CHENNAI: The 25-day long rollercoaster ride that was the FIDE Chess World Cup ended with India's R Praggnanandhaa finishing second against Norway's Magnus Carlsen. The No. 1 ranked Carlsen defeated the 18-year-old Indian prodigy, the youngest World Cup finalist, in the tiebreaker to win the title in Baku, Azerbaijan, adding to his five World Chess Championship titles.
"Pragg absolutely gave his all," Srinath Narayanan, the Indian Grandmaster and India's coach for the Asian Games, told this daily. "But Magnus still seems to be the better player between not just the two, but also against all the leaders of the new generation whether it is D Gukesh or Arjun Erigaisi, etc. I think Magnus was always going to be the favourite but Pragg has pulled off some incredible things in the past," he added.
"There was always some hope from Pragg's side and he fought really well, he tried to create chances. Magnus just turned out to be the more experienced, stronger player and he held on to one of those moments towards the end of that match otherwise it was a pretty even match."
Srinath believes after Viswanathan Anand's domination in the early 2000s, the wave of young players has brought renewed energy to chess. Along with Pragg, Gukesh, Arjun, and Vidit Gujarathi made it to the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup this year. The 29-year-old explained, "We had Anand winning everything, in 2002-04. But back then it was different times and it was just one exceptional player from India. Now, we have a generation of players coming through. We had four Indians in the quarter and we had this representation in the final. As a country, I think we had the best performance in the World Cup. It's something incredible to see."
After the unprecedented reach achieved by the Indian contingent, the coach hopes India is able to ride the wave and make the most of the highs from the World Cup. "It's important that we make good use of the present, which involves getting good training and good opportunities to play against the best players in the world. And the other part will also be to ensure that the production line keeps going all the way. We need to keep things interesting all through that level, to facilitate the players' progress and to identify the best talents, help them with the necessary financial support, the necessary infrastructure training. I think all these things have to continue to ensure that we keep it going," he said.
With the Asian Games coming ahead, chess will make a comeback after 13 years, Srinath informed that the Indian players have a few competitions to make their mark before the marquee event. "There is a tournament in Germany, the world team championship. And then some of them will play in the Tata Steel India rapid and blitz from September 5 to 9. Then there are some people playing in Germany, then the Spanish League, and some players are playing in the Polish League. So there are 2-3 events before the Asian Games," he said, adding that there will be a preparatory camp for Asian Games from August 30 in Kolkata.
(With inputs from Gomesh S)