at the Tata Steel Rapid women’s championship despite being ranked last. The event boasted of stalwarts like reigning Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun, Humpy, Harika, Irina Krush to name a few.

The conditions in India are also conducive for further chess growth at the moment with good patronage from the political powers while Corporate India is jumping with financial assistance. Chess coaching centres are also mushrooming across India. Five time-World Champion Viswanathan Anand nurturing and promoting talent through his WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) is the biggest thing to have happened to Indian chess. 

Magnus Carlsen, the highest rated player in the World, had stated a couple of years back that the future faces of chess belong to India and had singled out Gukesh as the most promising prodigy. Interestingly, going by rating strength, Carlsen had closed out the Indians as favourites, preferring the experienced and higher rated trio of Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Namakura and Ian Nepomniachtchi as the likely Challengers.

Former Women’s World Champion Susan Polgar who had hit the record books as the youngest ever to be highest rated woman player in the world at just 15-years, keenly follows the Indian youngsters and also singles out Gukesh. 

“I believe that Gukesh will start as a slight favourite against Ding Liren. He is hungry, determined and he wants the crown. He has a maturity beyond his years, strong nerves, determination and the X-factor, not to mention his blazing talent. I have no doubt that the other Indian talents will be successful, perhaps figuring in the top ten but they lack what Gukesh has”.

Amen!