World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju shared his thoughts on the contribution of Viswanathan Anand and himself to the rise of Indian chess. Gukesh states that without Anand’s success, chess in India would not have gained popularity, and notes the importance of personal success in elite tournaments.

Gukesh Dommaraju

Gukesh Dommaraju

World Champion

“Obviously the Vishy’s impact cannot be compared to anything. Because the success of Indian chess would not have been possible without Vishy.

But it also played a role that for a long time after Vishy there was no one who would consistently compete at the very top. And my breakthrough — the Candidates, the Olympics, and the World Championship — I think surely played its part.”

15th World Champion Viswanathan Anand (2743) is widely considered as the ‘father’ of the modern Indian chess boom. He became India’s first Grandmaster in 1988, won the World Championship match 5 times, and remained in the Top-10 for over 30 years. Anand brought great popularity to chess in India and personally trained Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi and other best Indian players through his academy.

Credit: Michal Walusza