Ding Liren, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Abdusattorov are the names of the players to watch at the Chess Olympiad, which runs through September 22 in Budapest. The favorites come from China, India and Uzbekistan — not from Russia, as in years past.

Only the United States have a chance to keep up with the Asian stars at this edition of the World Team Championships. Former world champion Magnus Carlsen is also there, but his Norwegian team are more of a dark horse. Russian teams are not even taking part in Budapest — the former chess superpower is currently banned due to Russia's war on Ukraine.

The chess miracle in India is primarily associated with one name: Viswanathan Anand, the world champion from 2007 to 2013, and who at 54 remains one of the world's best players.

India's golden generation

India, where the game of chess originated around 1,500 years ago, is regarded as the new Russia in the sport. Last spring, 17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh won the Candidates Tournament, meaning he will be the one to challenge reigning world champion Ding Liren of China at the end of this year.

Gukesh is not the only young Indian in the elite circle of super grandmasters. Players such as Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi are also at the top of the world rankings. Indian women are also gaining ground in the sport.

This article was originally published in German. Edited by: Jonathan Harding

You can read the full article in English here