Tracking the FIDE World Cup is a good way to study the evolution of Indian chess at the highest level. Viswanathan Anand’s reign, then a long period of lull, followed by the emergence of the next generation, and gradually, the number of title contenders multiplying — India’s history in this tournament describes in details every chapter of this journey.
A bunch of favourites (2025)
The upcoming one first. Goa is hosting the 2025 edition of this knockout event (October 30 to November 27) and the Indians are a formidable force. D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi are heading a strong home challenge. There is a solid second rung in Vidit Gujrathi, Aravindh Chithambaram and Nihal Sarin.
In the top 25 for this event, there are seven Indians. Without two of their best — Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura — the USA are second with five. It explains why they are No. 1 in country-wise rankings and India second. Erigaisi and Pragg are the top two in the field of 206 in terms of individual rankings. Of the 22 players rated 2700 or above, six are from India. The USA have five. Several countries have players as good. None has so many of them.
These figures don’t just whet the appetite. They have raised the bar. Pragg won three titles this year and came close a number of times. Aravindh won two. Gukesh defeated Carlsen. Nihal stood out in various tournaments. Unless there is somebody on the podium, preferably on top of it, nobody is happy. Expectations have grown manifold following the tremendous success of the current lot starting from 2022.
When expectations started soaring (2023)
A talented bunch of teenagers turned up in Baku, Azerbaijan. Their reputation was growing. The world had noticed a spark in them. Still, unexpected was four of them reaching the quarterfinals and making a mess of reputations. They were nowhere near the favourites. In the rankings before the event, Gukesh was 13th, Vidit 27th, Erigaisi 30th and Pragg 41st. Vidit was 29 years old. The rest 17, 18 and 20.
This wave of youth challenging and overpowering the experienced and established, showing aggressive intentions, was a revelation. Their potential was known. Not this relentless pursuit for victory. Pragg defeated world No. 2 Nakamura in the fourth round and No. 3 Caruana in the semi-finals. He lost the final against Magnus Carlsen on tie-breaker.
Anand was not playing and yet, Indians were creating ripples. This was the official confirmation of the arrival of ‘Vishy’s Children’. It happened in the birthplace of the person who coined that word – Garry Kasparov.
Why was this a big deal? (2005-21)
In the previous nine editions (2005-21), there was virtually no Indian challenge. Anand continued to win World Championships, but not the World Cup in the knockout format. Krishnan Sasikiran and Pentala Harikrishna crossed the 2700 Elo rating mark. Harikrishna is still going strong. Vidit emerged a little afterwards. But when it came to cracking the world code, India didn’t find one after Anand. This explains why 2023 was a breakthrough edition. Zero and no medal hope, save one, for 16-17 years to four in the quarters and the silver medal was a leap.
Era of emperor who inspired (2000, 2002)
The first two World Cups were held in a league-cum-knockout format in 2000 and 2002. These two editions sum up that period of Indian chess appropriately. Anand was the champion on both occasions. After the World Cup in 2000, he claimed the first of his five World Championships the same year. He had lost two title bouts before that. The World Cup made him a serial winner!
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