Young Asian stars are conquering the chess world

Ding Liren, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Abdusattorov are the names of the players to watch at the Chess Olympiad, which runs through September 22 in Budapest. The favorites come from China, India and Uzbekistan — not from Russia, as in years past.

Only the United States have a chance to keep up with the Asian stars at this edition of the World Team Championships. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen is also there, but his Norwegian team are more of a dark horse. Russian teams are not even taking part in Budapest — the former chess superpower is currently banned due to Russia's war on Ukraine.

India's golden generation

India, where the game of chess originated around 1,500 years ago, is regarded as the new Russia in the sport. Last spring, 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh won the Candidates Tournament, meaning he will be the one to challenge reigning world champion Ding Liren of China at the end of this year.

Gukesh is not the only young Indian in the elite circle of super grandmasters. Players such as Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi are also at the top of the world rankings. Indian women are also gaining ground in the sport.

The chess miracle in India is primarily associated with one name: Viswanathan Anand, the world champion from 2007 to 2013, and who at 54 remains one of the world's best players.

As chess became increasingly popular, largely due to his success, the first chess schools were founded in India. Starting in Anand's home region of Tamil Nadu at the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, private training academies sprang up all over the country.

"Some of these very successful academies now develop not only talented players in India, but also players in the Indian diaspora — in places like the United States, Great Britain or the Middle East," Anand told DW.

Some children in these academies train like full professionals. Dommaraju Gukesh was pulled out of school at the age of nine to concentrate on chess — and take part in top-level tournaments worldwide. The chess infrastructure is not only financed by ambitious parents from the Indian middle class, but also by sponsors from the business world and state-owned companies that give young players jobs, while at the same time releasing them to concentrate full time on their sport.

The rapid development of chess is also a reflection of the country's economic rise.

"When a country the size of India decides to take something seriously, then we also create something significant," Anand said.

Uzbekistan no longer an underdog

However, India is not the only country in Asia where chess is booming. China currently has both the men's world champion in Ding Liren and the women's world champion in Ju Wenjun. And in Uzbekistan, another Asian country has now climbed to the top of the men's world rankings.

"We are no longer underdogs, but the defending champions," said grandmaster Rustam Kasimjanov, who has been coaching the top Uzbek players for several years. At the 2022 Chess Olympiad, the team led by young star Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the gold medal — ahead of the Indians.

"In Uzbekistan, the state has been supporting chess with substantial funds for several years," said Kasimjanov, who lives outside Bonn in western Germany.

In Uzbekistan, the help for these athletes comes from the very top: Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country's president, has issued a special decree entitled "Measures for the further development and popularization of chess and for improving the system of training chess players."

The aim is to make chess a national sport in the country.

Medal for Keymer & Co?

The German team certainly don't get that kind of state support, but according to German Chess Federation President (DSB) Ingrid Lauterbach, they won't exactly be traveling to Budapest as underdogs either.

"As runners-up in the European Championships, we are among the extended list of favorites in the men's event and the women are also in the top 10," said Lauterbach. "If things go perfectly, a medal is a possibility."

In 19-year-old Vincent Keymer, the young German team has at least one player capable of competing with the young Asian stars.

Despite the recent successes of Keymer and his teammates, top coach Rustam Kasimjanov still sees room for improvement in the development of top talents in his adopted country, Germany.

"It sometimes seems sporadic," he said.

Lauterbach, who has only been in the job for just over a year, has also identified room for improvement,  including the interplay between schools, clubs, the national associations and the coaches of promising young men's players, of which there are many in Germany.

However, what concerns the former national team player more is the next generation of female players.

"There's a gap opening up here," she said, pointing to the fact that relatively few girls and women play chess in clubs — also in comparison with Asia.

"Not only are there many strong female chess players there," the former IT manager said, "but in many countries there are also more women in management positions than here in Germany."

This article was originally published in German. 

Edited by: Jonathan Harding