Triumph squared: On India’s chess double win in Budapest

India’s double gold at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest is an extraordinary feat: only two other countries could do it in history. It came as no surprise to the serious followers of the game, though. The Indian women began as the first seed and the men as the second in the mind sport’s most prestigious team event, for which most of the world’s countries flew down to the Hungarian capital. While the women’s campaign suffered a couple of setbacks towards the end, the men were absolutely dominant right through. The men were so good that they scored four points more than their nearest rivals, the top-seeded United States. What stood out is the fact that India’s twin triumph was fashioned by a bunch of youngsters belonging to the golden generation of Indian chess. That should be a worrying thought for India’s opponents on the chessboard as these champions can only get better and will be playing at the Olympiad and other global competitions for another decade or two. Besides the team golds, India also won the individual golds through D. Gukesh (aged 18), Arjun Erigaisi (21), Divya Deshmukh (18) and Vantika Agrawal (21). The Indian teams also included Chennai’s Grandmaster siblings R. Praggnanandhaa (19) and R. Vaishali (23). It is also worth mentioning that the Indian women’s team did not have Koneru Humpy, one of the strongest female players in chess history.

Having stressed that, India’s depth in the women’s game is nowhere near that of the men’s. While there are several promising male players outside the Olympiad teams, such as Nihal Sarin and Raunak Sadhwani, it is not quite so in Indian women’s chess. India’s chess administration should try to use the great success of its women at Budapest to promote the game more aggressively among girls. The women’s bench needs to get stronger. The administrators also have to organise elite tournaments in India. The big stars of Indian chess hardly ever play in the country, for there are no events good enough for them. Viswanathan Anand, the man who single-handedly revolutionised chess in India, never had an opportunity to play in a tournament other than a World championship or World Cup at home after he became one of the superstars of world chess. There is the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata, but its format is rapid and blitz, and not the classical variety of the Olympiad. Players like Arjun and Divya have shown in the eastern metropolis how much a top-quality event like that helps Indian players. Indian chess surely could soar higher with more support from the government and corporates.

Published - September 24, 2024 12:16 am IST