With the second season of the World Chess League set to kick off in London this year, tournament CEO Sameer Pathak is chalking out a roadmap to popularise the sport in India and believes that institutionalising it through academies is the way forward.
Although chess is booming in India, most of the accomplished players come from the south of the country, particularly Tamil Nadu.
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“Tamil Nadu has done a great job in promoting sports, with a proper sports structure. So, the reason behind the dominance of state players is due to cultural factors,” Pathak told the Press Trust of India.
As the GCL will try to take the sport to other parts of the country, developing talent through academies will be beneficial, Pathak said.
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“Although the GCL will continue to spread the sport across the country, there is a need to institutionalise the sport through academies in other parts of the country.
“Outside South India, players like Vidit Gujrati and Raunak Sadhwani hail from Maharashtra. So I wouldn’t say there is a dearth of talent in other parts of India, but setting up more academies will help in nurturing and nurturing talent well.”
Pathak said the main objective of GCL is to bring it at par with other popular sports in India.
“The popularity of the sport is increasing and the World Chess Association is trying to bring it at par with other popular sports. We hope to be an inspiration to Indian chess.
Young Indian star De Gokish will miss the GCL as he competes with Ding Liren for the world championship title later this year.
However, Pathak expressed his happiness that another great Indian player, R. Brajnanda, will play for Alpine SG Pipers alongside former world champion Magnus Carlsen at the event, scheduled from October 3 to 12.
“Jokesh and Prajnanda have played a significant role in popularising the sport in India. We salute their hard work and performances in making India a hub of chess.
“Jokesh is preparing for the World Championship matches, so he will not be participating in the GCL tournament this season. I hope he wins this match (with Deng), which is only beneficial for Indian chess.
Prajnanda will be playing his second season. He plays on the same team as Carlsen, which makes him even more interesting.
Pathak said the inclusion of new faces would make the event even better.
“The biggest improvement is having a lot of new faces alongside the big stars, and one of them is Hikaru Nakamura. We received a lot of feedback after the opening season in Dubai and, based on that, the second season in London is shaping up to be bigger, better and more exciting.”
Pathak believes Prajananda's sister Vaishali, who also works as the managing director, is a serious talent to watch out for.
“Vaishali has a real talent for chess, just like her brother, and being a grandmaster now makes her a huge talent. He is part of his brother's rival team (Ganga Grandmaster) along with Viswanathan Anand, and it will be a great brother-sister duo. battle in GCL.
“Apart from this, Arjun Irigasi and Nihal Sarin have also performed tremendously in recent times and are expected to deliver impressive performances this season.”
The other four teams in Season 2 are Mumba Masters, PBG Alaskan Knights, Triveni Continental Kings, and American Gambits. Each team features one star player, as well as two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women, and one Prodigy.
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