Imagine the joy if Praggnanandhaa wins when Chandrayaan lands on moon: Viswanathan Anand

NEW DELHI: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa's sensational run to the final of the Chess World Cup has drawn praise from several quarters, including legends like Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov. Anand, who had won the first two World Cups in 2000 and 2002, was effusive in his praise for Praggnanandhaa and the group of young Indian chess players who have taken the world by storm.Besides Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Vidith Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin have been the talk of the town.
"It has been a sensational performance by Praggnanandhaa. His promise has been noted for many, many years. But since June this year, he has been amazing. He first played in the Global Chess League and had one of the best performances. He then had a spectacular performance in Hungary and then he went to the World Cup. In the World Cup, you have to be in the semifinals to qualify for the Candidates, which is a stepping stone to the World Chess Championship. He did that in style," Anand told NDTV.

"Gukesh crossed me in the live rating list… something that's been achieved by an Indian for the first time in 37 years. Praggnanandhaa then became the first Indian after me to reach the semifinal and final of the Chess World Cup. The final is a two-game match. So, he will play today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday). Tomorrow, he could be the first Indian to win a World Cup after I did. And if he does it tomorrow around the time Chandrayaan lands on the moon, it will be just too much for us (Indians) to rejoice."
"Carlsen has never won a knockout. So, he will be extremely motivated. That makes the excitement even greater," Anand added.
Talking about the current generation of Indian chess players, Anand said, "This is a golden generation for Indian chess. So many of our players have reached the knockout stage of the World Cup. The performance has been so good for us. What's more, we now have six or seven players in the Top 100 and one can safely say that this group is strong enough that they are going to be on top of world chess for the next decade or two. We have the potential now to have an Indian compete for all the important prizes in chess. That's very very dramatic. I was doing it alone and now we have this huge group. They all arrived at the same time and they are all under 20. They are going to grow for the next decade."
Reflecting on the reason behind a sudden burst of talented chess players from India, Anand said, "It's a confluence of events. We have had many strong Grandmasters. Many of them went on to set up academies. The chess federation also worked to develop interest. The sport has been slowly progressing in many ways. Praggnanandhaa is in the top 30, Gukesh is No. 7 in the world, Arjun is in top 50, Vidith is in top 30. These youngsters are going to motivate each other. They are all good friends, but they all know that they have some of the strongest rivals in the country. They are pushing each other."
Anand also emphasized the role of Praggnanandhaa's family, especially his mother, behind his success. "My mother accompanied me to so many tournaments. Likewise, Pragg's mother is with him everywhere, she travels with him everywhere. She really helps him cope with the stress," Anand said.