Classical chess is back after a slew of freestyle and rapid events. This brings the Indians back in familiar territory. After R Praggnanandhaa won the Tata Steel event in Wijk Aan Zee and Aravind Chithambaram prevailed at the Prague Masters, players from the country were low-key in rapid and freestyle. The ongoing Superbet Chess Classic Romania is a chance for them to reassert supremacy.
After two rounds in the 10-player, round-robin event in Bucharest to be played until May 16, D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa are on one point each. There are five more on that score. Alireza Firouzja of France is the sole leader with 1.5 points. The Indians have drawn both games so far, including the one between them in the opening round. Gukesh is the top seed in this event.
It’s an important year for Indian chess players, especially in the open section, after their exploits in 2024. This has resulted in rapid improvements in the ranking list. Gukesh is the World No. 3, Arjun Erigaisi is at 4 and Praggnanandhaa is at 7. There are seven from the country in the top 30. Nihal Sarin is not far behind at 38th. The world is watching if they can live up to the rising expectations.
The Bucharest event doesn’t feature World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, but there are five from the top 10 and nine from the top 25. Barring Romanian player Bogdan-Daniel Deac, who has a rating of 2668, all the other players are rated above 2700. The field is such that nobody is expected to emerge a clear favourite for the title until the very end.
It’s a crucial outing for Gukesh. After becoming the youngest-ever world champion last year, he came agonisingly close in the year’s first top tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, but lost to Praggnanandhaa in a tie-breaker in the last round to finish runner-up. In Bucharest, after drawing with his compatriot with white pieces, he split the point with Nodirbek Abdusattarov with black.
Gukesh and Erigaisi will face a huge test at the event called Norway Chess to be played from May 26 to June 6. This elite tournament to be played in the city of Stavanger will feature the world’s top five players and No. 8 Wei Yi of China. There will be no sharing of the point in this double-leg, round-robin event. If a game ends in a draw, there will be a tie-breaker to determine the winner.
The world will follow closely how Gukesh fares. Several present and former top players sounded apprehensive after he dethroned China’s Ding Liren as the world champion in Singapore, saying that the teenager was not worthy of the title. Carlsen himself was not too forthcoming in praising Gukesh. They will all wait to watch what he does in Stavanger.
Erigaisi, who is not part of the field in Bucharest, had a forgettable outing in Wijk Aan Zee before redeeming himself with a late win over Gukesh. It was Gukesh’s first defeat after winning the biggest title in the world. Erigaisi has not played a lot since and he will also face the pressure of expectations.
That is how it is going to be for these Indian youngsters in the coming days. Last year, when they swept everything on offer, they were not the clear favourites. The world knew they were good, but they were not world-beaters yet. Now, the situation has changed. This is a new test for them. Before the big one in Norway and other challenges, Romania is a perfect stage for them to get in shape.
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