Top-5 Chess tournaments, Viswanathan Anand records and scope in current youth Indian chess players

Chess is considered as one of the toughest games in the world. This game is also one of the most, if not the most popular and well-known among board games all over the world, being considered a strategy and intelligence game. The origin of chess is something that is debated and there is not really a consensus on its origin or even the history of chess, from the old to the present. But it is deemed that Chess first appeared in India about the 6th century AD and by the 10th century had spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe.

SportsTak

• Mon • 23 May 2022

Chess is considered as one of the toughest games in the world. This game is also one of the most, if not the most popular and well-known among board games all over the world, being considered a strategy and intelligence game, and a good player must already advance what the moves his opponent will make. The origin of chess is something that is debated and there is not really a consensus on its origin or even the history of chess, from the old to the present.

But it is deemed that Chess first appeared in India about the 6th century AD and by the 10th century had spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. Since at least the 15th century, chess has been known as the “royal game” because of its popularity among the nobility. Rules and set design slowly evolved until both reached today’s standard in the early 19th century. Once an intellectual diversion favoured by the upper classes, chess went through an explosive growth in interest during the 20th century as professional and state-sponsored players competed for an officially recognized world championship title and increasingly lucrative tournament prizes.

Let's have a look at the Top-5 Chess tournaments in the world:

1. World Cup: The FIDE World Cup refers to three different events over the years. Since 2000, it has been a major chess event organized by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. Since 2005, it has been a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, forming part of the qualification for the World Chess Championship.

2. Candidates tournament: The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship.

3. World Rapid and Blitz Championship: The World Rapid Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under rapid time controls. Prior to 2012, FIDE gave such recognition to a limited number of tournaments, with non-FIDE recognized tournaments annually naming a world rapid champion of their own. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships. FIDE also holds the Women's World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship.

4. World Chess Championship: The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013.

5. Tata Steel Chess: The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is one of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. The “Wimbledon of Chess” attracts the very best chess grandmasters in the world, along with thousands of amateur players, live event visitors and online visitors from around the world. In 2023, the Tata Steel Chess Tournament celebrates its 85th year.

Viswanathan Anand records

The Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is the first name that comes to mind when we think of chess in India. Anand is the first grandmaster from India, and one of the few players to have crossed an Elo rating of 2800, which he first accomplished in 2006.

After Kramnik, Topalov, and Garry Kasparov, Anand became the fourth player in history to cross the 2800 Elo threshold on the FIDE rating list in April 2006. He held the number one spot for the sixth-longest time in history, at 21 months.

In 2003 and 2017, the 52-year-old won the FIDE World Quick Chess Championship, the World Blitz Cup in 2000, and a slew of other top-level rapid and blitz competitions.

In 1991-92, Anand was the first winner of India's highest sports honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. He received India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2007, making him the first sportsperson to do so.

Scope in current youth Indian chess players

The Chess game in India has so far undergone a tremendous transformation in the last few decades. Actually, when we travel back in time, to be accurate, 29 years ago, there was not a single Grandmaster in the country. Whereas now, over the last few years, India has experienced a boom in terms of young talent. India has got a plethora of it. Today, India has 50 GMs (grandmasters).

A lot of factors contributed to the rise of Chess in India. This also could be possible with the help and advent accessibility of technology reaching homes in terms of internet and computers. This without realization turned a fun time or leisure-time activity into a serious life goal. This led to more and more young Indian chess players serious about this game.

Not only this, we can just not neglect the most instrumental part which was perhaps, the role of these young Chess champions and their dedication with which they trained to make it big in the world of Chess.