Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun, Nihal can all become World champions: Boris Gelfand Premium

Boris Gelfand, former World No. 3, is impressed by the respect Indian players give to their coaches. He finds D. Gukesh's depth of calculation, Pragg's feeling for the game, Arjun's creativity and Nihal's technique impressive. He believes they have a chance of becoming World champions. He also credits Netflix series The Queen's Gambit for increasing people's interest in chess. Gelfand loves reading books, with Chekhov, Maugham, Akutagawa, Bulgakov, Ilf, Petrov, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky being his favourites.

Boris Gelfand challenged Viswanathan Anand for the World chess championship in 2012 and was one of the planet’s leading players for decades. A former World No. 3, he won the World Cup in 2009. He was a part of the Soviet Union chess dynasty that dominated the game for long before moving to Israel.

Although he still continues to play competitively, he spends more time coaching and has worked extensively with Indian players, including the group of young men that is taking the world by storm. Gelfand, who was in Kolkata recently to head a training camp for India’s best talent, sat down for an interview with The Hindu. Excerpts:

How do you find working with some of the world’s most exciting young talents? You have spent a lot of time with D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin.

I am very impressed by how much respect the Indian players give to the coaches. They may have already become top-level players, but they respect their coaches immensely, and I find it rather nice. That means they are not just excellent, but also nice human beings. I keep in contact with each trainer that has helped me in my life.

Talking of the fabulous four of Indian chess, what are the things that you find most impressive about each one of them?

I think it is important to note that we cannot generalise because we are talking about players with extraordinary talent. What unites all of them is their desire to improve. As for certain qualities in their game, I like Gukesh’s depth of calculation and his deep thinking. I like Pragg’s feeling for the game and his intuitive understanding. I am impressed by Arjun’s creativity and Nihal’s technique and ability to grind.

Do you think there could, sometime in the future, be a World title match between two Indian players?