Who wants to be a chess millionaire?

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(Newcastle Chronicle, 6 December 2024)

Going from rags to riches is the stuff of legend, but few people would expect it to happen from chess. Yet in the global chess explosion we are currently witnessing, an 18-year-old from India, Dommaraju Gukesh, is battling it out for the World Championship in Singapore with China’s Ding Liren for a $2.5 million (£2 million) prize fund.

In India, chess – just like cricket – can transform lives. Sponsors are falling over themselves to finance Gukesh and other top Indian players. It seems a little like the plot of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” where a former Mumbai street kid wins the jackpot in a TV quiz. Gukesh is not quite a rags-to-riches story – both his parents are well-qualified doctors – but you do get the sense that chess is a viable career option for Indian and Chinese youngsters.

In the UK, we just have a handful of chess prodigies. None of them can expect to make a decent living from chess unless they make it into the world top 20. Here, chess – without major sponsors or government recognition as a sport – is a part-time activity for even the best young talents, and the singular obsession required to reach the top is tempered by the need to get a good degree and a well-paying job.

(In 2023, the UK government did give grants totalling £1 million to chess, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to other countries’ support for the game.)

Darts and snooker, through canny marketing, have broken into TV and provide a more viable career path. They have on their side a down-to-earth image of accessibility – that any youngster can make it to the big time if they practice hard enough.

Chess suffers, perhaps, from a perception that it is an elite activity that’s hard to master. Yet the evidence worldwide is to the contrary: girls and boys from all backgrounds can excel at chess, and chess helps kids become smarter in general.

Next year, chess is back on the BBC in a programme called “Chess Masters”, where amateur players do battle in a game show format. Who knows whether this and other promotional efforts can revive the fortunes of the game in the UK. But the exploits of Gukesh and Ding will definitely inspire a generation of young players worldwide.

Next Monday, 9 December, the latest Newcastle Blitz Grand Prix tournament takes place at The Old George Inn, just off the Bigg Market. Play starts at 7:15pm, and entry is open to all. To enter, contact timpeterwall@gmail.com or go to https://newcastlechessclub.com for more details.

PUZZLES

Puzzle A: Sindarov-Nikitenko, 2024. White to play.

Puzzle B: Agasarov-Shahinyan, 2024. White to play.

Puzzle C: Pranesh-Nigmatov, 2024. Black to play.

Puzzle D: Nagarkatte-Miszler, 2024. White to play.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Bxh6! 1-0. If 1…Kxh6 2 Qg6 checkmate.
B: 1 Re7! 1-0. If 1…Rxe7 2 Qxf8 checkmate.
C: 1…Qh3+! 2 Rgg2 (if 2 Rxh3 Rxf2 checkmate) Rxf2+ 0-1.
D: 1 Nxd5! exd5 2 Re1+ Kf7 3 Re7+ 1-0.