KOLKATA: Levon Aronian is no longer a stranger to India. In the city to take part in the Kolkata rapid and blitz tournament for the third time in the past four years, Aronian expressed his love for India and its people. "I love being here. The culture, the depth in people's perception of life, the spirituality and cuisine all attract me a lot," he stated during the draw ceremony of the event on Tuesday.
However, the World No. 4 and top seed for this tournament is also a very keen follower of the exploits of India's young chess talents. "The future of chess definitely lies in India," he stated. The 39-year-old's belief is strengthened by the fact that India's multiple world champion Viswanathan Anand has taken up the role of nurturing a few of the talented youngsters. Anand, who took part in the last two editions of the competition, will not be playing this time, but will be present as a mentor to a number of exciting youngsters, who will be locking horns with the world's top players. "With Vishy as mentor, India's rise in world chess is all but guaranteed," Aronian, who had recently shifted his allegiance from Armenia to USA, added in support of his view.
Anand too looks forward to his new role. "I will be in a new role and will basically be everywhere this time," he stated. "I will enjoy watching games which you often miss when you are playing and also provide some tips to the juniors," he added. Although he agreed that the Indian juniors are making waves in world chess, he looks forward to more from them. "Only very few of us are in 2700+ Elo rated zone. So I would like to see more Indians come there," he said.
Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, who has been training under Anand, said he is learning a lot from the maestro. "It has been a good experience for me and I will try to grab as much as possible from him here," he said. Praggu, as he is more commonly known, will be seen in action along with GMs Nihal Sarin, D Gukesh and Raunak Sadhwani, who all are training under Anand. "It's difficult to pick any one from them. All of them have potential and are doing well," Anand said.
