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The International Chess Federation is all set to host The Candidates, arguably the toughest chess tournament in the world. Eight of the world's best players will compete in open and women’s categories will take on each other in a league system for two weeks to have their eye on the World Championship title.
The winner of the competition then locks horns in the World Championship match against the incumbent world champion in each category. Notably, the current world champions are Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun.
For the first time ever, a total of five Indians have qualified for the classical chess tournament, set to begin in Toronto, Canada, from April 3 to 22. Praggnanandhaa R, Gukesh D, and Vidit Gujrathi will take part in the open category while Vaishali R and Koneru Humpy are in the women's.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is the only Indian man to ever take part in the competition before. Just before the start of the competition, Anand gave his interview to chess.com, sharing his views on the Indians and their chances in The Candidates.
Vidit Gujrathi
The 29-year-old Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2024 after finishing in the top two of the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023 in October and November.
Though he lost the first round in the Grand Swiss, he came back stronger, winning seven out of his next 10 games to win the tournament and secure the spot in The Candidates.
“He's been quite strong for a long time. He's been working with Anish for quite some time. He has had his ups and downs and last year was good he had a very good result in the World Cup and then there's unexpectedly easy Grand Swiss,” Anand told chess.com.
“I think it's because of all this pressure of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa R, and everything breathing down his back, that he finally clicked and after that, he's been generally very very good,” he went on to add.
R Praggnanandhaa
Chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa has created a lot of records and he's only 18. He is only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach the Chess World Cup final.
His gameplay against Magnus Carlsen in the grand final resulted in a defeat in the rapid tie-breaks, securing him second place and qualification for the Candidates Tournament 2024.
“In a sense very similar to where his potential was revealed very very early and it was always clear that he had a natural gift,” Anand emphasized.
"He was outperforming everywhere now I think he just feels more confident and he already sets his sights much higher I wouldn't be surprised if he qualifies for the final,” he added.
Gukesh D
The 17-year-old Indian chess grandmaster Gukesh secured his spot in the Candidates Tournament 2024 after finishing second in the FIDE Circuit in December 2023.
Though Fabiano Caruana ended the circuit as the winner, he had already qualified for the Candidates through the World Cup. Interestingly, in September 2023, Gukesh surpassed Anand as the top-ranked Indian player, ending the latter's 37-year reign as India's official number one.
“He’s by nature more volatile, and his results swing much more you know he's had real disasters that Prag hasn't faced in a very long time, but then he has the strength to come back which is good because he needs it,” Anand quoted.
“He's working and training very hard he's never going to have a problem with work or finding the ability to work, my observation about him is he finds it harder to relax and you need a balance in everything so I think he needs to compensate on the other side,” the legend added.
Vaishali R
The third Indian to have achieved the grandmaster title, the 22-year-old Vaishali R is one of the two members who qualified in the women's category from India.
She won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss 2023 in Isle of Man by not losing a single game, clinching her spot in the Women's Candidates Tournament. Notably, she and her younger brother Prag became the first sister-brother duo to qualify for the Candidates.
“This Grand Swiss result was huge and after that, she got her Grandmaster title as well, a huge achievement hopefully she's going to drive that confidence I think she now has the strength and maybe even the self-belief. At some point of time, she realized Prag had gotten much stronger than her. Her recent performances have given her the confidence she really needs of course,” Anand mentioned.
Koneru Humpy
Koneru Humpy will lead the Indian challenge in the Women's Candidates. Her qualification came through in her high ranking. A veteran of almost two decades, she is the only Indian among the five with previous experience in the Candidates.
Humpy finished as the runner-up in the Women's World Rapid Chess Championships 2023 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. She would be eyeing the elusive title to add to her long list of achievements.
“She's coming to it from a totally different perspective. She's been here, done all this before. I've really been impressed by her performance in the World Rapid and Blitz 2023. I think that her connection and feeling for the game are very good she's going to be sensible and stable in the candidates and hopefully that is enough,” Anand concluded.
