Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen feels it is only a matter of time before India becomes a leading chess nation, saying the country is “doing a lot of right things”.
Carlsen who is the current world rapid chess champion, is widely regarded as the best player of the current generation.
While Indian chess players have done extremely well in the global circuit in recent years, the country also successfully hosted the Chess Olympiad last year.
“I think India is doing a lot of right things so far, and it is a matter of time before it is clearly the leading chess nation in the world,” Carlsen was quoted as saying in a press release.
The Norwegian Grandmaster is one of the icon players for the inaugural Global Chess League (GCL), which is the world’s first and largest official franchise league of its kind, with chess players from all over the world competing in a unique joint-team format.
The GCL is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the international chess federation (Fide), which will witness six teams competing in a minimum of 10 matches each in a double round-robin, rapid format from June 21 to July 2 in Dubai.
“It is an exciting prospect for me to be a part of. This will be something new. Something that has not been done this way in over-the-board chess. I am looking forward to exploring this format.”
The league will see each of the six franchises play a total of 10 matches in a double round-robin format, with the winner of each match being decided in a best-of-six board scoring system played simultaneously.
The top two teams will qualify for the final on July 2 and the winner will be crowned the world champion.
Carlsen, who is known for his experimental views on chess, said he prefers playing in team events.
The 32-year-old from Norway is also looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the young Indian players.
