India’s rising stars

The former world champion Vishy Anand has described the current crop of young Indian talents as a golden generation. At last month’s Fide World Cup, four of the quarter-finalists were Indian. Most eminent was 17-year-old Gukesh, who recently entered the world top ten, narrowly overtaking Anand himself. Praggnanandhaa, 18 years old, went as far as the final, where he was beaten by Magnus Carlsen. The others were Erigaisi, who turned 20 earlier this month, and Vidit, almost a veteran at age 28!

   All four players were back at the board at the Tata Steel India Rapid and Blitz, held in Kolkata earlier this month. Impressive as they are, it was reassuring to see that the teenagers have not entirely eclipsed the older generation. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave took first place in the rapid event, while the blitz was won by 39-year-old Alexander Grischuk, the oldest player in the field. His controlled aggression in the following game would be impressive even at a much slower time limit.