New Delhi: D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin to R Vaishali aren’t just making waves in the world of chess—they are the stars of an upcoming documentary too.
Comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath joined hands with Dopamine Media co-founder Prashant Raj to create Candidates: India’s Chess Story, which is set to release early next year. Less than two weeks after Gukesh became the world’s youngest chess champion, Biswa took to Instagram to share the news: “In August 2022, we started shooting a documentary on chess prodigies of India. We had no idea one of them would go on to become the World Champion in 2 years. The max we expected was that one of them might reach the Candidates tournament. Can’t wait to share the documentary with the world soon.”
Biswa Kalyan Rath and Prashant Raj’s association goes back to their college days, when they bonded over rounds of chess. “Biswa Kalyan Rath was my college junior, and he taught me chess after he moved into the building I was living in. I had no idea about the game at all and slowly picked it up,” Raj told ThePrint. This was in 2022, and from there came the idea of making the documentary, which Raj’s Dopamine Media has co-produced with ChessBase India and Camera and Shots.
“We wanted to track these players and try to understand how their minds worked, and in the process, tell the story of Indian chess and about the new generation who was on the path of taking the mantle from Viswanathan Anand,” added Raj.
Going beyond the chessboard
The story of Gukesh’s father giving up his career as an ENT surgeon to tour the world with his son, along with their decision to homeschool, has been making headlines. Biswa and Raj’s documentary focuses on such details, promising to offer a glimpse into the lives of India’s chess prodigies.
“The idea was to focus on the human story, and we had access to capture their lives, and the chess community was very welcoming, “ said Raj. The documentary covers 10 tournaments across nine countries and zooms in on the daily lives of young chess champions. It also captures their quintessential teenage moments – such as when they crack jokes, laugh, and bond beyond the chessboard.
“This can be a universal story, but it is more interesting because it is about children and teenagers who start as early as five years old,” said Raj about the documentary, which is currently being edited. The shooting of Candidates commenced in 2022, with the Chennai Chess Olympiad. And it revealed many unique things about the sport.
“Chess is as gruelling physically as it is mentally. Players have to be in peak physical condition,” said Raj, stressing how this was one of the “many myths busted” about the game during shooting. “A game of classical chess is almost like running a half-marathon, burning 300-500 calories an hour.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)