From Anand to Gukesh, surge in Indian GMs
India had only three Grandmasters at the turn of the century but since then that count has gone up to 60. The issue now is to get more players from the country into the top echelons
For years, becoming a Grandmaster (GM) felt like breaching the final frontier for Indian chess players -- ultimate prize, highest degree, biggest achievement.
Though Manuel Aaron became the country’s first International Master (IM) in 1961, for decades the GM title, awarded to the strongest players in chess — a sport born in India as ‘Chathurangam’ — eluded Indians.
In 1987, Viswanathan Anand broke through and became India’s first GM. But Indian players continued to fall short in their quest for the GM title, causing a mental block of sorts for even the top players before Dibyendu Barua claimed the title in 1991 and Praveen Thipsay followed in 1997.
By the turn of the century, India had only three GMs.
But that count has ballooned to 60 in the last 18 years; a tremendous rate of growth that makes India the sixth best in the world.
“If you ask most top players where the world champion in 2040 or 2050 will come from, they would say India or China…. If you look at junior competitions, we send the most participants. In most open tournaments, the majority of participants are from India. For me, it’s like night and day (from) how it was back then and what it is now,” said Anand, speaking in Kolkata recently.
A young crop of players has broken all barriers and as a result of their determination, sacrifice, support from their families, well-orchestrated moves by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) and help from the central government, India has 55 GMs and 109 IMs in this month’s world rankings’ list.
The AICF says the number of GMs in the country is 60 as some players have completed all requirements for the title but await the final nod from FIDE, the sport’s apex world body.
“There are many reasons for this growth. Number one, nowadays the number of tournaments is more, whether in India or abroad, so the players get more exposure. Earlier, players could not afford to play in Europe as it was very expensive. But now there are lot of players who travel to play in the European circuit in summer. Also, now they get sponsorship and the government is also helping; the federation has done a lot in the last 15-20 years. All these things put together, the result is this (more than 50 GMs),” says Barua.
“Of course, the main reason is Anand as he is the pioneer of Indian chess. He showed the other players it is possible to beat Europeans and win titles and he is the reason so many youngsters are taking up the sport. Chess is the sport in which we have won maximum medals in international events, whether it is Asian championships or the world youth championship.”
This sensational surge has seen Indian players excelling in the international arena too. Led by Anand, who has won the world championships five times in all variants of classical chess, six youngsters including three boys have won the junior world championships and India have bagged numerous medals in the world youth championships, Asian championships and other international tournaments.
MADE FOR INTERNET
Technology, thanks to computers and the internet, has played a hand in making it easier to learn, play and improve. Earlier, getting chess literature and books from Europe was very difficult. You speak to former players and they will tell how they would wait months for the latest chess magazines and books, for results and annotated games by masters to train and prepare. Now everything is just a click away and games are updated on the internet in a day or two.
FIDE rule changes too have helped and many old timers believe it is easier to become a GM now. Earlier, you had to maintain an elo rating of 2500 for months to get the GM title. Now, even if you have achieved it for a short while during a tournament, your title is assured.
Indian players have made optimum use of all these and the result is that players are becoming GMs in hordes and at a very young age. Earlier this week, D Gukesh became the second youngest Grandmaster in the world at 12 years, seven months and 17 days, missing Russian Sergey Karjakin’s record by a whisker. In June 2018, R Praggnanandhaa became a GM aged 12 years, 10 months and 13 days while last August, Nihal Sarin achieved the grade at 14 years and 31 days.
However, many people feel now that so many Indians have achieved their dream, it is time to think beyond the GM title.
The AICF has decided to involve some of the young GMs with the national team so that they can learn from players such as Anand, Pentala Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi, and provide them more coaching facilities.
“To help them achieve a higher level and get into the top 20, we are planning a lot of strong tournaments and coaching facilities. We spend around 75 per cent of our funding on youth and we plan to increase it,” says Bharat Singh Chauhan, AICF secretary.
PATH TO THE TOP
The players will need a lot more than more tournaments at home; they will need coaching by top GMs to improve from 2500 to reach the 2700-club and beyond. They dream of becoming world champions — many have already won world titles at age-group level — but achieving similar success at senior level is a herculean task for which one needs, beyond talent, planning, coaching and huge sums to gain international exposure.
Many Indian players have plateaued after gaining GM titles and have done nothing noteworthy after that. The AICF must ensure the likes of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Sarin and his peers VR Aravindh Chithambaram, Aryan Chopra and Arjun Erigaisi, who all became GMs in their teens, don’t meet the same fate.
In a sport played in almost pin-drop silence, it fits that Indian players have gone about their job quietly. Maybe that’s why their exploits have gone virtually unnoticed while achievements by other sportspersons are played up in the media.
It’s time for all stakeholders to not only fete them but also create an atmosphere that helps the players rise higher and higher.