Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is set to join India's No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi and Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus at the PBG Alaskan Knights for the fourth season of the Global Chess League (GCL), which begins in Bengaluru on September 5, as reported by The Times of India. Anand, who previously played alongside Erigaisi two years ago, expressed excitement about the new team composition and the tournament's unpredictable nature, noting that the competition has surprised him before with its swings in fortune.
Anand, who has been a transformative figure in Indian chess, also reflected on how the sport has changed dramatically, particularly with the rise of powerful chess engines and artificial intelligence. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he joked that computers "would have laughed at the analysis" for his matches against Garry Kasparov, adding, "Things have moved along so far that you look at the games and you wonder, is this the same sport?" He observed that the digital age has eliminated the need for players to "sit there and figure out the position," as answers are readily available, but the new challenge lies in asking the right questions and converting vast data into practical strategy. Anand also noted that there are no longer any "bad openings," as engines prove that virtually any move can be playable.
Reflecting on his own career, Anand acknowledged a "crisis" in 2001 that lasted six to seven months, which included a rough patch at the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting where he lost four games, which he described as his worst career performance up to that point, and a semifinal exit at the FIDE World Chess Championship in Moscow. He said that recovering from such slumps—which recurred in 2013-2014 and 2017—felt "fantastic," and that the typical solution involved "getting away from the game, getting rid of the bad memories and then coming back and taking a fresh look." He also mused that a chess player's biggest regret is losing the same game twice, and he admitted to missing the "brute confidence" of his teenage years.
Turning to the current generation, Anand praised R Praggnanandhaa's recent performances, calling his Norway Chess victory an "amazing result" after winning his last four games, and highlighted his success at the Sinquefield Cup, where he beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and his comeback in the rapid after falling behind in the classical against Fabiano in the final. Anand said he believes Praggnanandhaa is "the best player in the world at the moment." He also expressed confidence in Gukesh, calling him a "strong player" who will "start kicking in at some point, perhaps at the Olympiad," and mentioned Vaishali as a player to watch in women's chess as she takes on Ju Wenjun for the World Championship.
Anand also addressed the Global Chess League's format, pointing to its six-board structure, tweaks to scoring, and "punishing" time controls, which he said change how players approach the game, requiring them to take risks based on the team's needs. He credited influencers with helping attract new audiences to chess.
When asked about chess's commercial standing compared to cricket, Anand told The Times of India that cricket is more successful and that India looks up to the sport, but he expressed a desire for chess to mirror that success. "I want chess to mirror cricket's commercial pull," he said, adding that the biggest lesson to learn from cricket is the ability to obtain and retain sponsors. He noted that chess is already decentralized with national federations and zonal arrangements, and he encouraged Indians to take up sports more broadly for regular participation. Regarding the upcoming Chess Olympiad, Anand called India's 100th edition a "nice milestone" but said it would make no huge difference.