Come April, chess followers in India – their number is rising rapidly – will have their eyes set on Toronto. The Canadian city is hosting the Candidates tournament. It is one of the most important events in the chess calendar, for it determines the challenger who will face the reigning World champion.
In chess, a World champion enjoys a tremendous privilege. Unlike the World champions of most sports, they usually needn’t bother about reaching the final, the World title match. The champion just has to be willing to defend his crown – and not all champions are – while the challenger has to come through a tough qualification cycle, culminating with the Candidates tournament.
So all Ding Liren – he became the first Chinese man to win the World championship earlier this year after defeating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi – has to do is to find out who, from among the eight Candidates in Toronto, earns the right to challenge him. Two Indians – R. Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi – have already become the Candidates. There are chances for D. Gukesh too, but he needs to do exceedingly well in the tournaments he will be playing this month.
