There is no exaggeration in stating that the ever-evolving chess nation, India, came away from the 2015 World Youth and Cadets Chess Championships in Porto Carras, Greece, the absolute victors of the rigorous youth chess festival. Winning five gold medals—when no other nation managed more than one—three silver and three bronze, its 11-medal haul from 12 categories was nearly triple the next two most successful medal winning nations: the USA and Russia, with four each, but no gold. Over 1500 chess players from 91 nations participated in the Championships and all of the strong chess-playing nations were in Porto Carras.
With the steamrolling of the Chess Championships, India made a profound and unusual statement for the future of the perplexing game. The nation simply proclaimed itself to be among the elite chess contenders of the future. Until recently, India boasted a world chess champion in Vishy Anand who excelled in every aspect of the game: conventional, rapid and blitz. As far as historical chess records reveal, India is regarded as the home of chess. The game was first discovered in that country in the year 6 AD and there is a popular belief that ancient chess was invented in India.
India fielded a team of 50 representatives, the United States had 129, Russia 70, and Canada 56. China had 46 players but left with only one medal. Untitled Iranian chess player Masoud Mosadeghpour (FIDE 2420), an unlikely candidate for gold, struck gold in the Boys Under-18 department. Iranian chess is convincingly on the rise as Masoud’s gold is the second for his country. At the FIDE Youth Championships in 2013, Pouya Idani left with gold following her surprise victory over some senior chess-playing nations. Germany’s only medal turned out to be a gold in the Boys Under-16 section through Roven Vogel. Host country Greece’s brightest star Stavroula Tsolakidou demonstrated her stellar fighting spirit by winning the Girls Under-16 division of the Championships after a lukewarm start.
She finished with five straight wins to make Greece proud.
