Indian chess has been on the upward trajectory for the past two years or so, but no one can deny that 2024 has been a year where the sport took a quantum leap. The year kicked-off with Candidates tournament in Toronto, Canada where five Indians made the cut in the open field despite the tricky qualification demands of the competition. Only eight qualify for the Candidates. While D Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi made the cut in the eight-man line-up, Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu were part of the eight-women category. In the men’s category, Gukesh earned his shot at challenging Ding Liren for the world title, overcoming several challenges despite the presence of veterans like Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. He became the youngest-ever to win a shot at the world title. However, this was just the start of what turned out to be an unprecedented year for Indian chess. With over 180 nations participating in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the Indian contingent won open team golds in both …