Where do you see Indian chess in 10 years from now?

by Shahid Ahmed - 21/07/2018

20th of July every year is celebrated as the International Chess Day. This was the day when the world chess organization FIDE was established in 1924. In 1966, UNESCO suggested to observe 20th of July as the International Chess Day and since then all the 181 members of FIDE celebrate this special occasion. India is now progressing towards becoming the strongest chess country in the world. We asked lots of top Grandmasters and eminent personalities from India and the world one question, "Where do you see Indian chess in 10 years from now?" We have accumulated all the answers and compiled them in this article below. We have also selected few of the best answers by our readers from Facebook and Twitter and published it here.

Indian chess is booming. We currently have 52 grandmasters and the number is going to grow into three digits very soon. We wanted to know what do the most important personalities in Indian chess think about India's future in chess 10 years from now. We posed this question and this is what they had to say:

Aruna Anand:

Aruna Anand - Officially known as Mrs. Chess in India, the wife and manager of Vishy Anand | Photo: Amruta Mokal

"I think chess has grown a lot in the last 20 years.The game is synonymous with Anand to such an extent that I get called Mrs. Chess Anand. In the next ten we will see strong 2700 players emerge and maybe 2800 who knows. It's nice when people say who's that kid who became a GM! You feel proud almost like your own child became a GM. For Anand and myself it's a sense of personal pride to see the number of players in India. Anand has shown how dedication and ambition is so important as is humility to be a true champion. I hope youngsters will strive to imbibe these qualities. I also hope that schools make chess part of their holistic development program. It teaches a child much more than just moves. It enables thinking and problem solving. As a mother, these are the reasons why I want Akhil to play chess. I also hope children enjoy playing for themselves rather than to meet parental expectations. Wish everyone a lovely chess day and enjoy the game."

Harikrishna Pentala:

The most successful Indian chess player after Vishy Anand - GM Pentala Harikrishna | Photo: Sophie Tray

"Hi, wishing everyone of you a Happy International Chess Day! Indian chess is improving so rapidly that 10 years is a long time. We already have good generation of young players ready to break into top. I expect many Indians to cross 2700 in few years."

Vidit Gujrathi:

The fastest rising Indian star and Tata Steel Challengers 2018 winner - GM Vidit Gujrathi | Photo: Vasily Papin

"India already right now is a dominating force. We have the highest amount of young talent and a very strong senior team in both men and women. India is already a feared nation now, so in 10 years I see itself cementing the no.1 position."

Sasikiran Krishnan:

The wall of Indian chess - K. Sasikiran | Photo: Niklesh Jain

A lot of indian players are winning many open tournaments all over the world now. In ten years time, I hope to see some Indian players playing in the Candidates / playing for the World Championship title.

B. Adhiban:

The fearless one, GM B Adhiban | Photo: Lennart Ootes

"Well I would love it, if India would rule the chess world in team events and hopefully get back the world title in the men section and welcome a new Indian queen as the world champion in the women chess! I have 'Hope for the future!' "

Surya Sekhar Ganguly:

A superb player, second, trainer and in general a chess fanatic - Surya Sekhar Ganguly | Photo: Amruta Mokal

"Indian chess is definitely booming right now. We are doing great and the future looks even brighter with so many young talented players.

1. What I would love to see in coming 10 years is a lot of super tournaments taking place in India which will open the doors for young and top players from our country. Right now we have many international open tournaments but I have never seen any super tournament taking place. With Anand being there for decades, it's a bit surprising why no super events have ever been conducted. Better late than never....I think it is high time to conduct super tournaments now so that within 10 years we will be able to have equal number of such strong events as we are having International GM opens right now.

2. I would love to see chess being added as a subject to every school and our entire population knowing the rules of the game. Playing chess develops brain power and that is enough to understand the priority to include chess in every school.

3. India being number 1 country in chess."

Sethuraman:

Former Asian champion GM S. P. Sethuraman | Photo: Amruta Mokal

"Happy International Chess Day. I hope and believe that India will be a superpower with many established strong players."

Sandipan Chanda:

The gentleman of the game GM Sandipan Chanda wished the readers all the way from Netherlands | Photo: Amruta Mokal

"If we say Indian chess, I guess it covers an overall picture. So let's say in 10 years from now:

At the very top: 2 or 3 in top 10, about a dozen 2700+

GMs: about hundred.

Chess league: it has to be seen if it happens at some point, and if it happens in a big way."

R.B. Ramesh:

Team India's coach and World class trainer GM R B Ramesh | Photo: David Llada

"Currently we have three players over 2700 excluding GM Sasikiran who was over 2700 in the past. I believe India will have over 10 players above 2700 level and we will be in top three chess playing nations by most parameters."

Deep Sengupta:

GM Deep Sengupta sends his thoughts on International Chess Day from Pardubice in Czech Republic| Photo: Amruta Mokal

"Chess has been becoming a popular choice in India for the last decade or so.10 years down the line I think India will be in the top 3 by rating in open and women. Around 10 players above 2700. Gold medal in chess Olympiad and many more."

D. Harika:

The girl who has always made India proud - GM Harika Dronavali | Photo: Amruta Mokal

" Already we have too many achievements from Indian chess field and 10 years from now we might be in top 2 chess playing countries in the world."

GM Neelotpal Das:

Former National Rapid Champion, GM Neelotpal Das sends his regards all the way from Greece| Photo: Shahid Ahmed

"In the next few years I would like to see chess as a great career option for new generations. Apart from that I would like to see more professional chess leagues, more and more tournaments with different formats. Finally, I want to see chess as a mainstream Olympic sport someday. If chess becomes part of mainstream games like Olympics or Asian games then the status of the game will change drastically. In India at least chess can be part of national games."

Padmini Rout:

Four-time consecutive national champion from 2014-2017: Padmini Rout | Photo: Amruta Mokal

"One or more World Champions!" is where I see Indian chess to be at in the next 10 years. Chess does make people smarter. A normal person when meets a chess player they exclaim 'ah you must be very intelligent' which is true but like everything else we forget how such associations came about. All those time spent at the mental gym is what makes the person smarter, sharper, intelligent etc! I would recommend chess to all kids, young and old.

Jacob Aagaard:

GM Jacob Aagaard, coach of the Indian women's national team wishes Happy Chess Day from Denmark | Video: Jacob Aagaard

Famous Chess Photographer and ChessBase author IM Alina L'Ami sends her wishes on International Chess Day | Photo: Nongsha Angom

"In 10 years we might see a candidates tournament with Nihal Sarin, Praggu, Gukesh and a 60 year old Vishy!"

Bharat Singh Chauhan:

Last but most definitely not the least, the pillar of Indian chess - AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan | Photo: Bharat Singh Chauhan

"I want India to be at the top of the world in next 10 years. Everywhere in the world Indian chess players should be dominating the sport. When we become number one chess playing nation, India's dominance in chess will reflect in other spheres as well."

Our readers' thoughts:

We had asked the same question to our readers as well, here are some of the best replies:

"Nihal vs Pragg in the World Championship Match, of course" - Kostya Kavutskiy on twitter

"I've seen some 8-9 year olds analyze their games on your YouTube channel. The maturity in their chess thinking suggests to me that in 10 years, India is absolutely going to be a chess superpower like Russia. Probably will have 5-7 Indians in the top 30." - Vishnu Sreekumar on Twitter

"It is always hard to predict any progress in any domain ten years from now. But looking at the current talents at the 10-14 years age category, Praggnanandha, Nihal and many more who will be around 20-24 years of age, I really hope at least 3 players in world top ten players are from India, and one at least competing for world title. Also I would like to have at least 10 Indian players in top world 50. As of July 2018, top 10 has no Indian players , Vishy is on 11th and there are only 3 Indian players in top 50. Now coming to one more important aspect of chess, I would like to see more companies sponsoring these top players, and would love to see more chess players doing ads in TV/media. That's the least what I expect Indian Chess to be ten years from now. Kudos to ChessBase India for chess related news everyday, its very easy to know whats happening in chess , now a days." - Somnath Chatterjee on Facebook

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"India’s booming chess talent is already visible. We have risen by leaps and bounds in the last two decades itself. Ten years is a long time and with the pace and intensity with which Indian chess is growing, the future looks promising. It won’t be long before we have won the Olympiad in both the men’s and women’s categories, have a world champion in at least one of the two categories, increase our GM tally to 150+ players, and see most of the top 100 in the world as Indians. However, the ultimate dream would be to make chess reach the grassroots and to all sections of society including the visually challenged and disabled community. I hope to see a world champion in the blind tournaments from India. Why not even some Grandmasters and International Masters who are visually challenged. What the future has in store for us can only be decided then, but all that I can say is that we are a work in progress. Happy chess day!" - Devanshi Rathi on Facebook

ChessBase India wishes all its readers a very happy International Chess Day. Thank you for being a part of our journey in making chess one of the most popular sports in our country!

The visually challenged team in Sofia, Bulgaria

The visually challenged team is in Sofia, Bulgaria representing our country at the World Team Championships 2018. We asked them a different question: What does chess mean to you? And this is what they had to say:

Don't miss the messages of these bravehearts of Indian chess!