Where fans of the great contest of Chess are concerned, then it helps to know that a major contest is set to happen in the next few days in India. That’s with regard to the much awaited and keenly anticipated Global Chess League, which is all set to begin from September 5 in the city of Bengaluru, one of the important nerve centres for the sport in the country.
And on this much important occasion, one is glad to see that a legend of the game has spoken on the matter. That person being none other than the great Viswanathan Anand.
But why’s this moment important and what exactly is the significance of the chess icon of India to this soon-to-begin league?
Apparently, Viswanathan Anand is confirmed to be joining none other than the current No. 1 of India who happens to be Arjun Erigaisi. And that’s not all, there’s also going to be the talented Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus at the PBG Alaskan Knights in the 4th season of Global Chess League (GCL). This, as shared, begins in Bengaluru on Sept 5.
Now on this great occasion, there is an absolute incredible parody that the chess icon of India has drawn with respect to this game with that of Cricket, which undoubtably happens to be India’s favourite sport.
And perhaps it seems that given the observation of the chess icon, there is something that chess can learn from the great Sport that is Cricket in terms of growing its culture, furthering its fanfare in a country obsessed with other sports, and perhaps finding some relevant in terms of elevating the Sport to a different plane altogether!
Now speaking to the revered national print daily, the Times of India, here’s what Viswanath Anand had to say about the situation of the game with respect to some crucial learning’s that chess may want to borrow from the already successful world of cricket:
We are sort of organised. But they’re more successful than us, no question. In India, everybody looks up to cricket and how they have managed. It’s not easy to replicate that.
“We can learn, and we have been experimenting with new formats, new things, which is what appears to be helping a lot in cricket. But probably the biggest area we can learn from them is the ability to obtain and retain sponsors.”
