Viswanathan Anand: Emergence of Vaishali a key highlight of 2023

Meanwhile, for the first time since 1990, India will have more than one player in the Candidates tournament.

Vaishali, by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss in the Isle of Man, also qualified for the Women’s Candidates Tournament. She will join seven other players, including Humpy, who will compete for a chance to face the defending women’s world champion, Ju Wenjun in April 2024. | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

India’s male chess players made huge strides in 2023. First, let’s compare the rating lists from January 2024 to January 2023. Almost every player under the age of 25 gained a lot of rating points in 2023. However, even more impressive were the records that were equalled or broken last year. For the first time since 1986, an Indian player was ranked higher than me on the rating list. In January 2024, four players are within 25 points of the Indian number one tag. For the first time since 1990, India has more than one player in the Candidates tournament. This record was equalled by three people: R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, and D. Gukesh. They will all attempt to win the Candidates in Toronto in April and play for the world title.

Praggnanandhaa started his winning streak in June by winning seven out of 10 games in the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League. He followed it up by winning the Budapest Hetenyi event. The highlight was his performance in the FIDE World Cup in Baku, where he eliminated World numbers 2 and 3, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, and lost the final tiebreak to Magnus Carlsen. It earned him the right to play in the Candidates in 2024. He was also the best performer in the Düsseldorf World Rapid Team Championship in 2023. He ended the year with stable results in top tournaments and as India’s number 2 with a rating of 2743. In his first attempt at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships held in Samarkand, he showed that he can compete in faster formats against the world’s best chess players.

Vidit joined him by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss held in the Isle of Man in October. He had narrowly missed qualifying for the World Cup in Baku, had a career-high rating of 2742, and was India’s number 3. He underlined his improvement in all aspects of the game by almost tying for first with Carlsen in the World Rapid Championship. One area of concern is clutch moments at the highest level, and he will have to improve in this area.

Gukesh became the first Indian to overtake me on the rating list since 1986 and had impressive performances in Duesseldorf, Norway, and the World Cup in Baku. The Candidates eluded him, and only a great effort in December at the Chennai Grand Masters 2023 got him the desired spot in the event through the FIDE Circuit, a spot given to the most consistent performer of the year. His persistence is notable when a person could have been forgiven for giving up.

Another milestone for Indian chess in 2023 was the emergence of R. Vaishali, Praggnanandhaa’s sister, as the third Indian woman to achieve the open Grandmaster title, after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika. Vaishali, by winning the FIDE Grand Swiss in the Isle of Man, also qualified for the Women’s Candidates Tournament. She will join seven other players, including Humpy, who will compete for a chance to face the defending women’s world champion, Ju Wenjun of China, in April 2024.

Arjun Erigaisi and S. L. Narayanan both played at a high level and had chances to win the Qatar Masters. They will be motivated to continue to improve in 2024.

Among the women, Divya Deshmukh won the Rapid title and was joint third in the Blitz event in Tata Steel Chess in Kolkata. Velpula Sarayu emerged as one of the top female chess players in the country.

Finally, the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League marked the entry of India’s innovative sporting leagues into chess. It was held in June in Dubai, with six franchises and most of the world’s top players participating in the competition. The format, presentation, and venue were all adapted to broaden the visual appeal of chess for television. Chess fans are looking forward to the second edition this year.