"Future is certainly very bright": Magnus Carlsen hails Indian chess grandmasters

Stavanger [Norway], May 31 : World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen lauded the Indian grandmasters Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi during the ongoing Norway Chess 2025 and went on to say that the future of Indian chess is in safe hands.

In round 4 of the ongoing Norway Chess 2025 competition on Thursday, Carlsen showed his class with an instructive victory in the endgame against Indian No. 2 Arjun Erigaisi. The Norwegian superstar, who had lost two Armageddon games in the last two rounds, made a strong statement with this win on home turf.

On May 27, the marquee clash of Round One at Norway Chess 2025 lived up to expectations as Magnus Carlsen launched a classic king hunt to defeat reigning World Champion D Gukesh in a thrilling encounter. This was their first classical match since Gukesh won the world title, and it also marked Carlsen's return to individual classical chess after nearly a year.

On competition from Indian chess players, the Norwegian chess grandmaster told ANI, "Honestly, it's not only Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa. There's obviously Arjun as well, Aravindh, who's now progressing and a ton of others who will be competing in many years to come. So the future is certainly very bright for Indian chess. Right now I'm just trying to stay ahead while I can."

After round 4 of the ongoing chess tournament, Carlsen leads the points table with 8 points, while the Indian duo of D. Gukesh and Arjun Erigasi finds itself in a joint fourth spot with 4.5 points each.

When asked how Artificial Intelligence (AI) affected the chess game, the 34-year-old player said, "AI certainly has affected the game a lot since it was introduced about, I would say, six years ago. It's enhanced our understanding of the game a lot, but it's also been a great equaliser in the sense that it's now easier to obtain knowledge at an earlier point in your career."

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