Norway Chess organisers exploring possibility of chess tournament in India
The organisers of Norway Chess, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the chess calendar annually, are exploring the possibility of hosting an event on Indian shores next year. The top management of Norway Chess — including founder Kjell Madland, co-owner Hogne Hide and marketing manager Dea Maioli Egeli — were in Mumbai on Thursday to meet with potential partners. The push to have an event in India comes from India’s growing footprint on the chessboard.
First started in 2013, Norway Chess has become an annual fixture on the chess calendar with some of the world’s greatest players like Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen competing at the event in the past, with Kasparov famously calling it the Wimbledon of Chess. While Anand has competed at the event in Stavanger eight times in the past, he is going to be in the commentary panel this year. Last year, there were three Indians in the fray, including Praggnanandhaa. This year, the event will see four Indians competing, including world champion Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Koneru Humpy and Vaishali.
“We have done Norway Chess for many years. It has been a very well known name and we are exploring the possibility to do something more. Of course, India is very interesting for us because there are so many chess fans and so many good players. So we are exploring the possibility of doing something in India maybe next year. And of course, we are looking if there are some possible partners, sponsors, things like that, to be a part of the event. We have some meetings and it’s interesting for us to meet people who could maybe help us and maybe are interested to be a part of this,” Madland told The Indian news on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai before clarifying: “We don’t want to move the actual Norway Chess tournament.”
This year, the Norway Chess event will see former world champion Magnus Carlsen take on Indian stars like world champion Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi. This will be the first time Carlsen will face Gukesh in classical chess after the 18-year-old became the world champion. Last year, Praggnandhaa had created a flutter at Norway Chess by defeating Carlsen for the first time in classical chess.
Anand: ‘Expect the perfect storm’
Former world champion Anand, who would be doing commentary at this year’s Norway Chess event, said he was looking forward to the battle between the Indian prodigies and the Norwegian, who succeeded him on the world champion’s throne.
“I expect a very exciting battle. Gukesh will not lack motivation or the determination to go after Magnus Carlsen. But Magnus is also highly motivated by the challenge of playing against our young players. I’ve seen him in multiple tournaments, whether it’s Kolkata (Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz) or World Rapid and Blitz, he eagerly looks forward to these match-ups and so we have the perfect storm,” he said.
