Corporate interest helping chess to make right moves

Bharat Singh Chauhan with World Cup finalist Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

Indian chess is on a high with 18-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa's final entry in the FIDE World Cup which concluded at Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday with the No. 31 seed losing to legend Magnus Carlsen in the final.

Various factors have gone into this Indian chess revolution as it were. The chess Olympiad is one.

One very promising outcome of the Olympiad (Chennai in July-August) has been the corporate interest in chess, be it sponsoring the Global Chess league or promising prodigies like Dommaraju Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi.

Bharat Singh Chauhan, the deputy Chairman of the Asian Chess Federation and the man behind the successful conduct of the Chennai Olympiad, attributes the Olympiad for the commercial success of chess in India.

"Corporate houses have been generous in sponsorships with most top players being funded in some capacity or the other. The Indian government has been extending whole-hearted support for our teams to be sent abroad. The Chess Federation despite internal politics has ensured that Chess or players do not suffer," said Chauhan, the former Secretary and CEO of AICF and Olympiad Tournament Director. He is presently chairman of FIDE advisory board.