The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– Jan 12, 2022; Day 212

Young knights (a person of high rank): On Indian chess

Indian chess needs tournaments that pit the country’s best against the world’s strongest

A few days after he expectedly won his fifth World chess championship in a row (one after another; without a break), Magnus Carlsen suggested he might abdicate (Give up) his crown — unless Alireza Firouzja qualifies as his challenger for the next World title. The Norwegian genius spoke of how the recent performances of the 18-year-old Iran-born French player motivated him. The teenager is now the frontrunner to be Carlsen’s rival for next year’s World title match. A few years later, an Indian could be facing the World champion across the chessboard in a title match, for the first time since 2014. It may be no exaggeration (Making to seem more important than it really is) to say that India currently possesses the world’s most exciting group of chess prodigies (An unusually gifted or intelligent (young) person; someone whose talents excite wonder and admiration). Players such as Arjun Erigaisi (18), Nihal Sarin (17), R. Praggnanandhaa (16), D. Gukesh (15) and Raunak Sadhwani (16) are capable of breaking into the elite of world chess. And there is much promise outside that bunch too, like Bharath Subramaniyam, who became India’s 73rd Grandmaster on Sunday, at the age of 14. The list of the world’s top juniors is a reasonable indicator of the future stars. In the latest list released by FIDE, five of the top 13 are Indians. Among the seniors, Viswanathan Anand continues to be the highest ranked Indian. The five-time World champion, who single-handedly revolutionised chess in the country, is the World No. 16.

It is no mean feat (A notable achievement) considering Anand is 52 and keeping him company are six other Indians in the top 100. Among countries, India is ranked fifth. In the women’s list, Koneru Humpy is ranked third and Dronavalli Harika eleventh. Not many exceptional talents are coming through from among the junior girls, though. That is one deficiency (The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable) the All India Chess Federation could look into. The federation also needs to do all it can to ensure that Indian chess retains its momentum (Enough activity to continue going). Never has it seen so many gifted youngsters making rapid strides (Significant progress) on the global stage at the same time. That they are being trained, among others, by Anand is one of the most positive developments in Indian chess in recent times. Conducting a few top-tier tournaments that could pit (Set into opposition or rivalry) India’s best against the world’s strongest, in addition to the large number of open events that are already there, is something the administrators have to do on a regular basis. At present, there is only one; and that too, thanks to Tata Steel. Chess has recently become more mainstream in India, and the huge increase in popularity of live streams of chess events suggests even better days are ahead. If there is a time to tap the huge potential of the game in the country where it originated 15 centuries ago, it is now.

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