Four Indians, among them three teenagers, have made it to the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup 2023, signalling a chess renaissance in the country which birthed the game.

This World Cup is not the biggest tournament in chess— it’s the FIDE Candidates tournament. Eight players can play and the winner will then be given a chance to challenge the reigning World Champion, China’s Ding Liren. Vishwanathan Anand is the only Indian to have made it to the Candidates tournament before.

Chess it is a global sport played in 172 countries. But modern India’s chess journey did not take a transformative turn until Viswanathan Anand clinched the Grandmaster title in 1988. Since then, India has produced 81 more in just three decades. Indian youngsters have consistently performed well in World Youth and Junior Championships across various age categories, showcasing the depth of young talent in the country.

The golden generation of Indian chess, led by D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa, but also made up of so many other promising young people, is starting to truly make its mark on the world stage. They are going to keep scaling new heights.”

Grandmasters like Anand have played a pivotal role in popularising the game. There can be no higher testimony to India’s emergence as a chess superpower than the fact that Anand himself has been beaten at the game by a prodigy.

17-year-old D Gukesh overtook Vishwanathan Anand as the highest-ranking Indian in FIDE rankings this year. Anand has been India’s top-ranked player since 1987.

Gukesh is the second-youngest grandmaster and the youngest Indian to achieve this feat. He now stands 9th in the FIDE list for August and at No. 7 in the live world rankings.

After his defeat, Anand is quoted as saying, “Even though I have been semi-retired for a couple of years, still to lose a spot you have held for 37 years is, well it is historic, I have to admit that.

A year ago, Gukesh had made headlines by beating World Champion Magnus Carlssen of Norway. But then, Gukesh is not the only one. Rameshbabu Pragnananda has beaten Carlsen already.

India were awarded the Chess Olympiad gold medal jointly with Russia after a frantic finish. That team had young grandmasters like D Harika, Nihal Sarin, Vidith Gujarathi and Divya Deshmukh.

Looking back to the journey of success, along with the support from central government in making chess compulsory in the schools across the country, Anand’s own Westbridge Chess Academy has been an inspiration for many young players. The academy has helped D Gukesh navigate the complex world of professional chess. The All India Chess Federation has opened several training centres and academies, the latest one in Odisha.

The rise of online chess platforms has made it easier for players to practice, compete, and learn from players around the world without geographical constraints.

India hosted the 180-nation Chess Olympiad in 2022 in Chennai with a $10 million budget. This grand event showed India’s sporting ambition and its rising global status.