There is good news on several fronts for Indian chess. This one is nothing compared to the euphoria of the Chess Olympiad double gold, but is significant evidence that the country’s growing stature in the sport is getting recognised in many ways. At the World Cup next year, seven Indians will take part in the open section after having qualified from the national championship.
This is unprecedented. Indians had to make it to the biennial event from the continental qualifying competitions. Exempted from this were those who qualified on the basis of their world rankings. For example, in 2022, D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and Nihal Sareen got into the fray without playing qualifiers. Five more came through the zonal or continental grind.
“The quota system has changed,” Bharat Singh Chauhan, deputy president of the Asian Chess Federation (ACF), told RevSportz. “Now, the Indian national championship is regarded as a zonal qualifying event. Indian players have done very well in recent times and the organisers must have taken into account how the Indians fared in last year’s edition.”
In 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Indian youngsters made an announcement of what was to come. Four of them — Gukesh, Pragg, Vidit and Arjun — reached the quarterfinals of the knockout tournament featuring 206 players in the open section. An 18-year-old Pragg put up a stunning display before losing to World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in the final. This campaign ignited India’s glorious run, as Gukesh won the Candidates, before India finished on top in the open and women’s sections of the Chess Olympiad.
“Seven Indians have already made the cut from the nationals, and there will be more from the world ranking quota and the Olympic quota,” said Chauhan, a former secretary of the All India Chess Federation. “That will make it the most number of Indians in the open section of the World Cup ever. It’s a testament of India’s growing presence in world chess.”
The nationals were played in Gurugram in August. The seven who made the cut from that championship are Karthik Venkataraman, Surya Skehar Ganguly, Nilaash Saha, Diptayan Ghosh, Aranyok Ghosh, Gusain Imal and MR Lalith Babu. The next World Cup will be played in the second half of 2025. The venue is still to be announced. The World Cup is not as prestigious as the World Championship, but it’s the strongest knockout competition, which attracts top players.
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