How India Went From One Grandmaster to Conquering Global Chess: The Story Nobody's Talking About

Dear Chess Friends,

Let me tell you something that should blow your mind. In 1987, Viswanathan Anand became India's first Grandmaster. Just one. One! In the entire nation of over 800 million people, there was exactly one person who had achieved the highest title in chess.

Fast forward to October 2025, and India has 85+ Grandmasters. More than that—three of them are in the world's top 6. One of them just became the world champion at 18 years old. And get this: the country won the Chess Olympiad's men's and women's gold medals for the first time ever in 2024.​

If you've been following international chess, you've probably noticed something seismic has shifted. Indian players are everywhere. They're beating players who dominated for decades. They're competing in tournaments that used to be dominated by Europeans and Russians. And the craziest part? This explosive growth happened in less than two decades, and most of the world barely noticed.

The Numbers That Tell the Real Story
Let me break down the timeline, because this is honestly one of the most remarkable transformations in sports history:​

1987-2000: India had exactly 3 Grandmasters over 13 years. That's slow. That's glacial. That's basically one person every four years.

2000-2007: Suddenly, things changed. India went from 5 GMs to 20 GMs. That's 15 new Grandmasters in 7 years. Something shifted.

2007-2019: The acceleration became real. From 20 to 62 GMs. That's 42 new Grandmasters in just 12 years. The machine was starting to hum.

2019-2024: Absolute explosion. From 62 to 85+ Grandmasters in just 5 years. More than 20 new GMs in half a decade.​

The AICF (All India Chess Federation) president straight up said they're going to have 100+ GMs by 2026. That's not a prediction—that's a statement of fact based on current trainees in the pipeline.​

Think about that for a second. One country is producing Grandmasters faster than most countries produce chess players. India went from having 3 GMs when you were probably in elementary school to potentially being the country with the most Grandmasters in the world within a year.

When One Player Changed Everything
Before we talk about the system, we need to talk about the catalyst. Viswanathan Anand.

Look, I know we're not supposed to focus on individuals when talking about systemic growth, but you can't understand Indian chess without understanding Anand. Because he didn't just become the world's first Indian Grandmaster—he became a World Champion. He dominated rapid chess. He won Olympiads. He was consistently in the top 5 players in the world for decades.

And here's the crucial part: he did it at a time when being Indian in chess meant you were basically playing against the entire establishment. The best coaches were in Russia. The best tournaments were in Europe. The infrastructure was non-existent. But Anand figured it out anyway.

Then, in 2020, Anand did something that changed everything. He opened Viswanathan Anand's Chess Academy, and he started systematically training the brightest young talents in India.​

The students he selected? Let me tell you about them.

The Golden Generation That Came Out of Nowhere
R. Praggnanandhaa: Remember I said earlier that an Indian player is currently #4 in the world? That's him. At 19 years old. He beat Magnus Carlsen in classical chess—something that felt almost impossible a few years ago. When that happened, Sachin Tendulkar, India's cricket legend (and yes, he's also a serious amateur chess player), tweeted about it as a national achievement.​

D. Gukesh: This kid became the World Chess Champion at 18 years old, breaking records that had stood for decades. Do you understand what that means? He's not just a GM—he's literally the best player on the planet right now. And he's barely old enough to vote.​

Arjun Erigaisi: Became one of only a handful of Indian players to cross 2800 rating.​

R. Vaishali: Gukesh's sister, also an elite player training under Anand.​

Raunak Sadhwani, Nihal Sarin: Both trained under the Anand system, both elite players.​

All of these players? They came up through the same system. They studied together. They learned from the same coach. They pushed each other. And within a few years, they weren't just competing at the international level—they were dominating it.​

This isn't just talent. This is a production line.

The Turning Point Nobody Talks About: 1998-2000
But before Anand's academy, something else had to happen first. Because you can't build a system out of nothing.

In the late 1990s, foreign chess coaches started coming to India. This might sound mundane, but it was revolutionary. For the first time, Indian players had access to world-class coaching. No more playing by correspondence. No more studying ancient books. Actual, systematic training from people who knew how to develop players at the highest level.​

Around the same time, Indian players stopped having what people called an "inferiority complex" about chess. They stopped thinking, "Well, I'm from India, so I'm probably not as good as European or Russian players." They started thinking, "Why not me?"​

That psychological shift, combined with access to decent coaching, created the conditions for acceleration.

Tamil Nadu: Where One Third of All Indian GMs Come From
Here's something wild: 36% of all Indian Grandmasters are from Tamil Nadu, one state. That's not a coincidence.​

Tamil Nadu became the epicenter of Indian chess development. Why? Partly because of geography. Partly because of institutional support. Partly because early success breeds more success—more kids wanted to learn chess when they saw other kids from their region becoming world-class players.

But the real reason is systematic development. Tamil Nadu built infrastructure. Coaching centers. Training academies. Regular tournaments. A pipeline from beginner to intermediate to strong amateur to IM to GM. Not just chaotic talent, but organized, targeted development.​

That system became the template. Other states saw it working and started building similar structures.

How Online Platforms Accelerated Everything
Here's something people don't realize: the democratization of chess through online platforms accelerated the Indian growth by probably 10 years.​

Before Chess.com and Lichess, if you were a young player in India wanting to learn chess, you needed:

Access to a good coach (rare and expensive)
Access to strong opponents (hard in smaller cities)
Access to databases and analysis (required special software and computers)
Now? A kid in any city in India can:

Download Lichess or Chess.com for free
Play against players worldwide instantly
Access databases of millions of games
Get coaching from Indians or international coaches online
Join Indian online leagues and tournaments
The barrier to entry collapsed. And when the barrier collapses, talent that was previously hidden suddenly gets discovered and developed.​

The System That Works: What Other Countries Should Copy
If you're wondering why India's growth was so explosive compared to, say, other developing nations, here's the secret sauce:​

1. Systematic Coaching Pipeline
Start with youth programs, identify talent early, move them through structured training. Don't just wait for brilliant kids to emerge—build systems to find and develop them.

2. Regional Hubs
Create centers of excellence where multiple strong players train together. The peer competition pushes everyone forward faster than training in isolation.

3. Government + Corporate Sponsorship
The Indian government and corporations like ONGC and Bharat Petroleum invested in chess. Not massive amounts, but consistent support that made a difference. This mattered.

4. Online Accessibility
Prioritize getting players online. Let them play strong opponents worldwide. Let them study with international coaches. Distance doesn't matter anymore.

5. Role Models
Anand was the proof that it was possible. His existence inspired a generation. When Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh emerged, they inspired another generation. You need people to point to and say, "That's possible."

6. Grassroots Tournaments
Run tournaments constantly at different levels. Give young players chances to compete, earn norms, get rated. Make advancement feel achievable.

The Timeline of Dominance: How Fast This Really Happened
Let me show you what recent success looks like:

2022: India wins bronze at the Chess Olympiad (men's and women's teams). Respectable, but not dominant.​

2024: India wins double gold—both the men's and women's teams win the Olympiad. Historic.​

September 2024: Gukesh becomes World Champion at 18.​

June 2025: Praggnanandhaa becomes World #4 at 19, with elite players saying things like, "Earlier I used to beat Indians at will. Not anymore.".​

Current (October 2025): Three Indians in top 6, at least 6 Indians with 2700+ rating (equivalent to World Champion strength just a few years ago).​

This didn't happen over decades. This happened in 3-4 years.​

The Infrastructure That Made It Possible
What makes Indian chess development special isn't just one thing—it's the combination. Think of it like a recipe:

Academic Training Courses: The European Chess Union created partnerships with Indian federations to run 320-hour official courses for chess teachers and coaches, certifying them and giving them credentials. These coaches then went back to their regions and built programs.​

The Anand Academy Model: Anand didn't just become a world champion and disappear. He actively mentored the next generation. Personal attention from a living legend accelerates development in ways that generic coaching can't.​

Chess Gurukuls: Traditional "gurukul" (residential learning centers) specifically for chess developed in India, combining academic education with intensive chess training.​

FIDE Recognition: The All India Chess Federation got serious investment and institutional recognition, creating a pathway for Indian players to compete internationally.​

School Integration: Serious moves to integrate chess into school curricula, creating a massive base of young players.​

What Makes This Different From Other Chess Nations
Russia produced strong players through a Soviet system that was incredibly structured but also rigid. You either made it or you didn't.

India's producing players through decentralized, flexible systems. Tamil Nadu has its approach. Delhi has another. Mumbai has another. Multiple pathways, multiple regional competitions, multiple ways to succeed.

Also, India did this without pulling from a small elite pool. India's population is 1.4 billion. For decades, Indian chess barely tapped that. Now it's starting to. Imagine what happens when the infrastructure matures and you've got systematic talent scouting across 1.4 billion people.​

The Business Side: Why This Matters Beyond Chess
Chess.com and Lichess obviously benefit from Indian growth—millions of new players equals more engagement and revenue. But there's something bigger happening.

The Global Chess League model (franchises, corporate ownership, flashy production) is happening now partly because of Indian interest and investment. Tech Mahindra, for instance, is co-founding the Global Chess League partly because they see chess's growth in India.​

Indian corporations are getting interested in chess sponsorships. You're going to see more of this.

Universities are starting to offer chess scholarships. The government is taking it seriously as a sport.

This isn't just sports growth—it's an emerging market discovery. India is discovering chess in a way the West discovered chess 500 years ago.

The Rivalry That Drives Everything
One thing worth noting: Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh are rivals, and that's pushing both of them forward. They know each other's games inside and out. They've trained in similar systems. They're literally competing for the same spots, same tournaments, same rankings.

That competitive pressure creates what the academic world calls "healthy rivalry"—where mutual competition elevates both parties.​

It's not hostile. They're both from the same chess ecosystem. But they're also the two best young players in the world, and they both want to be #1.

That dynamic is pushing elite Indian chess faster than anything else could.​

The Elephant in the Room: Can This Actually Be Sustained?
Here's the question nobody's asking: Is this a bubble, or is it real?

The pessimistic take: "It's just a few exceptional players. This won't last."

The realistic take: The infrastructure is real. The academies are real. The coaches are trained. The online systems are in place. The cultural shift has happened. Young Indians believe they can become world champions now. That's a permanent change.

Will every Indian player become a Grandmaster? Of course not. But the base has expanded massively. The number of Indians playing chess seriously has gone from dozens to thousands to hundreds of thousands. The system will produce strong players for decades because the foundation is solid.

Could it slow down? Maybe. If investment dries up, if the system loses focus, if there's no new generation of role models. But that would require a deliberate reversal of current trends, not a natural slowdown.

More likely? India's going to have 100+ GMs within 2 years as planned, and then keep growing from there.​

What This Means for Global Chess
The geopolitical balance of chess power is shifting. For centuries, Europe and Russia dominated. Recently, it's been more distributed. Now India's emerging as genuinely competitive.

In 10 years, we might look back and say, "Yeah, that's when Indian chess took over." The way people look back at Eastern Europe's dominance in the 1970s-80s or Russia's in the 1990s-2000s.

Indian streamers are rising. Indian tournaments are happening. Indian academies are getting investment. Indian players are expected to compete at the World Championship level.

And yes, it's still early. China, despite a massive population, hasn't replicated India's growth (though they're trying). Europe is still strong. But the trajectory is clear.

The Real Lesson
If you ask, "What did India do right that other countries didn't?" the answer isn't magic. It's boring and systematic:

Build infrastructure first. Don't wait for talent to emerge—create systems to develop it.

Remove barriers. Make chess accessible to poor kids, rural kids, kids without connections.

Invest consistently. Not glamorous one-time investments, but regular, sustained funding.

Create role models. People need to see that success is possible in their context.

Embrace technology. Don't pretend the internet doesn't exist. Use it.

Think long-term. Building world champions takes 10-15 years. Commit to that timeline.

India did all of these things. Most other countries did some of them. None did all of them as systematically.

That's why India's chess transformed from irrelevant to dominant in one generation.

The Future: What's Coming Next
The AICF isn't stopping at 100 GMs. They're talking about:​

Chess in Schools: Making it standard curriculum, not an extracurricular.

Online Tournaments: Regular competitions with broadcasting and sponsorship.

Training Centers: More academies in more regions.

International Partnerships: More foreign coaches, more exchange programs.

Esports Integration: Chess at the Esports World Cup (which happened in 2025 with Indian players representing).​

If these plans execute as intended, India could be the dominant chess nation within a decade, not just one of many strong nations.