Indian chess players are good at seizing opportunities: Viswanathan Anand | Other sports news

Anand is widely credited for shaping players like the youngest ever World Championship challenger D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. He said he played a small role and shared the credit for their growth with their personal coaches and parents.

“I am doing my best, it was certainly a nice project to be able to start the Westbridge Anand Academy four years ago. It was inspired by schools that I had seen in the Soviet Union more than 30-40 years ago.

“I tried to borrow ideas from multiple places. (Back then) Indians were consistently in the top 200, but not quite in the top 100. The idea was to support the talent and help them bridge that gap.

“I think we’ve been successful. For us it’s very exciting that Gukesh is already playing in the World Cup. (But) there are a lot of people involved, not just WACA but their parents, their coaches, we’re trying to make sure we fit in well,” he added.

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and another young star R Vaishali will be competing in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Anand hopes that the result will be better than the bronze that both the men’s and women’s teams secured in the 2022 edition.

“…let’s not forget that last year they smelled gold, they had it in their hands, they slipped away in the penultimate round and for the women it slipped away in the last round. I really hope they put it right this time…

“…I mean, maybe I’m a hardwired player, but I like to take it step by step. But if you have to roll the dice, these are pretty good teams to roll with,” he said.

When asked what makes the current generation a bigger success story than the likes of Surya Shekhar Ganguly, K Sasikiran and Sandipan Chanda, Anand said it is the ability to seize crucial opportunities.

“But I want to stress that many players from the previous generation are coaching these youngsters, so in a way they are responsible for the success of this generation.

“…many of them had quite good careers themselves. They often competed against top players. But you know, sometimes in sport it’s not enough to get results… when an opportunity comes along, you just have to grab it with both hands,” he said.

“With Gukesh, I think he has positioned himself well among the candidates. He was not the favourite, not experienced. When he had a chance, he had done his job. So you have to grab your chance and the current generation is doing quite well,” Anand pointed out.

Chess has never been an Olympic sport, despite its large international presence and rich history, because it lacks the athleticism that the Olympics are known for. Anand hopes that this will change in the coming years.

He also closely followed India’s campaign at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics.

“Chess has a very strong argument for participation in the Olympics. We have a couple of options, it’s the Summer Games or the Winter Games. But also the E-Sports Games could be an option,” said Anand, who is also vice-president of FIDE, the world chess federation.

“I tried to capture a lot of great moments. At the Olympics, I think that even though we had the option of 15 medals, we turned out less than we would have liked. Whereas at the Paralympics, it’s really fantastic,” he said, referring to the unprecedented 29 medals won by the para-athletes.

“Their ability to cope and still persevere is very inspiring. Sheetal’s bull’s eye, these are the moments that stay with you,” he added.

Anand has now retired from football and says he is looking forward to his GCL stint next month, which will also see some top international players, such as Magnus Carlsen, compete.

In addition, Anand hopes to compete in the Leon Masters in Spain next year, after winning it for the tenth time earlier this year.

“I’m going to play a few events next year. I don’t know which ones yet, I hope to play in Spain again. Semi-retired means I’m slowly winding down rather than stopping one day, I’m taking it easy,” said the icon who finds his managerial role “fascinating”.

First publication: Sep 10, 2024 | 6:24 PM IST