Chess has transformed from a niche interest to a national obsession in cricket-crazy India. The year 2024 marked a pivotal year, with D. Gukesh becoming the youngest World Chess Champion and India shining at the Chess Olympiad. Players like R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and Koneru Humpy are now household names.

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India now boasts 85 Grandmasters, a remarkable leap from just one—Vishwanathan Anand—in 1987.

Leading this chess revolution is MGD1, India’s first startup dedicated to nurturing the country’s brightest chess talent. In an exclusive interview with WION's Athira Sasidharan, co-founder Manu Gurtu reveals how it all began and what the future of Indian chess holds.

Question: How did the idea of investing in chess and creating the first chess management company come about?

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It was during the pandemic that I got involved with the Indian chess team when they were playing the online Olympiad. With my background in tech, I was able to help the team with some technical issues they were facing when playing online. I was put in touch with the captain of the team GM Srinath Narayanan with whom I interacted throughout the pandemic.

He made me aware of the various problems that our players go through on a daily basis. One thing led to another. I roped in my co-founder who has a background in Marketing and branding. We registered this entity to make an honest attempt at solving some of the issues.

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Question: What made you choose chess over other more widely known sports?

I have been following and playing chess since I was a child. Have always had an interest in the sport. That certainly plays a role. More than that though, other than cricket the only other sport India is truly excelling at is Chess. Our time is now. There are enough companies working on other sports. This is where we thought we needed to be.

Question: Can you share with us your journey in the chess industry? How has it evolved over time?

When I started out it was never really a plan to set up an entity and do this full-time. As time passed by I gravitated towards helping the athletes out in whatever way possible and making a sustainable difference in their lives. We have been very lucky to have been welcomed into the ecosystem by all the chess fraternity. We also think more outsiders with different perspectives should be entering this space. It will certainly bring the much-needed freshness into the sport.

Question: Since India's historic victory in the Olympiad, along with Gukesh becoming the youngest World Chess Champion and Arjun breaking the 2800 Elo rating mark, how has the landscape of Indian chess changed?

A lot has happened, a lot more needs to be done. The major difference in the landscape has been that across the country at various levels of the government, the sport is being taken more seriously than ever before. There are more tournaments happening. There is more participation than ever in the sport. Having a world champion from your own country certainly brings in a lot of eyeballs to the sport.

Question: What do you see as the future of chess in India?

The future looks bright. Corporates and governments need to get more involved and support the sport in a bigger way. We are living in the golden era of chess in India.