In cricket-crazy India, the success of the Indian men and women teams at the recently concluded 45th Chess Olympiad held in Hungary may have failed to evoke huge amounts of enthusiasm, but this is no small achievement by any standards. By winning gold in both the men and women sections, India emerged as the world’s top chess nation. In fact, India’s dominance in the Olympiad was quite similar to the Russian dominance that the world witnessed during the last century. Like the erstwhile USSR, India is also blessed with a bunch of quality chess players, who can be world-beaters on their days. Furthermore, most of them are in their teens or in their early twenties, which effectively means that they will serve the nation for at least another decade or more. Hopefully, the success of the present-day chess stars will attract more youngsters towards this enthralling sport, which is stated to have originated in India. Thus, not only will India be dominating the world chess scene for years to come, but also active participation by the Indian youths will not allow the popularity of chess to dwindle.
There is no denying that chess in India was largely synonymous with Viswanathan Anand, who has successfully managed to scribe the country’s name in the world chess map. However, it’s unfortunate that he often lacked substantial support. This is why the five-time world chess champion has no Chess Olympiad Gold in his trophy cabinet despite having a long and illustrious career. So far, India’s best success in the Chess Olympiad was a third-place finish in the previous edition in Chennai. So, with the success of the Indian team in the recent Chess Olympiad, it can safely be concluded that the golden generation of Indian chess has arrived. It is no exaggeration to say this generation can achieve much more. Their talent is undeniable, and they have the potential to revolutionise chess. India’s next big test in chess is the forthcoming world championship to be held in Singapore in November-December next where our own D Gukesh will be challenging defending world champion Liren Ding of China for the coveted title.
Whether D Gukesh wins the championship or not, it will not be able to make any dent to India’s supremacy in the chess world. India’s remarkable progress in chess is evident in Viswanathan Anand becoming the country’s first grandmaster in 1984. Since then India has produced 85 grandmasters, out of which three namely D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and Anand are among the top ten players in the International Chess Federation (FIDE) list on the basis of their ELO ratings. Beyond a doubt, India has never witnessed such a golden period in chess in all these years. But at the same time the real challenge for India has just begun as now it faces the uphill task of staying at the top for the longest possible time like the USSR.
