Chess is one sport wherein India has consistently performed well at the international level. The game has witnessed phenomenal growth in the country in the last two decades. India is currently the holder of eight world titles — men’s world champion, world junior boys’ champion, world junior girls’ champion, world U-16 boys’ champion, world U-14 boys’ and girls’ champions, world U-12 boys’ champion and World Youth Chess Olympiad winner.
From having one grandmaster in 1987 to 18 now, Indian chess is set for more glory with more and more players taking up the sport.
At one time, Indians participated in Europe to gain experience at the international level. It’s no longer the case now with Indians making waves in the European circuit, with Parimarjan Negi, Arun Prasad, MR Lalith Babu and Magesh Chandran winning tournaments recently.
The world’s second youngest GM, Negi showed his growing stature by winning the Politiken Cup in Denmark, one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. Two Indians battled for the Scottish Open title with Arun Prasad defeating Magesh Chandran to triumph in Edinburgh. Lalith Babu bagged the Leiden Open in The Netherlands ahead of strong GMs.
A few weeks ago, Indians dominated in the Asian Youth Chess Championship in New Delhi bagging 23 out of the 26 medals at stake. India’s winning momentum when they dominated in the just concluded Asian Zonal Championship in New Delhi. Sriram Jha and Kruttika Nadig won the men’s and women’s titles to qualify for the World Cup, which is one of the qualifying tournaments for taking a shot at the world title.
From being an ordinary force in the 1980s, India has become a powerhouse in the world of chess. Five factors contributed to India’s transformation: Anand, age-group tournaments, computers, highly motivated players and coaches.
The Anand factor
Viswanathan Anand’s superlative performance in the last 20 years has been the biggest factor in India’s chess revolution. He has inspired millions of his countrymen by raising the bar higher and higher. By rubbing shoulders with the Kasparovs and Karpovs for a long time and silencing his critics by winning the world title against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn in the match format, Anand has instilled the belief that Indians can become world-beaters.
From the time he qualified for the National ‘A’ at the age of 13, he has achieved many firsts. He won the world junior title and became India’s first GM in 1987. His maiden world title in 2000 changed the face of Indian chess. In 2007, Anand became world No.1 for the first time in the official rankings list, which is one of the greatest achievements in Indian sport. Only six players have achieved this feat in chess.
Age-group tournaments
India has benefited immensely from age-group tournaments, which was started in the mid 1990s. By playing from the age of seven or eight in district, state, and national-level tournaments, youngsters gain a lot of experience by the time they turn 15.
Added to that they play in a lot of senior tournaments, which gives them the right kind of mix. Winning a world title helps players get sponsorships besides the support from the state associations and awards from the government. Pentala Harikrishna, Koneru Humpy and Parimarjan Negi are some of the age-group champions who have blossomed at the senior level.
Computer back-up
From having scarce information 25 years ago, chess players have a flood of information now! Chess has indeed come a long way. In the 1980s, one had to wait for six months to get a Chess Informant, which used to carry most of the important games with analysis and used to be the favourite book of most of the players.
The other source of information was chess magazines. Once Bobby Fischer lured Samuel Reshevsky into a trap after going through Shakhmati (Russian chess magazine), which is nigh impossible now with the advent of computers and the Internet.
Now, one can download thousands of games every week from Internet websites. The days of tricking an opponent by having more material is a thing of the past.
The other important facet of the computer is that it can be used as a training tool. To improve and sharpen their skills players play training games with chess software like Fritz, Hiarcs and Rybka, to name a few. The computer also helps in finding hidden possibilities, besides finding flaws in one’s analysis in complicated positions.
Highly-motivated players
At one time, becoming a GM was the aim of most of the Indian chess players. The reason being India did not have a GM before Anand broke the ceiling in 1987. The current generation of players aim high, work hard, employ reputed coaches, and want to make an impact in the international arena. They are not satisfied with anything less. India is now able to field an all-GM team in the Chess Olympiad, which was a distant possibility once. Consistent performances have vindicated India’s growth in the world of chess. In the last one year, India’s performance has been close to spectacular: India won the Youth Chess Olympiad ahead of Russia; Anand retained his world title; Abhijeet Gupta and Dronavalli Harika bagged the world junior boys’ and girls’ titles.
World-class coaches
We have coaches for all levels and plenty of academies cater to that need. Barring some of the top players, most of them double up as coach with the idea of increasing their knowledge besides enhancing their income. With coaches to monitor their progress and accompany them for tournaments abroad, players make rapid progress over a period of time.
The world’s second youngest GM, Negi is one example of how constantly working with strong coaches can work wonders. He has even worked with former World Championship challenger Nigel Short. Negi is already a 2600 ELO player and with age and time on his side should make it big.
Another welcome development is having camps with reputed coaches before big events like the Chess Olympiad or Asian Games. For the coaches from the West, India is a favourite destination. Lev Psakhis, Evgeny Vladimirov, Ruslan Sherbakov and Elizbar Ubilava are some of the popular coaches in India.
Success after success denotes that Indian chess is on the right track. The sport will have an even stronger base in the country with more sponsors and more international tournaments happening in India.
With Ukraine and Armenia breaking the Russian domination in the Chess Olympiad there will come a time when India might win the Olympiad even though it looks far-fetched at the moment. That day will be a red-letter day in Indian chess.
ragavan_99@yahoo.com
Viswanathan Anand
After retaining the world title in Bonn it has been a mixed 2009 for the Indian. Performed reasonably in Linares, won the rapid title in the Amber event in Nice besides finishing joint second
overall. However, his supremacy in Mainz came to an end this year.
