In a historic victory, both the Indian men and women teams secured their maiden gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad on Sunday. Chess has seen tremendous growth in the country, especially post-COVID-19. The rise of sponsors and the global performance of Indian chess players has led to increased online viewership. Tech Mahindra’s Global Chess League (GCL) season one crossed 10 million viewers on Eurosport TV and JioCinema.
Interestingly, Tech Mahindra was one of the sponsors of the 2024 Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary. The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative between FIDE and Tech Mahindra, aims to promote chess worldwide. GCL is projected to create a value of $40 million within five years for all its stakeholders. Season 1 of GCL attracted 250,000 viewers on the GCL Metaverse and reached over 100 million on social media.
Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harkrishna held their nerves during tough situations on the board and managed to clutch gold for the country. While on the women’s team Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, Vaishali R, Vantika Agrawal and Tanya Sachdev showed immense skill set facing top teams including USA and China.
In an interview with Storyboard18, Peeyush Dubey, CMO of Tech Mahindra and Chairperson of the Global Chess League, discussed the growth of chess in India and plans to merge arena-based and online chess for broader reach. According to a report by VMR, the chess market was valued at USD 2.19 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to USD 3.34 billion by 2030.
Dubey said, “The Indian chess team’s first-ever gold medal finish will definitely boost the sport’s growth in India. The popularity is rising as Indian teams continue to perform on the international stage.”
Discussing this growth, Dubey noted, “COVID-19 brought a revolutionary change in how chess is viewed as a sport in India. Today, it generates excitement with multiple teams, both men and women, competing, along with young prodigies bringing added interest. Tech Mahindra’s Global Chess League ties many of these elements together in a single league.”
Expanding on the topic of shorter format games broadcasted live on TV, Dubey said, “India will host games played in arenas with live audiences. Shorter formats will make the game more engaging for viewers on TV and streaming platforms like YouTube.”
He added, “For hosting games in front of live audiences, we’ll create an exclusive, intimate setting where people can closely observe the games. Combining this with online chess will definitely enhance the sport’s reach.”
On chess growth in India, Dubey said, “When Viswanathan Anand became world champion, it gave chess new recognition. Now, with prodigies winning globally, there’s no turning back. People are looking at chess and chess influencing as careers, which has changed due to the sport’s growth and the rise of online platforms in India.”
He continued, “Our Indian prodigies are now playing top-level chess against the world’s best. This growth has been gradual, and I believe India’s future in chess is very bright. Chess will soon be one of the top ten sports in India.”
Speaking on the role of corporates in growing chess in India, Dubey said, “At Tech Mahindra, we believe that sports sponsorship is an excellent way to promote our brand while supporting chess. As an entrepreneurial company, we partnered with FIDE to start a chess league that brings global players to India, builds teams, and grows the world of chess.”
Dubey concluded, “We’re seeing more corporates entering the chess scene. With growing popularity, we’re expecting nearly 100% revenue growth for the league this year.”
GCL is scheduled from October 3rd to October 12th in London. With first edition held in Dubai, the format of the game is similar like IPL which is franchise based.