Singapore . Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler said he would not be surprised to see two Indian players compete for the World Chess Championship title in the near future as the country is rapidly rising in the game. India’s D Gukesh is set to face defending champion Ding Liren of China in the World Championships starting on Monday. “It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise,” Swidler told chess’s world governing body FIDE when asked about the possibility of two Indians competing for the title.
“It is difficult to qualify for the World Championship match,” he said. Even players like Arjun (Erigesi) have been dominant this year, scoring a lot of points wherever he has played, which is absolutely incredible but he is also not a part of the World Championship cycle.” Swidler said that although the World Championships ‘ It brings ‘additional pressure’ but it would not be a ‘surprise’ if Indian players remain competitive for at least the next decade and a half. “First of all, he (Arjun) still has to qualify for the (World Championships) cycle. He has a lot of circuit points and can do well in the World Cup but still nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the cycle.
“So you can never say for sure it will happen,” Swidler said. But it would not be surprising if Arjun or Prag (R Praggnanandhaa) qualify for the next cycle or the one after that. He will be a contender for the next 10-15 years, I think, although he needs to continue playing chess seriously.” Swidler believes Liren is far from his peak. He said that he is just a shadow of the dangerous player he once was.
“As far as Ding is concerned, I think the way he was playing, let’s say if we take the period between 2017 and 2019, when he was a consistent player for Magnus in tournaments, There was great danger. He won the Grand Chess Tour by winning a tiebreak against Magnus in St. Louis. Very few people win tiebreaks against Magnus. He was a very dangerous player,” Swidler said. “And then COVID happened and Ding is a shadow of what we see now, honestly. I don’t think you can describe it any other way. “He’s still nowhere near the top we know he’s capable of.”
Swidler said both Ding and Gukesh are versatile players who excel across all formats, making stylistic comparisons less relevant at the top level. India won gold medals in both men’s and women’s categories at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. Swidler believes that India’s exceptional young players will make the country a major force in team chess events in the years to come. “There’s definitely a project going on in India that has these results… I mean, this generation is amazing and I think they’re going to dominate,” said Svidler, who was part of Russia’s five-time Olympiad-winning team. Swidler credited five-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand for inspiring and guiding the new generation. “I think you have to look back, Vishy (Anand) has played a tremendous role as a role model and is now involved in helping, guiding and providing resources and encouragement to this generation,” he said.