'Vishy's Children On The loose': India's Chess Boom Complicated, Competitive, And Very Real

"Vishy's children are on the loose" is a famous quote by chess legend Garry Kasparov, referring to the incredible rise of young Indian chess prodigies. That remained the theme of Indian Chess in 2025 as well. This was the year when the talk was not about the future of Indian chess, but about the present - loud, messy, thrilling, and occasionally uncomfortable. There were historic wins and global validation. But there were also heartbreaks, controversies, and moments that forced the community to pause and reflect.

At the centre of it all stood D. Gukesh, the 18-year-old who became the youngest undisputed World Champion and, in doing so, changed how the chess world looks at India. What followed was a year that proved success brings its own kind of pressure.

Divya Deshmukh's Breakthrough

If one moment defined Indian chess in 2025, it was Divya Deshmukh lifting the Women's World Cup in Batumi.

She wasn't the favourite, not even seeded in the top ten. But over two intense weeks, the 19-year-old played with a calm that felt far older than her age. The final - against fellow Indian star Koneru Humpy - went down to tiebreaks, where Divya held her nerve and made history.

The win earned her the Grandmaster title automatically. It booked her ticket to the 2026 Candidates. And perhaps most importantly, it underlined that India's women aren't just catching up anymore - they're setting the pace.

Praggnanandhaa: The Calm Constant in a Chaotic Year

While headlines often chase drama, R. Praggnanandhaa quietly put together one of the most impressive seasons of his career.
By winning the 2025 FIDE Circuit, Pragg ensured India will have a challenger in the next World Championship cycle - regardless of what happens elsewhere.

In a year where emotions ran high, Praggnanandhaa's steadiness mattered. It reinforced the idea that India's dominance isn't built on one prodigy, but on depth.

Goa's Reality Check: Home Not An Advantage 

Hosting the FIDE World Cup in Goa was supposed to have been a celebration. Twenty-four Indian players, home crowd, familiar conditions.

Instead, it became the year's biggest letdown. Despite having top seeds like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, India failed to secure a single Candidates qualification spot. In a brutal knockout format, one bad game was all it took - and several favourites fell early.

There were uncomfortable questions afterward. About the pressure of expectations. About whether playing at home actually made things harder. And about how deeply engine preparation has started to flatten creativity at the elite level.

Tiger Parenting, Pressure Starting Early 

The darker side of India's chess explosion surfaced in a controversy involving Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha, a three-year-old FIDE-rated player.

Allegations - strongly denied by the family - suggested irregularities in tournaments where the child earned his rating. Regardless of where the truth eventually lands, the episode sparked an important debate: how young is too young? And at what point does ambition cross into burden?

In a country obsessed with prodigies, 2025 forced an uncomfortable but necessary conversation.

Drama, Memes, and a Changing Guard

Chess also found itself squarely in internet culture this year.
When Hikaru Nakamura tossed Gukesh's king into the crowd during an exhibition event, reactions ranged from outrage to amusement. 

The "Nakamura throwing king" moment unfolded at the Checkmate: USA vs India exhibition in October 2025, when Hikaru Nakamura, after checkmating D. Gukesh in a bullet game, theatrically flung Gukesh's king toward the crowd. The clip went viral and drew criticism for being disrespectful, but context softened the backlash: this was an entertainment-driven exhibition, with organizers encouraging such moments. Nakamura apologised to Gukesh, calling it "all for show," and Gukesh accepted it without fuss.

But this was real, not for the cameras. Magnus Carlsen showed rare visible frustration after slamming the table moments after losing to world champion D. Gukesh for the first time in a classical game. The 19-year-old Indian scripted a landmark win, surviving a tense endgame time scramble by repeatedly finding precise defensive moves before Carlsen finally blundered and resigned. The result was striking, especially after Carlsen had beaten Gukesh just a week earlier at the Norway Chess 2025 event. 

These incidents felt symbolic. Chess isn't just cerebral anymore. It's emotional, performative, and very much alive in the public eye. And India's youngsters are right at the centre of it.

The Indian Chess Powerhouse

2025 didn't just confirm India's arrival at the top of world chess, it showed what comes next - the weight of expectations, the mental grind, the need to evolve beyond preparation and rediscover creativity.

India is still leading the charge. But this year proved that shaping a new era isn't about winning every tournament. It's about learning how to carry success without letting it crush you.