That despite the fact that India has supplied a steady stream of talented chess players to the global stage besides hosting key tournaments over the years, RBL Bank lost no time and on Friday released advertisements congratulating its recently recruited brand ambassador D Gukesh for the World Chess Championship title win.

RBL Bank lost no time and on Friday released advertisements congratulating its recently recruited brand ambassador D Gukesh for the World Chess Championship title win.

Almost every big chess player today is backed by corporates. Gukesh is sponsored by WACA (Westbridge Anand Chess Academy); grandmaster Praggnanandhaa is backed by Adani and IOCL; Vidit Gujrathi is backed by Ambit, Persistent and ONGC, while Aravindh Chithambaram and NihalSarin  are supported by the Murugappa Group and Akshayakalpa respectively.

Yet mainstream endorsement deals have remained elusive. “Apart from Vishy (the first grandmaster from India, Viswanathan Anand, who was the face of NIIT for decades) nobody in chess has come close to getting brand endorsements,” rues Ajimon Francis, managing director, Brand Finance India. Praggnanandhaa has been invited to “appear” in a few events but there is no word on whether they were paid appearances.

That despite the fact that India has supplied a steady stream of talented chess players to the global stage besides hosting key tournaments over the years. The “problem factor” here, says a celebrity manager, is cricket, which gobbles up the lion’s share of India’s close to Rs 13,000-crore sports advertising spends.

The other factor is the niche audience and low media visibility of chess compared to more “mainstream” sports like cricket and football, say experts. The absolute number of competitive participants and the overall fanbase for chess is still small at this stage despite its growing popularity. As per a joint report by Deloitte and Google released in November, while India has 655 million sports fans, cricket, with 492 million fans, remains dominant.

“Chess is seen as high falutin, not a muscular sport, like cricket, football and even kabbadi,” says a media executive who has been associated with the 11-year-old Pro Kabaddi League, which too hasn’t been able to muscle its way into the big-ticket endorsement game despite cementing its position as the second most coveted sports property on television.

So, can chess ever hope to break into the mainstream endorsement stage? Upasna Dash, founder & CEO of Jajabor Brand Consultancy is optimistic. The overwhelming celebration of Gukesh’s achievement across platforms and online communities reflects its significance as “a national moment”, she says. “It is a promising signal for brands to diversify their associations and build enduring ties with sports beyond cricket,” she adds.

To elevate chess to mainstream popularity, the government and institutions must celebrate achievements like Gukesh’s as prominently as a World Cup victory, says Anshumaan Prasad, head of marketing, NIIT. “Such recognition can spotlight the sport and unlock more opportunities for it to flourish,” he adds. Interestingly, he says, Gukesh’s journey “resonates with the spirit of determination and brilliance that aligns with NIIT’s ethos and that the brand is “closely observing his trajectory”.

In other words, a future association is not ruled out. “What a sports person like Gukesh brings as a brand is poker face, a lot of grit, and consistent hard work and from the videos we saw since yesterday, he connects well with a lot global stakeholders like Polish trainers, South African mental coaches etc,” says Francis. That’s a plus for any brand.Going forward, brands in the technology, finance, and education spaces would do well to rope in these chess masters, as many of them also have a strong following on social platforms like Instagram, says Prof. Sandip Roy,  Faculty of Practice - Advertising & Branding, FLAME University.

In conversation with Financial Express: Prof. Sandip Roy, Faculty of Practice - Advertising & Branding, FLAME University.