By Vipul Kashyap

Stavanger [Norway], June 5 (ANI): Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand expressed his delight at the growing popularity of chess in India, attributing the surge of interest to the emergence of young stars like R Praggnanandhaa and Dommaraju Gukesh.

Anand said that these rising talents have played a pivotal role in captivating fans and sustaining excitement around the game.

'For any game to succeed, you need players to do well and produce something interesting for the fans to enjoy. Luckily, Pragg (Praggnanandhaa) and Gukesh (Dommaraju) are doing that very well,' Anand said.

Anand, who has long been the face of Indian chess, believes that the sport is witnessing an unprecedented boom in the country. Not only are young players delivering promising performances on the international stage, but the game is also finding increasing relevance in mainstream conversations.

'I am very happy,' he said, adding that 'Not only is the game growing strongly, but more and more people are getting opportunities to talk about it and presenting what's so dramatic about this sport. So, it's fantastic.'

With the likes of Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa pushing the boundaries and challenging top-ranked opponents, the future of Indian chess looks brighter than ever.

Earlier, Round 8 of Norway Chess 2025 brought many exciting games. One of the standout games featured Hikaru Nakamura against reigning World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh, according to a statement from Norway Chess.

Nakamura seized the initiative out of the opening by launching a powerful attack. Gukesh has managed to defend excellently in his last two games but this time Nakamura was able to beat down his defences and win. (ANI)