Viswanathan Anand heaps large reward on Indian grandmasters: ‘In some methods we already are the chess superpower’

Indian chess legend
Viswanathan Anand has lavished reward on the nation’s new technology of grandmasters, asserting that India is already a chess superpower in some ways. In a latest dialog with TV9 Community, Anand spoke in regards to the meteoric rise of younger Indian gamers like D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi, who’ve taken the chess world by storm.

The five-time world champion highlighted the depth of Indian chess expertise and the aggressive spirit amongst younger gamers. India’s presence in world chess has been rising exponentially, particularly since Anand made historical past within the early 2000s by breaking the Soviet Union’s hegemony.

Viswanathan Anand: India is already a chess superpower

Speaking about India’s rise within the chess world, Anand stated: “In some methods, we already are the superpower in chess. There are various metrics by which we’re. There are various measures by which another nation is. We aren’t dominant just like the Soviet Union was, however in the event you take, for example, the age of our high gamers, with me as an exception, I believe the oldest one is 21.”

“They’re all extremely younger, which suggests they’ve a very long time forward. Secondly, they’re all within the high 10, high 20, or high 50, and the quantity retains growing. They’re all there collectively, and might you think about how implausible that’s for us? The second one in every of them has an excellent outcome, the others are motivated to catch up. They’ve this stunning mixture of friendship and rivalry,” Anand added.

India’s greatest chess breakthrough got here final yr when
D Gukesh clinched the World Chess Championship title in Singapore, defeating reigning champion Ding Liren. It was a landmark second in Indian chess, making Gukesh the youngest undisputed world champion in historical past and solely the second Indian to win the title after Anand.

At present, three Indian gamers are within the high ten, Gukesh is ranked third, simply behind World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura. In the meantime, Arjun Erigaisi holds the fifth spot, and Praggnanandhaa is ranked eighth.

Aravindh Chithambaram additionally made headlines after a sensational Prague Masters marketing campaign, climbing eight locations to change into World No. 14. Curiously, Anand himself now sits at fifteenth on the earth rankings.

In the meantime, Nihal Sarin just lately climbed two locations within the rankings to change into World No. 41. Vidit Gujrathi (twenty fourth) and Harikrishna Pentala (thirtieth) proceed to carry sturdy positions within the FIDE rankings.