How did chess become this popular in India?

Viswanathan Anand in January 1989. (Photo by Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons)

R. Praggnanandhaa, the first Indian since Vishy Anand to make it into the Fide Chess World Cup semi-finals, on Saturday defeated Fabiano Caruana in the first semis match.

On the eve of her 76th Independence Day, India had celebrated the news of four countrymen making it to the top 8 of the 2023 Chess World Cup in Azerbaijan.

Using the word countrymen here is taking a little bit of liberty: Vidit Gujrathi is 29, but at 19, Arjun Erigaisi became an adult barely a year ago. R. Praggnanandhaa turned 18 during this World Cup, while at 17, D. Gukesh is still a minor.

In the quarter-finals, Gukesh went down to Magnus Carlsen and Gujrathi to local hero Nijat Abasov. Erigaisi lost as well, in a titanic clash against Praggnanandhaa, but an India versus India quarter-final ensured at least one semi-finalist from the country.

Praggnanandhaa became the first Indian since Viswanathan Anand in 2002 to make it to the semi-final in World Cup history, and the first ever since the World Cup switched to a single-elimination (knockout) format.

Also see: Why Viswanathan Anand’s wife made him do 50 push-ups. Watch

Before all that, Harika Dronavalli had lost an eight-game quarter-final to Aleksandra Goryachkina, who has made it to the final, just like she had in the inaugural edition two years ago.

India’s success at the World Cup was not unexpected. If anything, the only surprising aspect was how late it came. At the time of writing, there are six Indians in the top 50 in FIDE ratings for men (at 51st, Nihal Sarin just misses out) and four in the top 50 for women.

While impressive, a more encouraging aspect for India is the age of the chess stars. Of the ten Indians in the top 30 teenage male players, four – Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi, and Sarin – rank among the top 6. Savitha Shri B and Divya Deshmukh are, meanwhile, in the top 8 among the female teens.

But why and how did this board game, perceived as nerdy and with little ‘live action’ to offer to the television audience, become this popular in India?

From chaturanga to the grandmasters

It is theorized that the Arabs modified the 6th or 7th century Indian board game of chaturanga into shatranj, which later became today’s chess. The king, minister, infantry, elephant, horse, and chariot in chaturanga moved almost – but not exactly – like the king, queen, pawn, bishop, knight, and rook in chess.

Despite the origins, India was not a significant name in global chess. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the rules of “Indian chess” were very different from its counterparts in the rest of the world (for example, the king could opt for the knight’s move – but exactly once in the match, and so on).

It was not until 1955 that India had a national championship. The following year, during the peak of the Russian dominance, they participated in the Chess Olympiad for the first time.

Manuel Aaron, the first Indian International Master (in 1961) and the first chess player to win an Arjuna Award (in 1962), was the first outstanding Indian player of this era. More importantly, he popularized chess as played by the world in a country still fixated with “Indian chess” and with little culture of the sport.

Manuel Aaron in 1962 (Photo by Jack de Nijs for Anefo via Wikimedia Commons 1.0)

It was not until the 1980s that chess took off in India. As Dibyendu Barua and Praveen Thipsay made waves, a boy from Tamil Nadu, younger to both, rose through the ranks at a meteoric rate.

By 14, Anand was the sub-junior national champion – with a perfect nine-out-of-nine score. By 15, he became an International Master. By 16, he was the national champion. And by 18, India’s first ever grandmaster and a Padma Shri.

A five-time world champion, a former No.1, and a Padma Vibhushan, Anand continues to be the top-ranked Indian nearly four decades after his first International Master norm.

India has produced outstanding sportspersons, but perhaps no one has unambiguously held the title of the greatest in the country for a span this long. Yet, Anand’s legacy transcends the man, for perhaps no one in any sport has inspired generations to take up what once used to be a pastime as a professional sport.

To elaborate on his impact, one must remember that Anand (in 1988), Barua (1991) and Thipsay (1997) were the only Indian grandmasters in the 20th century. The impact began to show in the new millennium. By 2004, India had 11 grandmasters including Koneru Humpy, the first woman to be awarded the title. Barring the original three, none of these 11 had been 10 years old by the time Anand had become an International Master.

By 2009, the count of Indian grandmasters had shot up to 20. By 2014, 36. By 2019, 65. The current count stands at 82. All but six of them were born in or after the 1980s, the decade when Anand shot to prominence.

It is only a matter of time before India breaches the three-figure mark., Gukesh had leapfrogged Anand on the FIDE rating before falling behind, but the gap between the two is not unsurmountable.

The biggest challenge for the new generation of Indian chess stars would be to surpass Anand’s FIDE peak Elo rating of 2817.