After a history-making month for Indian chess, the All India Chess Federation unveiled a host of initiatives to further popularise the sport in India and revealed a whopping budget of Rs 65 crore. 

Last month, five Indian Grandmasters— Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Vidit Gujrathi in the open section and Humpy Koneru and Vaishali in the women’s event — had competed in the prestigious Candidates tournament. 

17-year-old Gukesh went on to win the open section event, thus becoming the youngest player to qualify for the World Chess Championship battle.

Now, to capitalise on that progress on the 64 squares, the Indian chess federation has announced a raft of initiatives such as having a chess development fund, introducing strong financial backing with player contracts and coaching at all levels, financially supporting district and state associations, setting up a state-of-the-art National Chess Arena (NCA) for elite-level training and an AICF Rating system specifically for India.

“Players are at the heart of chess and many have to compromise on their passion due to the lack of funds, institutional support, and opportunities. I am committed to making every player’s dream a reality through myriad initiatives rolled out today, in our Rs 65 crore budget."

He continued, "We are setting up a chess development fund to ensure that we empower the grassroots level players and bring them to a global level of excellence,” Narang said while announcing their ambition to bring chess to every household.