India Near 100th GM: Do Chess Aspirants Really Need Expensive Coaches?

As India approaches a milestone of 100 Grandmasters, veteran GM Pravin Thipsay has questioned the growing chess coaching industry, calling it an 'unfortunate racket'. He argues that costly training is largely unnecessary and that independent thinking plays a more significant role in a player's development. However, GM Aaryan Varshney offers a differing view, maintaining that expert guidance remains valuable even in the modern computer-aided training era. The debate highlights a broader conversation within Indian chess about what it truly takes to achieve the Grandmaster title.