“It has been a sensational efficiency by Praggnanandhaa. His promise has been famous for a lot of, a few years. However since June this yr, he has been superb. He first performed within the World Chess League and had among the finest performances. He then had a spectacular efficiency in Hungary after which he went to the World Cup. Within the World Cup, it’s important to be within the semifinals to qualify for the Candidates, which is a stepping stone to the World Chess Championship. He did that in fashion,” Anand instructed NDTV.
“Gukesh crossed me within the reside ranking checklist… one thing that is been achieved by an Indian for the primary time in 37 years. Praggnanandhaa then grew to become the primary Indian after me to achieve the semifinal and closing of the Chess World Cup. The ultimate is a two-game match. So, he’ll play at present (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday). Tomorrow, he could possibly be the primary Indian to win a World Cup after I did. And if he does it tomorrow across the time Chandrayaan lands on the moon, it is going to be simply an excessive amount of for us (Indians) to rejoice.”
“Carlsen has by no means gained a knockout. So, he might be extraordinarily motivated. That makes the thrill even larger,” Anand added.
Speaking concerning the present technology of Indian chess gamers, Anand stated, “It is a golden technology for Indian chess. So lots of our gamers have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup. The efficiency has been so good for us. What’s extra, we now have six or seven gamers within the Prime 100 and one can safely say that this group is powerful sufficient that they’re going to be on high of world chess for the following decade or two. We’ve got the potential now to have an Indian compete for all of the vital prizes in chess. That is very very dramatic. I used to be doing it alone and now now we have this enormous group. All of them arrived on the identical time and they’re all below 20. They’ll develop for the following decade.”
Reflecting on the explanation behind a sudden burst of gifted chess gamers from India, Anand stated, “It is a confluence of occasions. We’ve got had many robust Grandmasters. A lot of them went on to arrange academies. The chess federation additionally labored to develop curiosity. The game has been slowly progressing in some ways. Praggnanandhaa is within the high 30, Gukesh is No. 7 on the planet, Arjun is in high 50, Vidith is in high 30. These children are going to encourage one another. They’re all good pals, however all of them know that they’ve among the strongest rivals within the nation. They’re pushing one another.”
Anand additionally emphasised the position of Praggnanandhaa’s household, particularly his mom, behind his success. “My mom accompanied me to so many tournaments. Likewise, Pragg’s mom is with him all over the place, she travels with him all over the place. She actually helps him deal with the stress,” Anand stated.
