Chess has been played in India since the 6th Century AD, but it was only in 1988 that India found its first Grandmaster: Viswanathan Anand, all of 19 at the time. For the next two decades, he remained India’s sole representative in the elite world of international chess – despite the elevation of several other Indians to the rank if Grandmaster – and a great one at that, winning the World Championship five times amongst a host of other tournaments, and becoming the first ever Indian to cross the 2800 FIDE rating mark.
Anand was among the earliest to break the 2800 barrier and, till now, remains the only Indian in that zone. But that may change soon. Anand’s success, and his underdog rivalry with the legend Garry Kasparov, inspired a great revival of interest in the game in India.
The outcome: a bright future for chess in India, even as Anand's own career reaches its twilight stages. Anand himself echoes that hope, tellingThe Hindu that he “witnessed evidence of the depth in Indian chess at the (recently concluded) Gibraltar Chess Festival 2016”, and that he expected to see the number of Indian GMs rated over 2700 to start rising.
Anand has also said he's happy with what's happening at the grassroots level. Speaking after the auction for the fourth edition of the Maharashtra Chess League, he said such tournaments could become “the nucleus for chess in India”, according to an Indian Express report.
Strength in numbers
Anand has good reason to be hopeful. Professional chess in India has come a long way. Dibyendu Barua from West Bengal followed Anand to become the country’s second GM in 1991, three years before one of India’s strongest current GMs, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, was even born.
Today, India has 42 active GMs and 89 active International Masters, with an average FIDE rating of 2670. India is ranked fifth in the world among 174 countries, behind Russia, China, America and Ukraine. There are five Indian players in the top 100 of the world, and 10 women GMs, including Humpy Koneru – the second ever female Grand Master to cross the 2600 FIDE rating mark after Judit Polgar from Hungary.
India has carved out a strong presence in the club of Super GMs as well. The 30-year-old Pentala Harikrishna has joined Anand in the top 20 of the world, even overtaking him in FIDE ratings in 2016 during Anand’s Candidates Tournament in Moscow – the first time an Indian had done that in 30 years.
Currently sitting at No. 13 in the world and only seven rating-points behind Anand, Harikrishna is the brightest star of Indian’s gen-next of chess. And, unlike in some other sports, today's trailblazers are backed by a reassuring degree of talent among the juniors (under 20) too.
Indians have won the Junior World Championship twice since Anand in 1987, with Harikrishna and Abhijeet Gupta achieving the feat in 2004 and 2008 respectively. Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli and Soumya Swaminathan have won the Girls’ U20 World Cup in 2001, 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Backing them up is a vast pool of GMs and IMs, nurtured by tournaments such as the MCL where players compete and, more importantly, acquire FIDE ratings and match-experience – both critical to the process of becoming a GM in Chess.
An emerging force
Despite the low-key profile of the game, these are sporting accomplishments that most other Indian sports, with the exception of cricket, cannot match. However, matches in pressure tournament situations, as in any sport, remain the true test of the strength displayed on paper in numbers, and it is here that the transformation of India into an emerging force beyond Anand is visible.
The advancement in India’s ratings has started to pay off in elite tournaments such as the Norway Chess Tournament, which is open only to 10 Super GMs, in the world chosen by invitation. Harikrishna became the only Indian besides Anand to be invited this year, and he finished fourth among a star-studded line-up of giants that included current world champion Magnus Carlsen, former world champions Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, and other players in the top ten.
At the next Candidates' tournament to be held in 2018, Harikrishna is a more than realistic hope – the first time India could have two GMs with a chance at the Olympic equivalent of chess.
On the regional front, the Indian team for the Asian Nations Cup, comprising GMs Baskaran Adhiban, SP Sethuraman, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and Krishnan Sasikaran, finished on top, ahead of the giants next door, China – a result Anand described as “huge”. As in many other fields, the Chinese have set the stiffest competition benchmarks for India, and the result shows that Indian chess has arrived.
Additionally, at the Gibraltar Chess Festival 2016, 19 Indian chess masters finished in the top 150, including two in the top ten. Individual performances of brilliance have also been displayed by upcoming Indian GMs like Abhijeet Gupta’s performance in the Reykjavik Open, where he won ahead of two other top-ranked players, or Surya Shekhar Ganguly’s victory at the strong Bangkok Open, where the team also shone as a unit.
With five places for the World Championship cycle of players up for grabs at the upcoming Asian Continental Chess Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Adhiban will lead five of India’s seeded players in the top ten in a line-up of 28 GMs, including a former FIDE world champion. Much will be expected from the Indian contingent at this tournament.
The way forward
Despite these fantastic performances and world-class accomplishments, chess is not prominent on the Indian sports fan's radar. There has been patriotic interest in Anand's achievements, but no real understanding or following.
Anand believes this needs to change. In his interview with The Hindu, he said chess could follow the example of cricket, with graphics and commentary being employed to communicate its intricacies and complexities to an audience. This innovation could mean tournaments such as the MCL receiving more viewership, and consequently more attention, including sponsors, prize-money and talent from across the globe. For competitive and professional chess to grow in India, it needs to attract quality talent to participate in tournaments where the earnings can allow players to pursue the sport without limitations.
Like any sport in the world, a vast talent pool is nurtured by an infrastructure around a culture for a sport. Given how cheap it is to learn, play and hold tournaments, the development of a culture of chess would introduce the sport to millions of Indian youngsters who can acquire access to virtually all the training they require on the internet.
Should the All India Chess Federation consider this? It's a no-brainer, not least because of the brilliant start given by the post-Vishy Anand generation.