How Vishy and Aruna Anand are silently powering chess in India

by Sagar Shah - 28/02/2026

In 2019 Gukesh became the second youngest grandmaster in the world of chess at the age of 12 years and 7 months. When he achieved the feat, a lot of possibilities arose for him. However, one that was extremely special was visiting the home of Vishy and Aruna Anand. In this article we tell you how this ritual of young achievers of Indian chess visiting the home of the legend is powering chess in the country! Don't miss the beautiful testimonial by Rajinikanth, Gukesh's father.

We are all aware of the amazing contribution made by Vishy Anand towards the growth of Indian chess. Being at the top of the sport for over 3 decades, winning 5 world titles - Vishy Anand's consistency is simply off the charts. A lot of young talents, who have now become world class players, have mentioned Vishy Anand as their role model. His games, the way he conducts himself in interviews - this is all something everyone can learn from. But there is something that Vishy and his better half Aruna do, far away from the glare of the media.

An amazing picture of Vishy Anand discussing some games with a young Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa

Discussing some of the intricacies in the Sicilian! Who would have imagined this picture would have not just one but two World Champions in the years to come!

When Gukesh became a Grandmaster and visited Anand's home it was not just a big moment for him but also his parents!

When we asked Rajinikanth, father of Gukesh, about this occasion of visiting Vishy Anand's home and his memories related to it, he replied, "Amidst all congratulations and appreciation calls on becoming the Grandmaster, icing on the cake was the message from Aruna maam inviting us to their residence. Since we had to immediately travel to Gibraltar, we fixed up the very next day after returning from Delhi. Though we have briefly met Vishy sir at various prize ceremonies or events, Gukesh, myself and my wife were very excited for getting more time and personal visit that we dreamed of for long!

It was unforgettable the few days before our meet that Aruna maam kept enquiring about Gukesh's favourite food, drink, sweet. It was such a caring gesture from her end. For us it was a blessing to just meet them.

On the day when we went, she made sure all of Gukesh's favourite things were there and then made us so comfortable with all the interesting stories about Vishy sir. Seeing all the medals and trophies certainly gave goosebumps and big motivation to Gukesh. It was in some ways a reminder that becoming a GM is just the beginning, the actual journey starts now and a lot of hardwork and effort was needed to move ahead! This is really the biggest influence any youngster can practically get!

Of course there was a chess session where Vishy sir personally analyzed some interesting games of Gukesh. We are fortunate to have Vishy sir share his wisdom and chess knowledge whenever Gukesh seeks for help and equally thankful to Aruna maam. With her guidance whenever I have needed help with practically anything like visa, sponsorship, coaching, tournaments, contracts, etc. she has always been there. Who better than her who has handled the career of our legend.

Vishy sir and Aruna maam are God's gift to Indian chess. Becoming a GM for any youngster is a huge incentive as it gets you an invitation to their home!"

Nowadays Gukesh and Vishy Anand meet across the chess board more often during tournaments!

And this tradition of young achievers visiting the home of Vishy Anand has continued till date. A few days ago the 10-year-old super talent from India Sharvaanica AS got the chance.

Sharvaanica with Vishy Anand in the latter's work room in Chennai

Sharvaanica is a big talent of Indian chess. She is born in 2015 and is already rated 2041. She became the under-10 world champion a few months ago.

This game I witnessed when I visited Hatsun Chess Academy. Although it was just a practice game I could already sense how talented Sharvaanica was.

An important game that helped Sharvaanica become the world under-10 champion 2025

Sharvaanica shows her World under-10 trophy to the legend!

Imagine how inspiring it is for a young talent to see the world championship medals! Something truly remarkable to aim for in your career.

Sharvaanica looks closely at all of Vishy's amazing trophies!

Exchanging some ideas!

Vishy also analyzed one of Sharvaanica's wins against the London System (You can find it in the video below)

There is a very beautiful moment of learning for the youngster. In this position...

Anand asked Sharvaanica what would you play here in this position as Black? The youngster responded with ...Qb6. This is a fine move. But Anand showed the move ...Bd6 (instead of ...Qb6!) after Qxb7 Bxf4! Qxc6+ Kf8, Vishy mentioned how Black has excellent compensation with ...Rb8 coming up, Bc1 in the air and a lot of possibilities. It's moments like these that stick in your head as a youngster. I am pretty sure Sharvaanica will never forget this theme for years to come!