India’s Chess Olympiad gold winners met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. For Vantika Agrawal, it was special because Modi had encouraged her when she won the Asian under-nine Championship as a child. Vantika said, “When you encouraged me, I felt very happy. I decided to give my all to chess and win more medals for India.” She was surprised that Modi remembered her birthday on September 28th. Vantika gave the PM a picture of him felicitating her as a kid in Gujarat.
Modi talked about a big chess event he organised in Gujarat when he was Chief Minister. He said, “I had 20,000 players playing chess. Everyone wondered why I was spending so much money, but I wanted to do it. I made a huge tent for it.”
Team’s Joy and Worldwide Support
Harika Dronavalli from the women’s team said they celebrated their gold medal win in a big way. She added, “Every opponent there came and congratulated us.” Vidit Gujarathi shared how fans supported them. He said, “Chess is getting more popular. There was pressure, but seeing so much support was great.” Tania Sachdev mentioned that losing to the USA in the Chennai Olympiad motivated them to win this time.
The Role of AI in Chess
Young chess star Praggnanandhaa talked about how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing chess. He said, “With AI, chess is growing. New technology is coming. Computers have become stronger. They’re showing new ideas in chess. We’re still learning from it.”
Vidit added that they use AI tools to prepare for games.
The meeting showed how chess is becoming more popular in India. The players’ stories of motivation, worldwide support, and using new technology highlight the growth of Indian chess. From Modi’s early support to the current use of AI, Indian chess has come a long way and is now winning at the world level.
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