Candidates glory a distant dream for Indian trio: Viswanathan Anand

New Delhi, April 1

Giving prominence to experience over youthful exuberance, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand feels the three Indian participants will not be among the top contenders for the Candidates chess title, saying they “should first settle into the tournament.”

The Indians are a long shot. If they can keep the tournament going that’s good enough. If a late opportunity presents itself, they can grab it — Viswanathan Anad

The tournament, which will determine the challenger for the next World Championship, will be held in Toronto on April 3-22. The winner will qualify to challenge Ding Liren of China. The immensely talented R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi are the three Indians competing in the open category. All three will make their debuts at the tournament.

“The Indians are a long shot. If they can keep the tournament going that’s good enough,” Anand said. “If a late opportunity presents itself, they can grab it. They should first settle into the tournament and try to play good games. Let the big decisions come later,” he added.

Anand felt that Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura of the United States are the clear favourites, while terming Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and Alireja Firouza of France as the unpredictable players of the tournament.

According to Grandmaster N Srinath, one of the country’s top trainers, Praggnanandhaa has the best chance among the Indians but picked Caruana as the clear favourite for the title.

Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and R Vaishali are the two Indians participating in the women’s section.