'Gukesh has better chance' - Srinath Narayanan on World Chess Championship clash

Srinath Narayanan was the tournament director at the recently concluded Chennai Chess Grand Masters.

Aravindh Chithambaram stunned everyone by winning the Chennai Chess Grand Masters 2024, beating FIDE No. #2 Arjun Erigaisi among others en route to the title. While Aravindh’s win shocked many, tournament director Srinath Narayanan pointed out why these tournaments keep producing such results.

In an exclusive interview with Khel Now, Narayanan, a chess player and coach himself, shared how these competitions act as a catalyst for young budding prospects and help them take the next step.

Most recently, Srinath, 30, was captain of the Indian team that clinched double gold at the Chess Olympiad. Previously, he has also coached current World No. #2 Arjun Erigaisi, Divya Deshmukh and Nihal Sarin.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation.

Q) How will a tournament like Chennai Grand Masters help younger players?

Srinath Narayanan: I think tournaments like this give opportunities [to young players] and those opportunities act as a catalyst for something really big coming up. For instance, When the 2022 Olympiad took place in Chennai, India had the chance to field multiple teams, because we were the host.

That’s how Gukesh got to play his first Olympiad and had a breakthrough tournament. He scored a historic performance, got into the 2700 club, and that was a certain kind of catalyst.

The Chennai GM last year was again a catalyst for Gukesh to go into the candidates and eventually he now will be playing the World Championship match. So, these tournaments create opportunities.

“We have so many young potential, talented players who are just waiting to get that opportunity. When we provide that to them, what they make of it is impossible to predict, but I think many great things can come out of it.

Q) Chennai and Tamil Nadu have been an epicentre of Chess in India. Why is Chess so popular here?

Srinath Narayanan: The history of chess in Tamil Nadu is very long and started even before I was born. I was born in 1994, and a year later Vishwanathan Anand played Garry Kasparov in the World Championships. That match was telecast live, and everyone was excited. Even Manuel Aaron, who became the first International Master from India, was from Tamil Nadu.

There was a time when chess was not so popular, and no one thought it would be possible to make a career out of chess. But Viswanathan Anand made us believe that. There were also times when players had to spend their own money to travel abroad but they enjoyed playing Chess.

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Q) Any chance of inviting top foreign players like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and others for the next edition?

Srinath Narayanan: We tried inviting players like Caruana this time, but it didn’t work out due to the packed calendar. In future as the tournament progresses, we will and bring top players, and they will eventually come once the tournament is a success. We tried to bring the best possible field this time as well.

Q) This edition of the tournament also saw the introduction of the Challengers category in addition to the Masters. What was the thought process behind it?

Srinath Narayanan: Challengers were always on our minds but last time it didn’t happen because we received permission to organize the tournament very late. The tournament took place just 10 days after the Chennai floods. So, we didn’t quite actually get the time to prepare. Three to four working days were wasted, and the city was in bad shape. So, we just wanted to conduct the tournament smoothly.

Now, in the second edition, we had a good time to plan for the tournament.

Congratulations to GM Aravindh Chithambaram on his remarkable title win at the @Chennai_GM, with his strategic brilliance, especially in the penultimate round, proving decisive. 🏆Applause as well for GM Pranav V, whose standout performance in the Challengers section shows… pic.twitter.com/8efzM6ttUc

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 11, 2024

Q) Do you have any plans to hold a women’s tournament in future?

Srinath Narayanan: As of now, we don’t have any plans as such, but we are certainly open to exploring options.

Q) How do you see Arjun Erigaisi’s rise in chess? He has breached the 2800 mark, only the second Indian to achieve this feat

Srinath Narayanan: Arjun’s growth has been phenomenal so far and reaching 2800 is a superb feat, achieved by only 16 people in history. How high he rises remains to be seen, but he has shown the potential to be someone truly special—a top 10 or even top 5 player for a long time. However, we have to see whether he will reach the No. #1 mark and stay there, like Garry Kasparov or Magnus Carlsen or not.

Q) Who are you seeing as a potential 2750s club from the current challenger’s section?

Srinath Narayanan: In the current Challenger section, Ronak Sadhwani certainly has the most promising chance of reaching the 2750 club, followed closely by Leon [Luke Mendonca]. To be honest, pretty much everyone is capable of breaking the 2750 mark. The field is young, with half under 20 and the oldest among the boys only 25, making for a promising lineup with high potential.

Q) Your thoughts on World Championships final match between Gukesh and Ding Liren? Who do you think is the favourite?

Srinath Narayanan: Gukesh seems to have better chances based on recent form, I would say 60-40 in favour of Gukesh based on their performances so far.

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