Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand believes Australia ready to become chess country

With a thriving scene in schools and a wealth of stunning locations to host events, one of the greatest chess players to ever grace the chequered board believes the sport is poised to explode in Australia.

That is the hope of Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, who believes Australia has the right foundations to become a prominent chess nation in the near future.

And the five-time Chess World Champion believes one of Sydney's most famous venues could be a future host of the sport's newest franchise league.

Speaking to ABC Sport while in Australia, Anand, 56, said he was "amazed" to see the high engagement in chess, especially among younger players.

"We had the Netflix, Queen's Gambit and pandemic boom, and there is another boom happening in Australia, which is chess in schools," Anand said.

"I was kind of prepared for the fact that more people would be following chess on their phones, but I was amazed to see the chess in schools scene that is happening here.

"Generally, Australia hasn't been a chess country, but I think that's about to change."

More than 2,000 grandmaster titles have been awarded by the sport's governing body, FIDE, since 1950.

Just 10 of those grandmasters were Australian (excluding Walter S Browne, who was born in Australia but identified as American), with Ian Rogers the first to achieve the title in 1985.

But after seeing a blooming chess community during his Sydney tour, Anand believes Australia is poised to add more grandmasters to its list of 10.

"There are very, very passionate communities. Youngsters are doing it, and getting their elders to follow the game a bit," he said.

"I think this could be a very promising moment for Australian chess."

A new venture that Anand believes could help chess reach new heights, not just in Australia, is the sport's maiden franchise league — Global Chess League.

Launched in 2023, the competition has had three seasons with many of the world's top players participating in the six-team competition.

Team-based chess has traditionally been limited to representing your country in tournaments like the Chess Olympiad.

But the Global Chess League, a joint venture between FIDE and Indian multinational company Tech Mahindra, is taking plenty of inspiration from cricket's Indian Premier League.

Anand has been the lead player for the Ganges Grandmasters in all three seasons, and is also the current deputy president of FIDE.

Buoyed by the success of GCL's three seasons so far, Anand believes the tournament has the ability to continue to grow into new markets and reach a wider audience, especially in Australia.

"They right away started with the idea, just like IPL, they should focus on making it entertainment and focus on attracting new audiences," he said.

"Everything has been redesigned to make it packageable for television.

"Chess has done well on the internet, but the key is to reach out to new audiences that don't naturally encounter chess.

"I would say both in India and Australia, there is a culture of being open to these new formats and presentations."

The GCL is played in one location across two weeks.

So far, Dubai, London and Mumbai have hosted the franchise league.

After visiting the historic Sydney Cricket Ground, Anand believes Sydney could be an ideal spot to bring the booming chess competition in the future.

"Most venues want to host multiple different games, to show they are not restricted to one sport," Anand said.

"We have the pleasure of visiting the Sydney Cricket Ground … we are hopeful we can find some area of collaboration there."

Also speaking with ABC Sport, Tech Mahindra's Harshvendra Soin was upbeat about the future of Australian chess, and the prospect of a historic venue like the SCG hosting chess tournaments.

"I already have an imagination. In the middle of the SCG, you have the finals of the Global Chess League."

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