Recently, FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich publicly announced in an interview that discussions are taking place with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to introduce chess in its Esport category for the Olympic Esports Games. Speaking to Chessbase India, the Russian politician said, “On our side, we are still working with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make sure that chess is a part of Olympic Esport games. I am not sure when those games will take place in 2025. There is no final announcement yet, but I know that IOC is working with Saudi Arabia to find suitable dates for the competition. I hope chess will be inside this event.”
The inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025 will take place in Saudi Arabia.
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Meanwhile, reigning world chess champion D Gukesh recently received the prestigious Khel Ratna Award. Speaking during a function organised by AICF, Gukesh spoke on the possibility of actually having chess in the Olympics. India are one of the bidders for the 2036 Olympics.
“I would love to see chess being part of the Olympics, especially if it's in India. I think chess has been getting a lot of popularity and a lot of support. I'm really happy for it, and the Olympics will take it to the next level. Really looking forward to it,” he said.
Gukesh scripted history in December last year, when he became the youngest-ever world chess champion. He achieved the feat by beating defending champion Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship, in Singapore. The match reached the decisive 14th game and it looked like it was going according to Liren’s plan, who was trying to force out the tiebreaker round. But a massive blunder by the Chinese grandmaster in the 55th move saw him resign and concede to Gukesh in an embarrassing defeat.
{{/usCountry}}Gukesh scripted history in December last year, when he became the youngest-ever world chess champion. He achieved the feat by beating defending champion Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship, in Singapore. The match reached the decisive 14th game and it looked like it was going according to Liren’s plan, who was trying to force out the tiebreaker round. But a massive blunder by the Chinese grandmaster in the 55th move saw him resign and concede to Gukesh in an embarrassing defeat.
{{/usCountry}}In 2025, Gukesh’s schedule is action-packed. He is currently in the Netherlands for the Tata Chess tournament. Meanwhile, he will also take on Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen next month.