India's chess prodigies are not only winning but also earning big money

Money is usually attracted not pursuedrdquo says famous American entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn The current crop of Indian chess prodigies who have transitioned and stationed themselves in the Top 10 in world rankings will agreeAt just 18 when most would be undecided about their career choices Dommaraju Gukesh pursued his passion to win the world chess title a little more than a year ago and attracted a cool Rs 114 crore in prize money His earnings from chess crossed a phenomenal Rs 21 crore in a year albeit supplemented by sponsorships gifts and appearance money not to mention a Mercedez Benz E class by his alma mater Velammal Vidyalaya in ChennaiArjun Erigaisi just 22 and 20yearold Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa fondly known as Pragg are some of the other Indian chess players who have been money magnets in 2025Magnus Carlsen is the top earner in the world by a long margin FILE PICSAfter breaching the elite Elo 2800 barrier early this year Erigaisi has garnered around Rs 3 crore in prize money and has a deal with Quantbox amounting to about Rs 25 crore a year Pragg too has a hefty sponsorship from Adani an undisclosed amount to help him achieve his dream of becoming world champion In 2024 Pragg had won about Rs 17 crore in prize money while Indiarsquos best ever woman chess player of all time Koneru Humpy also earned R1 croreplus in prize moneyInternational Master IM Sagar Shah who cofounded globally popular chess platform ChessBase India with his wife Amruta has been extensively involved in massive prize money chess events around the world for the last couple of years He is upbeat that chess today is lucrative enough to lure top class Indian talent ldquoFor players above Elo 2700 it is definitely financially viable to pursue chess as a profession In fact even above the Elo 2600 mark though a bit unstable itrsquos worth considering If previously there were five players who could make money now it is 15rdquo says SagarIndiarsquos best woman chess player Koneru Humpy earned Rs 1 croreplusNorwegian Magnus Carlsen the highest ever rated player on the planet is undoubtedly responsible for popularising and glamourising chess pulling in the moolah The Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour and the Esports World Cup have also lent more glamour and attracted fan following like never before Quite clearly Carlsen has marketed chess like no other world champion and his personal net worth which is more than US 25 million approximately R225 crore is proof of this Japanrsquos Hikaru Nakamura with an almost equal net worth has most of his money coming in from online streaming and endorsementsldquoFreestyle chess is making a significant impact in the chess world A total of six events were scheduled for the 2025 tour each with a 750000 Rs 677 crore prize fund and for the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championships the prize pool is 300000 Rs 27 crore Esports Chess had massive prizes going into millions of dollars Praggnanandhaa Arjun Erigaisi Nihal Sarin all signed contracts with EsportsAt Rs 38 crore Arjun Erigaisi is the top Indian earner from 2025Some of the former India players like Abhijit Kunte RB Ramesh Surya Shekhar Ganguly K Sasikiran and P Harikrishna among others who had huge potential but missed out due financial challenges could have definitely benefitted more with stronger financialsrdquo adds SagarInterestingly Indiarsquos fivetime world champion Viswanathan Anand is estimated to have a net worth of around US 10 million and is ranked among the top 10 richest chess players in the world These figures may not be as authentic as the ratings that reflect a playerrsquos strength but they do come close to realitySagar Shah with his wife Amruta at Ghatkopar PicSAYYED SAMEER ABEDINumerous corporate bodies have jumped into the chess arena to sponsor both events and players paving the path for talented prodigies who no longer have to struggle like beforeldquoQuant box Tata steel Chola chess Tech Mahendra have invested big time in Indian chess players and events The Global Chess League sponsored by Tech Mahindra has six franchise teams with Indian and International players owned by Indian corporates like Triveni Engineering Punit Balan etc The chess ecosystem of sponsors is growing rapidly with each team bringing in their own team of sponsors Apart from that Ambit and Westbridge have invested substantially in chess tooHumpy 38 a twotime womenrsquos World Rapid Champion who dominated womenrsquos chess rues the lack of sponsorship in the game previously ldquoI did not have a sponsor for three years even after becoming GM and winning the world junior girls title at just 14 years an alltime recordrdquo These days though good performances attract money while great performances ensure a windfall