India has seen a significant rise in chess as new stars have emerged who have dominated the game globally. Those days are gone when India’s chess presence was epitomized by the legendary Viswanathan Anand. It has been possible because of Viswanathan’s huge influence over the last two to three decades, which inspired hundreds of thousands of youngsters to take up chess as a sport and career, India now boasts an entire generation of world-class chess players.

India’s Dominance In Chess

The time has come, according to first Indian Grandmaster and the country’s first-ever world champion of 2000, when an Indian player is going to play in every important tournament, and not just playing but competing against the best of the world. India’s present top players, according to the FIDE Classical Rankings, are Arjun Erigaisi and the recently crowned world champion D Gukesh, standing at 4th and 5th positions, respectively. Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa (13th), Aravindh Chithambaram (23rd), and Vidit Gujrathi at 24th also comfortably sit in the top ranks that signal India’s growing chess domination.

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Every Single Tournament Has Indian Player

“It’s possible that at every single tournament there is an Indian playing, whom you can look forward to watching. Imagine every morning you wake up and see a tournament and there is something to root for. The audience numbers are very good; we have regular broadcast… a lot of the dots have been connected,” Viswanathan Anand was quoted as saying at an event in Bengaluru by The Hindu.

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Rivalry Also There Along With Friendship

“These players have all grown up together. The rivalry is also there along with the friendship. They seem genuinely happy for each other, but they are very motivated to achieve the same thing or take it even higher. If this continues, it is fantastic for India,” added Anand