At the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September, the Indian men’s team lost only one of 44 games. And from next week, the 18-year-old Gukesh will challenge Chinese world champion Ding Liren for the title duel. The motherland of chess has become a globally dominant force after former world champion Viswanathan Anand founded a talent factory with investment manager Sandeep Singhal.

THE TIME: Mr. Anand, in 1988 you were the first Indian ever to win the title of Grandmaster. Today there are five Indians in the top 20 in the world. What part do you have in it?