Gukesh D and the rise of Indian chess
Lounge. “When I play abroad, people just want to know how India has so many players coming up. Everybody is curious; I think there is a little fear as well.
If there was any doubt left in people’s minds that India is the next big thing in chess, it has been dispelled." Chess supposedly originated from an Indian game called chaturanga played around 600 CE. Some of the rules were developed and modified in the Persian version shatranj before it spread across Asia and Europe. In its earliest forms, it may have been a battle-game simulation, an exercise in tactical positioning.
The game evolved almost into the current version by the 16th century, but modern chess as we know it was championed by post-revolution Russia. For Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, chess became a symbol of intellectual superiority and international dominance. State-sponsored chess in the erstwhile USSR and its satellite countries kicked in motion a conveyor belt of chess prodigies.
From Mikhail Botvinnik to Kasparov, Soviet players utterly dominated chess after World War II. US’s Bobby Fischer, who held the world title from 1972-75, was the only exception. In 1988, Anand became the first Indian to earn the Grandmaster title.
A once-in-a-generation talent, Anand is one of the biggest sporting icons in India. He was also studious, earnest and non-controversial, which he believes made him the “sensible choice" for a role model. Especially for chess parents.
His name entered textbooks and was etched on prestigious trophies. He won the first of his five world championship titles in 2000 (FIDE World Championship) and his sustained success inspired generations of Indian chess players. He was the India No.1 for an unbroken streak of 37 years till Gukesh
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