There was always abundant talent in Indian chess. But a multitude of factors has contributed towards this sweep of medals.
At the Budapest Chess Olympiad, the Indian teams have reiterated what the rest of the world has seen coming for a while now: A golden generation of chess has come of age in the country where the sport originated. Not only did the Indian chess team win golds in the open section and the women’s event, there were also four individual gold medals for Gukesh D, Arjun Erigaisi, Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal. While the women’s team came back from a defeat and a draw in the middle, the Indian team in the open section was so dominant that in the 44 games they played over the course of the tournament, they lost just once. Both teams were fuelled by a heady combination of battle-hardened veterans like Harikrishna and Harika Dronavalli and players deemed to be future of chess.
There was always abundant talent in Indian chess. But a multitude of factors has contributed towards this sweep of medals. One of the critical reasons behind this chess boom is the tech revolution, with chess engines, software and access to good coaching becoming more accessible for anyone, even those sitting in tier II and tier III cities. This is the reason why players like Divya Deshmukh (Nagpur) and Arjun Erigaisi (Warangal) got quality coaching early on. Technology is how a player like Praggnanandhaa can work under Russian maestro Peter Svidler or a Gukesh can train with Poland’s Grzegorz Gajewski without needing to fly abroad every few months. Another factor aiding the meteoric rise of the current generation is the expertise that the likes of Gukesh, Pragg, Arjun and Vaishali got from the previous generation of grandmasters like RB Ramesh, Sandipan Chanda, Srinath Narayanan and Abhijit Kunte when they were very young. Add to this, the support the country’s chess stars are getting from every quarter: Parents are more willing to let their kids play chess, private sponsors are pouring in money and even schools and colleges are more liberal when it comes to youngsters pursuing chess as a primary vocation. Not to mention the growing government support for chess players.
The success stories at Olympiad come in a year that has already seen unprecedented achievements for India, be it at elite events like the Candidates, where 17-year-old Gukesh became the world’s youngest player to qualify for the world championship and Norway Chess or on the world rankings list where Arjun Erigaisi now owns real estate in the world’s top 5 spots. And the year can get even better if Gukesh can win the world championship at the age of 18. Whether or not that happens, the future of chess is increasingly looking Indian.
