Tata Steel chess: How the Carlsen mania gripped Kolkata for a week

When Bristy Mukherjee, a champion in all India women’s Rapid Chess event, touched the feet of Magnus Carlsen for a traditional pronam on Sunday, it must have been a culture shock for the ace. However, it was also a symbolic gesture of the way the Norwegian captured the imagination of the chess loving city for the past week.

The five-time world champion and arguably the greatest player of this generation was in his element as he won both the Rapid and Blitz events of the Tata Steel Chess meet with a round to spare in each at the newly built Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium. ‘’I know that my pronam has gone a bit viral, but it was just a spontaneous gesture on my part to touch the feet of Anand sir and then Carlsen. This is how we show respect to our teachers in India,’’ remarked Bristy, the 20-year-old, who received her trophy from them for winning her Rapid event in the Tata Steel Chess India Festival, held simultaneously on the sidelines of the main event.

Speaking to National Herald, Bristy, now a Women’s Fide Master (WFM) said: ‘’You must have seen how the venue had been overflowing on the final day. Not only is he a five-time world champion but to stay the world No.1 player for 13 years – despite having so many other interests – is simply phenomenal.’’

The way Carlsen dominated the field in both events, which boasted of several quality players along with members of India’s gold medallist Olympiad team (barring D. Gukesh who is preparing for the world title match), will no doubt serve as a warning for his rivals at the World Rapid and Blitz meet in New York next month. Asked to sum up his performance, the world No.1 said his rapid score was good but ‘’blitz I would say is decent, but I could have definitely done better.’’

 ‘’It was a nervy day,’’ he said about the final day. ‘’Wesely (So) could have realistically caught me. If Prag and Arjun were consistent, I could have struggled too. Arjun did it (catch up) for a while but perhaps his nerves could not handle it,’’ he said. While Carlsen finished on 13 points in Blitz, So was second on 11.5 and Erigaisi third on 10.5.

 Earlier this week during the draw ceremony, Carlsen – who had last played the tournament back in 2019 – said he refrained from making Kolkata a regular pit stop because he found India chaotic. However, he may have revelled in all the chaos as the rockstar of chess was mobbed on his way out from the venue with a small crowd jostling for his autographs and a closer shot in their mobile cameras. ‘’Chess is winning,’’ posted @irichakraborty123, a chess buff, on her Instagram handle.

Is it a reflection of the growing popularity of the sport in the city? Atin Sengupta, president of the Kolkata District Chess Association and veteran chess organiser, feels there are still miles to go before the city can emulate Chennai. ‘’We have seen a handful of young GMs emerging over the last few years alright, but it’s still a struggle to pursue chess here seriously. In a city like Chennai, one school alone has produced 16 GMs so far including the likes of Gukesh and Prag,’’ Sengupta pointed out.

Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Kateryna Lagno dominated with an impressive 11.5 points to emerge as the champion. Valentina Gunina and Aleksandra Goryachkina took the first and second runner-up spots, respectively.