Current young chess players of India are very talented and strong – Magnus Carlsen
33-year-old Magnus Carlsen, Norway's five-time former world champion, says that the calculation skills of Indian players are very excellent, perhaps they are trained in this manner. First of all you look at Vishwanathan Anand, who has incredible knowledge about the game.
Magnus Carlsen, a 33-year-old Norwegian chess player, has faced off against young Indian players as well as 54-year-old veteran Viswanathan Anand of India. Carlson is greatly impacted by the younger generation of Indians. He thinks that Vishwanathan Anand's legacy is being brilliantly carried on by the stars of the new generation, such as Grandmaster D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa. Aside from this, young Indian athletes are incredibly strong and fearless in addition to being gifted.
Carlson says that the calculation skills of Indian players are very excellent, perhaps they are trained in this manner. First of all you look at Vishwanathan Anand, who has incredible knowledge about the game. But, the first thing you notice about him and the first thing you notice especially about other young Indian players is his calculation skills. I think this is a key characteristic that connects the generations of Indian players I have played with.
The veteran Norwegian player said that one thing I can say with full confidence is that India's current chess generation is definitely the strongest and most dangerous. Compared to the rest of the world, the present young generation of India is very brilliant. Especially those born between 2003 and 2006.
India's 19-year-old young player R Praggnananda defeated Carlsen in the online rapid tournament in 2022. At the same time, in February 2024, 17-year-old D Gukesh defeated Carlsen in freestyle chess. Praising these two youngsters, Carlsen said, both of them have immense talent but there is a slight difference in their style of play. The game of Gukesh is based on calculations. At the same time, Praggnananda also does calculations but he is quite comfortable.
Magnus Carlsen is very excited about the Norway Chess Tournament to be played in his home from June 27 to 07, in which the world's top six players including R Praggnananda will come out to challenge. Praggnananda will present the only challenge from India in the men's category of this tournament. Whereas, Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali will challenge in the women's category.
