ARPORA (NORTH GOA): On Friday afternoon, most of Goa was blanketed by low-hanging clouds.
A system has persisted on the Arabian Sea and the net effect has seen some rains -- ranging from light to heavy -- across the western coast.
It was dark and gloomy in Panjim, the state capital, when the Opening Ceremony for the chess World Cup started inside the imposing Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium.
Even if the weather has been dark and gloomy, the hosts' prospects of owning another global chess event is looking grand.
For one, Magnus Carlsen, the world No. 1 and the defending World Cup champion, is not here.
Whenever he isn't playing, the chances for the rest burn that much brighter.
With some of the others also not here, like Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, the Indian contingent will surely have designs on taking home the title. Even if none of the world's top three are here, it doesn't mean that the tournament isn't important.
If anything, it's the most prestigious Classical event in 2025. Carlsen has given up on the format while Caruana has already qualified for the next edition of the Candidates. Nakamura is trying to get there through other means.
Gukesh top seed
That is why this tournament matters an awful lot; the two finalists as well as the one who finishes in third qualifies for the 2026 edition of the Candidates, the standalone eight-player field from where the winner qualifies to face D Gukesh in next year's World Championship.
Gukesh is of course the top-seed but he isn't necessarily the favourite to win this event. He's had an up and down year and his route to Goa has predominantly been spent playing in a lot of exhibition events in Europe and the US.
Most recently, he spent some time facing Carlsen, Caruana and Nakamura -- three of the strongest Classical players of all time -- in a tournament labelled 'Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown' in the US.
"There are no better training partners than these three (Carlsen, Nakamura and Caruana)," he had said when asked about his prep for the World Cup. "So the good thing is these three won’t be there in the World Cup. So, I had a better training than what I’ll be facing. So, I hope it helps," he added.
But this tournament is important for the 19-year-old because there has been a lack of respect towards the world champion.
This is his opportunity to shush the voices.
Big tournament for Erigaisi
It's also an important event for Arjun Erigaisi, the No. 2 seed. The No. 3 seed, R Praggnanandhaa, has a more viable path to the Candidates because he's the clear FIDE circuit leader for the year.
But the 22-year-old needs a top three performance from this event to get there. If he doesn't, he run the risk of losing out from the marquee for a second consecutive cycle.
"Preparations are going well and the goal is to qualify for candidates," he said.
"It doesn’t really matter so much to me which seed I'm, I’ll just take one match at a time and focus on that."
On current form, Erigaisi isn't one among the favourites for the crown. He's has had indifferent results and has lost a fair chunk of rating points this year.
For example, he had breached 2800 at the fag end of last year.
Now? It's 2768.9. One Indian player who has enjoyed a better year than some of his peers is Praggnanandhaa, especially in the first half of the year when he marked the beginning of the year by winning Tata Steel.
Sometime during the year, he also became the best-ranked Indian on the rankings list. In 2023, Pragg used the World Cup to advance to the Candidates (he lost to Carlsen in the final).
A similar result will see him feature in the Candidates in 2026. It kind of reflects India's new-found riches in the world's oldest boardgame.
The top-three seeds are Indian. Events such as these used to be held in other locations. These days, the game sees India as a must-visit destination at least once a year.
Cup named after Anand
That theme was reflected when FIDE, the world governing body for chess, decided to name the trophy the 'Viswanathan Anand Cup' going forward.
FIDE made this announcement in a glittering Ceremony also attended by Goa CM, Pramod Sawant and Union sports minister, Mansukh Mandaviya and other dignitaries (PM Narendra Modi declared the event open via a letter read out by AICF head, Nitin Narang).
Details
206 Players
3 Each of the top three seeds are Indians
1 Divya Deshmukh, the lone woman in the draw
8 Rounds, including the final, a knockout
Nov 1 - Nov 26 -- Tournament dates
Classical -- Time control
The story is reported by Swaroop Swaminathan for The New Indian Express
