Why Viswanathan Anand is Godfather to India’s golden generation like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa
On a sunny morning earlier this month, the who’s who of Indian chess gathered at the Chennai residence of Viswanathan Anand. There were so many grandmasters and other titled players in attendance — Sandipan Chanda, Sasikiran, RB Ramesh, Srinath Narayanan, Adhiban, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, Vidit Gujrathi, to just name a handful — that it looked like a chess Avengers convention was in town. For the outsider, this would have played on the internet trope that has gained popularity over the past couple of years: Vishy was assembling his army. But rather than plotting their next phase of world domination of the 64 squares, some of India’s top grandmasters were at Anand’s house for a rare moment of relaxed bonhomie. And a traditional South Indian breakfast. There was unchecked mirth in the air and plenty of games, none of them over a chessboard. At one point, there were carefully-curated traditional rituals for Vidit and his fiance Dr Nidhi Kataria, with the ceremony officiated by Anand’s wife and manager, Aruna. There were games for chess couples and …
