Need to get more youngsters involved with chess: Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand is quite excited about India hosting the Chess Olympiad for the first time since its inception in 1927. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the first-ever torch relay for the Olympiad, at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi, to kick off the flame’s journey to 75 cities over the course of 40 days. The journey will culminate at Mahabalipuram, near Chennai – the venue for the July 28 to August 10 event.

The Indian chess legend is also upbeat about contesting for the FIDE deputy president’s post, marking his foray into the sport administration. On Friday, Anand, who recently broke into the top-10 of the world chess rankings at the age of 52, spoke exclusively to TOI on the upcoming Olympiad and his FIDE candidature. Excerpts: In about a little over a month’s time, India will be hosting the Chess Olympiad in Chennai.

How excited are you being part of the history at home?It’s fantastic. The All India Chess Federation (AICF) enquired about the Olympiad, and then the Tamil Nadu state government basically got the bid ready in just three days. So, everyone worked together on this.

The preparations are going on well, although the time is very limited. The day after, we are going to witness the history being created with the first-ever Chess Olympiad Torch Relay. The honorable PM would himself be present.

That shows the commitment we are receiving from all levels. Do you believe the Olympiad will be a game-changer for the popularity of chess in India? I certainly believe so. Chess did very well during the pandemic time because everyone was at home.