A friend of mine who is a GM argued that the reason nations like India, Uzbekistan, Azerbijan, and others which have produced a higher amount of world class talents than in the past is connected to the economic fabric of those countires. He argued that chess is percieved as a financial gateway to the so called 1st world.
Another friend argued that Pragg, for example, was actually born to a wealthy family and his dad manages a bank which would be considered upper middle class or even wealthy in a Western country, so his motivation to succeed and become elite would not have been driven by financial reasons, or something of that nature, as seen for example in South America or Africa with football (soccer), players striving to make it big in Europe to support their families.
I then stated that even though Pragg's family may have been upper middle class in India, on a global scale that's still not rich. So in general, chess as a profession is still seen as lucrative, in oppose to how it is perceived in the West which is basically - "you will never make a decent living from chess unless you are top 50 in the world, and even then..."... which is kindof what people always say.
Now I know like in all art if your kid is a prodigy it's not really about the money but about passion... But still, I think with prodigies the parents support play a big role and their incentives may include financial interests. Not in the sense that "this kid will make me rich", but just in the sense that "if he's gonna put in 10h a day of work in to something I hope he will actually be able to make a living out of that, cuz I love this kid.." etc
So please tell me your opinion on this subject, preferably people who are actually from India and can provide context. Excuse my lack of knowledge and maybe wrong statemants I am actually trying to learn and of course it's not so easy with google to bridge these gaps of understanding.
Thanks
An interesting question.
I believe that the sudden availability of all the world's chess knowledge on a relatively inexpensive handheld device has been a factor.
Another factor was the strength , fame and accomplishments of Viswanathan Anand.
You neglected to mention China, which claimed the men's and women's world chess championships this year.
A friend of mine who is a GM argued that the reason nations like India, Uzbekistan, Azerbijan, and others which have produced a higher amount of world class talents than in the past is connected to the economic fabric of those countires. He argued that chess is percieved as a financial gateway to the so called 1st world.
Another friend argued that Pragg, for example, was actually born to a wealthy family and his dad manages a bank which would be considered upper middle class or even wealthy in a Western country, so his motivation to succeed and become elite would not have been driven by financial reasons, or something of that nature, as seen for example in South America or Africa with football (soccer), players striving to make it big in Europe to support their families.
I then stated that even though Pragg's family may have been upper middle class in India, on a global scale that's still not rich. So in general, chess as a profession is still seen as lucrative, in oppose to how it is perceived in the West which is basically - "you will never make a decent living from chess unless you are top 50 in the world, and even then..."... which is kindof what people always say.
Now I know like in all art if your kid is a prodigy it's not really about the money but about passion... But still, I think with prodigies the parents support play a big role and their incentives may include financial interests. Not in the sense that "this kid will make me rich", but just in the sense that "if he's gonna put in 10h a day of work in to something I hope he will actually be able to make a living out of that, cuz I love this kid.." etc
So please tell me your opinion on this subject, preferably people who are actually from India and can provide context. Excuse my lack of knowledge and maybe wrong statemants I am actually trying to learn and of course it's not so easy with google to bridge these gaps of understanding.
Thanks