20250106 a woman chess player at chess academy in Chennai

Students at T. Nagar Chess Academy, one of the oldest in Chennai: Dozens have opened in the city since Vishwanathan Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1988. (Photo by Palani Kumar)

Young Indian chess players vault from Chennai to global conquest

Victories are reshaping game long dominated by players from former Soviet states

SOUMYAJIT SAHA, Nikkei staff writer

January 11, 2025 07:14 JST

CHENNAI -- One breezy Sunday afternoon last month, eight young Indians were gathered in a bright, sun-lit room in Chennai listening to a 48-year-old instructor sitting behind a laptop.

Seated in plastic chairs, the two young women and six young men, aged 11 and up, laughed and giggled like they might at an afterschool tutoring center, even when the instructor cracked dad jokes that might usually have fallen flat.