Mumbai: Google Pranav V and the first video that pops up is titled, “The next superstar of Indian chess in the making”. In a country that boasts of five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand and reigning world champion D Gukesh, it is a tag that can feel heavy.
Perhaps few can understand that better than Pranav’s Round 2 opponent at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, Aryan Tari. Except, Tari was billed as the next chess superstar of a country that produced one of the greatest in the game’s history – Norway’s Magnus Carlsen.
Tari, 26, and Pranav, 19, have another commonality. Both are world junior champions, the latter being the current holder of the title, while the former won in 2017.
Tari became the 2015 Norwegian champion at 16, the third youngest to do so, after Simen Agdestein, the country’s first popular figure in chess, and Carlsen. The next year, he became a Grandmaster, and then became the world junior champion.
It’s around that period that Norway began talking up a young Tari as the “next” you-know-who. Yet, even at that age and with all those parallels, Tari knew there was only one Carlsen, eight years older to him. In the world, let alone a country of around 5.5 million.
“There was definitely some comparison, I remember, back when I was 13-14,” Tari said. “I tried to not think too much about the pressure because I never really compared myself (to Carlsen). I was always a very big talent, but Magnus is just, sort of… I mean I became a GM at 16 and he became one at 13. So, I wasn’t really comparing myself to Magnus. But the media, of course, loves the hype.”
Tari sat down for a chat during the 2025 Norway Chess, a tournament Carlsen won while Tari helped Fabiano Caruana as his second. In the decade in between, Tari remained Norway’s No.2 player in the FIDE ratings for a large part and touched a classical high rating of 2672 in 2022. The kick to surge into the league of the super elite, however, did not come.
“I’ve been around the top 100 over the last few years and have not really taken the big step towards the top 30 in the world,” said the current world No.94 and Norway No.3 with a rating of 2631.
“But it’s a tough sport. If you don’t have the support, a structure where you work with people, the environment… there are so many factors that have to be in the right place to make it to the top 20-30 in the world. I feel like for me there’s been some challenges there. But I’m happy for all the experiences I had.”
Like Carlsen, Tari also trained at Simen’s chess school in Norway for a while. Carlsen was an idol for Tari when he took up chess at age five. “I remember the first time I saw him was at the 2006 Norwegian championships. I was playing U-8s and he was playing for the (senior) title. Seeing him walk there was like seeing God or something,” said Tari.
Being in the same team as Carlsen for the 2015 European team championships was a “very big deal” for Tari. Their relationship, he said, evolved from the Norwegian icon being his idol to teammate to friend.
“I was always trying to take inspiration from Magnus,” said Tari.
IM Ghosh upsets GM Mateusz
On Monday, International Master (IM) Aronyak Ghosh defeated Polish GM Bartel Mateusz in the tie-breaks to enter the second round of the World Cup in Arpora, Goa.
It was a spirited comeback by the 21-year-old Indian, who lost the first classical game before turning the tables in the second to take the battle to the tie-breaks. Ghosh (rating 2514) drew the first set of tie-breaks 1-1 with the Polish GM (rating 2575) and was clinical in the second stage of rapid games for an overall 4-2 win.
Among other Indians to advance through tie-breaks were GMs SL Narayanan and Diptayan Ghosh.
