Hikaru Nakamura heaps reward on India’s chess ecosystem: ‘All the pieces is the best way it must be’

India has made fast strides on this planet of chess within the final couple of years because of the rise of younger stars reminiscent of D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and extra. It’s this ‘Golden Era’ of stars
moulded by the legendary Viswanathan Anand that has been chargeable for remodeling India right into a pressure in chess, doling out medical performances collectively in addition to individually.

The younger Indian stars had helped India land a historic maiden Olympiad medal within the ‘Open’ in addition to ‘Girls’ classes in 2022, and would
full a golden sweep on the similar occasion two years later.  Extra not too long ago, Gukesh had change into the youngest winner within the historical past of the Candidates Event in addition to the FIDE World Championship and whereas
Praggnanandhaa had gained the Tata Metal Chess match earlier this month.

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American chess star Hikaru Nakamura, for one, is all reward for the “ecosystem” that’s at the moment in place in India, which he believes is what has helped remodel the nation right into a chess superpower.

“After I take a look at chess, there’s one nation that’s doing very, very effectively, the place the entire ecosystem is developed the best way that I want it have been say within the US. That nation is clearly India the place there is no such thing as a nice imbalance,” Nakamura instructed ChessBase India on the sidelines of the opening Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour occasion in Weissenhaus, Germany.

The Japanese-American Grandmaster goes on to elucidate how issues are starkly totally different within the West – primarily the US – the place there exists an “imbalance” throughout the chess neighborhood that ends in skilled gamers, even those that have devoted their lives to chess, struggling to make a good dwelling from the game.

“So after I take a look at chess – and I’ll simply use the US for instance as a result of it’s the place I’m from – you have got the imbalance the place you have got the very high gamers who’ve some success, however they’re not likely superstars. And you’ve got the content material creators like Levy (Levy Rozman, a.ok.a. GothamChess) and myself who’re doing higher than the pure professional gamers, and so you have got this imbalance that I feel causes numerous jealousy, numerous negativity since you really feel like issues aren’t the best way they need to be.

“You will have gamers who spent their total lives enjoying chess and you’ve got individuals who frankly have put in a fraction of the time making more cash than the professionals. So I feel within the West due to that, it’s superb that you’ve got a few of these tournaments coming in,” Nakamura added, justifying the existence of the profitable Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour as a monetary blessing for skilled gamers.

The 37-year-old added that “India is the right instance” of how a chess ecosystem must be, and was “unhappy” to see it not replicated elsewhere.

“On the flip facet, if I take a look at India I feel all the pieces is mainly correctly. I feel India is the right instance; you have got the highest gamers who’re extraordinarily profitable, they’re superstars. People who find themselves skilled gamers are probably the most profitable.

“It feels just like the system, all the pieces is the best way it must be. Everyone seems to be doing very effectively, and so in India, issues are going to proceed that manner. Jealous is the mistaken phrase to make use of, however it positively makes me just a little bit unhappy to see that it isn’t that manner elsewhere,” Nakamura added.

Nakamura is at the moment competing on the Weissenhaus leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour that obtained underway on Friday, the place he was
tied on two factors together with Gukesh, world No 1 Magnus Carlsen and German Grandmaster Vincent Keymer after 5 rounds.