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India is vying to host the World Mind Games, leveraging its burgeoning chess scene and the growing popularity of e-sports to attract the prestigious international event.
Photograph: Kind Courtesy Stev Bonhage/FIDE
Key Points
- The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) is seeking bids from India and other nations to host the upcoming World Mind Games.
- India’s growing prominence in chess, fuelled by young talents like Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa, is a key factor.
- IMSA aims to partner with corporate entities to boost chess and other mind sports, capitalising on India’s large e-sports market.
- IMSA plans to expand chess accessibility to 500 million Indians, investing in the sport’s culture and infrastructure.
- The appointment of FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich as IMSA president is expected to significantly benefit the organisation.
The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) has invited bids from India and the world to host the next edition of the World Mind Games, to be held later this year or in early 2027.
With Chess as the most played game in the world of mind sports, the IMSA think tank has followed on with the success of Indian players in the global circuit.
While it was always Viswanathan Anand for almost three decades, the advent of Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa and, D Gukesh has given the game a boost in the last few years.
IMSA’s Partnership Goals
“We are looking for partnership especially in Chess and other mind sports,” said Sandeep Singh, the chief marketing officer of IMSA.
“We are hoping to partner with the best in the corporate sector to make chess the most popular sport besides working on the e-sports and other mind games popular in India. The market here is huge with around 300 million dollars already invested into e-sports and thanks to our young guns, chess is doing great too and has finally invited corporate interest,” he added.
Expanding Chess in India
A former chess-player-turned-entrepreneur Sandeep has been in the thick of things and is sure about increasing the volumes in the chess circles as well as other mind sports like Poker, Go, Draught, Bridge and E-sports.
“Chess is played by over 50 million people in India alone and we in IMSA are committed to make it available to 500 million Indians in the next few years. The plan is to invest heartily to build a great society and culture. We have now on board the FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich as the IMSA president also,” said Geoffery Borg the CEO of IMSA.
Presence of Dvorkovich with his eight years’ experience as FIDE president could be a major boost for IMSA as the Russian was the brain behind the successful organisation of the FIFA World Cup in Russia a few years back.
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