GCL’s Aims To Marry ‘Purity Of Chess’ With ‘Entertainment And Technology’ In Homecoming Extravaganza | EXCLUSIVE

As the flagbearer of franchise leagues fabricated around the booming sport of chess, the Global Chess League (GCL) has managed to serve as a trailblazer for a world of possibilities with its successful outings in the UAE and the United Kingdom.

And with the arrival of the hybrid contest, with a zesty twist on the classical interpretation of the game to Indian shores, the organisers seek to flip the page on the ecosystem around the ancient game with the third edition of the event slated to be held in Mumbai.

Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi recalled businessman-par-excellence Anand Mahindra’s fascination with the chequered board, and with the renowned conglomerate lending its name to the event, the upcoming edition of the tournament stands to serve as a homecoming

for the ambitious effort that seeks to promote the culture of the sport in its land of origins.

The spiritual homecoming is a nod to the promise of the event and the fledgling culture around the sport in the nation, which has played host to multiple big-name events in the land of its origin in the recent past.

In an exclusive chat with News 18 Sports, Gourav Rakshith, the commissioner of the GCL, opened up on the event’s advent into territory unknown, with the goal of tech integration, a hint of pageantry and an overall sense of inclusivity, all rolled into one chess-title.

“The one constituent that often doesn’t get enough attention is the fact that our players are doing extremely well in chess all over the world. And the fact is that we’ve pretty much won every major championship that’s out there. And the nucleus of chess seems to be shifting towards India. As you mentioned, with the boom in talent, the boom in viewer interest, the boom in sponsor interest, all of that is, I think, starting to move the nucleus of chess towards India,” Rakshith began.

“We will continuously be investing in building audiences and fascination for this game that actually takes a lifetime to master, and it’s one of those that you can play at any stage of your life, which is why we have cross-generational teams. We really like the way this format addresses some of those ambitions,” the commissioner added.

“One of the things our attention is focused on is bringing fence-sitters closer into the funnel, but there is inertia to move forward in a sense that the consumption doesn’t translate into fandom. And that’s where we come in.”

“It is the top players in the world playing for teams and playing with the same level of determination that you can expect at any tournament anywhere in the world. At the same time, alongside this pristine event, we will have the Chess-tivle, which is really the festival of chess. So anybody who is in it looking to also understand the game is able to actually participate at a festival where they can see chess in all its glory, have fun, enjoy a day with the kids perhaps, or come with friends,” he explained.

Chess and sport, as such, in modern times, seem to be moving towards becoming a fast-moving consumer product due to the speed at which things are evolving and in a bid to accommodate a bigger base. An event such as the GCL seeks to provide a contemporary twist on an age-old traditional practice to keep the enthusiasm alive, in addition to garnering a new base.

“Chess is an age-old game. It’s been played for centuries. I think the opportunity is for leagues like GCL to bring that to a much larger audience. I think most people learn chess growing up. And then somewhere along the way, they start to disengage from chess,” the commissioner elucidated.

“And to my mind, this new renaissance of chess, which has been triggered by Indian players doing extremely well and also the advent of AI that’s made the game really a lot more fascinating in terms of the approach people take to playing the sport.”

And considering the zeitgeist of a period where sport has been compelled with the likes of entertainment and leisure for the attention of the growing populace, the event looks to act as a confluence of the two.

“I think the global chess league has a unique proposition in terms of marrying the purity of chess with entertainment, pop culture and use of technology, actually. I think all of these come to play together in the global chess league, which is what makes it a unique event. It’s one of the few, if only, sports in the world where you’ve got men, women, youngsters, all in the same team,” Rakshith said.

“And I think that makes for tremendously attractive viewing. We see families joining together to watch, to come in person to attend the events, because it is inclusive. And that’s really the mantra of the Global Chess League is to be inclusive.”

Chess has benefited massively from the impact of tech on the production, execution and consumption of sport in recent times across formats. With the reach and possible learning opportunity at an all-time high, GCL look to push the boundaries of this newfound advantage in terms of entertainment value and on-ground intent.

“I think there’s a lot of innovation that one can do, and we’re sort of on the way towards that. Each season starts to build on the past, and so you’re always trying to push the envelope and what you can do. We are trying to create an experience for the in-home user, which is actually a quasi-in-stadium experience. So the user leveraging tech gets to experience what it is like inside the stadium. Using fantasy leagues, we’ll allow them to also experience what the pressures are of a team owner and how they can participate in that journey. We allow them to predict moves. We’re also looking at potentially a metaverse where they can get a virtual walkthrough of our venue,” Rakshith clarified.

“The innovation that we’re doing this time is also around a live studio. Typically, what we’ve done is we’ve had offline studios, if you will. This in-stadium experience will have the fans along with the audience. And that will be what will be captured, just like a tournament for any other sport, which is an in-stadium experience. So that’s kind of what we’re looking at from a technology point of view.”

Despite contemporary formats of the sport being definitive of the times, it is perhaps a necessity for the traditions to have space for interpretations that spruce up the discipline to preserve the charm of the old-school iterations, which might eventually fade and be set on the path to being obsolete, if they are not rehashed in alignment with modern tastes and cravings.

“I think there are parallels in all sports where shorter formats are definitely coming to the fore, which are easier to consume. The reality is, it has a very interesting impact on the classical format of the game. And chess is no different, where actually the classical format of the game is being redefined by the nature of what’s happening in rapid chess. Some of the things that you will try in a rapid game, you would normally not try in a classical game back in the day. But now, given that you have a venue to try these out, some of them find their way into classical games as well. And that’s the beauty of actually both variants enriching each other,” the commissioner believes.

The GCL also aspires to induce a sense of global camaraderie with the mixed-gender composition and the inclusion of players in the prodigy slot rubbing shoulders with the bigwigs in a bid to serve as a rite of passage for the dreamers to mix with their idols.

“I think the value of the experimentation and being able to bring in newer cohorts of players is one it gives a large opportunity to players who may or may not have had a chance to be on the global stage to participate especially our prodigies right that is a it’s a great showcase for their talent because they definitely get to put their best foot forward on the largest stage there is in the platform,” Rakshith said.

“What’s interesting is also the dynamic between men, women and prodigies, where they actually learn from each other because they form a team. Chess otherwis,e is an individual sport. When you play as a team, sometimes you’re playing a slightly different strategy than you would normally play in an individual sport. The rules are slightly different. We give more points for black than we do for white. That is not standard. It’s a small nuance, but I think some of these nuances are what actually make the sport riveting to watch,” he continued.

In terms of knowledge transfer, machine learning and competitive usage, the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence has moved the goal post in ways perhaps not comprehensible at the moment, but can only be truly gauged in the near future.

“There’s no doubt that AI now is fairly superior to the best players of our generation. And perhaps it has now been established that we will not catch up. What the role AI is playing right now is actually unlocking the beauty of the game that perhaps would have taken us many more centuries to come to,” Rakshith feels.

“With the advent of AI and being able to do these calculations at superhuman, obviously, speed, it quickly exposes us to very, very beautiful concepts in chess. And chess is actually, as a metaphor of life, all about ideas.”

“Fundamentally, a lot of humans, and grandmasters are good enough to, if given a nudge, can actually walk a hundred yards, but when you’re staring over the board, you don’t have that nudge. When you have this assist in your corner, saying that, look, this move will actually improve your position or reduce your position. At that point, you are able to actually take it much, much further. So I think that is where the unlocking occurs,” he added.

Rakshith also gave a peek into the top-billed names from across categories in an exercise to pique interest further with a snapshot of the possible lineup for the Mumbai spectacle, featuring storied names including the likes of the legendary Viswanathan Anand and the incredible Fabiano Caruana, in addition to a plethora of Indian names, including the likes of Pragg, Arjun Erigaisi a teaser.

“The icon board this time has a very exciting lineup we including Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and of course, our incumbent World Champion Gukesh.”

“We’ve got Vishy, who will be playing as well as Pragg and Arjun Erigaisi. Faustino Oro has also entered the road to the GCL tournament that we did. Right now, he’s coming in as a reserve, though, because the teams are already selected for the players. Jose Martinez, Koneru Humpy, and Hou Yifan are also some other names in the mix,” he concluded.