Gukesh recently became the youngest player to win the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Canada and qualified as a challenger to world champion GM Ding Liren of China.
The Indian's achievement could also have a positive impact on other Indian chess players in terms of brand endorsement deals, the official said.
"Gukesh will get good attention from brand owners and media in the coming weeks. With his success in the Candidates Tournament, brand owners will look to the chess player for endorsement deals," Manu Gurtu, co-founder of MGD1 eSports, told IANS.
The company manages many chess players like GM Arjun Erigasi, Srinath Narayanan and others.Except for former world champion GM V.Anand, no other Indian chess player has signed brand endorsement deals with brand owners.
Upcoming chess players are signing sponsorship deals with corporates which are different from brand endorsement deals.
In some sponsorship agreements, the sponsor sets a certain number of miles achievements that a chess player must earn, while a brand endorsement deal is a simple contract where a player gets paid to endorse a brand.
"Generally what we have seen is that companies in the financial services sector are coming forward to sign up chess players as their brand ambassadors," Gurtu said.
Susan Polgar, who has won four women's world championships and five Olympic gold medals in chess, told IANS: "Generally, investment is linked to strategies and computers are linked to computing power, which is indicated by chess players.,
However, in India, the player-brand ambassador segment is almost monopolized by cricketers – current or even retired.
"Some time ago a brand owner approached us for an endorsement deal for an Indian female chess player. However, the company signed the deal with a retired cricketer," Gurtu said.
“Cricket is the lowest common denominator in the country. So, everyone will be looking for brands meant for cricketers.There are specific brands and specific sports such as golf, chess and other Olympic sporting events. These games are played by a small percentage of the total population in each country but are known globally, so niche product companies will keep an eye on such players," Harish Bijoor, branding expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc., had told IANS. .
He also said that there are many brands who look at non-cricketers due to lack of funds and there are brands who are short of money who choose individual players.
Brand owners will look at the recall value of a player. In the case of Indian chess players, except Anand, he has very little recall value outside the chess field.Anand has endorsed not only domestic brands but also global brands like AMD.
Several decades ago, Anand had promoted a capsule called 'Memory Plus', which was believed to improve a person's memory. Later he endorsed NIIT, Union Bank of India and big brands like Horlicks, Parle Milk Shakti, Vodafone, Complan, Crosin and others.
Brand owners take into account the attention that a chess player can attract and the positive impact it can have on the brand in terms of sales and building brand equity.
The advantage of elite games like chess and golf is that age does not matter but skill and staying on top of the table does.In the case of non-televised sports, the top player must have other aspects such as personality and a good presence on social media.
Bijoor has listed such aspects as: glamor quotient, participation in social functions, marriage to another celebrity in the same field or in a different field.
With chess turning into an expensive game, many top players were focused on surviving with little money and did not give any thought to their market position.
Gradually the situation is changing and some chess players are signing sponsorship and brand endorsement deals.
For example, Warangal-based young GM Arjun Kumar Erigassi last year signed a five-year, $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Singapore-based QuantBox Research – perhaps the biggest deal in Indian chess.According to Erigacy, the sponsorship does not come with any conditions such as achieving Elo rating, winning tournaments and others.
Bengaluru-based dairy products major Akshaykalp Farms and Foods Pvt Ltd has tied up with GM Nihal Sarin.
According to Gurtu, another young GM Leon Mendonca had signed a brand ambassador deal with Geno Pharmaceutical and the contract had recently expired.
The Indian's achievement could also have a positive impact on other Indian chess players in terms of brand endorsement deals, the official said.
"Gukesh will get good attention from brand owners and media in the coming weeks. With his success in the Candidates Tournament, brand owners will look to the chess player for endorsement deals," Manu Gurtu, co-founder of MGD1 eSports, told IANS.
The company manages many chess players like GM Arjun Erigasi, Srinath Narayanan and others.Except for former world champion GM V.Anand, no other Indian chess player has signed brand endorsement deals with brand owners.
Upcoming chess players are signing sponsorship deals with corporates which are different from brand endorsement deals.
In some sponsorship agreements, the sponsor sets a certain number of miles achievements that a chess player must earn, while a brand endorsement deal is a simple contract where a player gets paid to endorse a brand.
"Generally what we have seen is that companies in the financial services sector are coming forward to sign up chess players as their brand ambassadors," Gurtu said.
Susan Polgar, who has won four women's world championships and five Olympic gold medals in chess, told IANS: "Generally, investment is linked to strategies and computers are linked to computing power, which is indicated by chess players.,
However, in India, the player-brand ambassador segment is almost monopolized by cricketers – current or even retired.
"Some time ago a brand owner approached us for an endorsement deal for an Indian female chess player. However, the company signed the deal with a retired cricketer," Gurtu said.
“Cricket is the lowest common denominator in the country. So, everyone will be looking for brands meant for cricketers.There are specific brands and specific sports such as golf, chess and other Olympic sporting events. These games are played by a small percentage of the total population in each country but are known globally, so niche product companies will keep an eye on such players," Harish Bijoor, branding expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc., had told IANS. .
He also said that there are many brands who look at non-cricketers due to lack of funds and there are brands who are short of money who choose individual players.
Brand owners will look at the recall value of a player. In the case of Indian chess players, except Anand, he has very little recall value outside the chess field.Anand has endorsed not only domestic brands but also global brands like AMD.
Several decades ago, Anand had promoted a capsule called 'Memory Plus', which was believed to improve a person's memory. Later he endorsed NIIT, Union Bank of India and big brands like Horlicks, Parle Milk Shakti, Vodafone, Complan, Crosin and others.
Brand owners take into account the attention that a chess player can attract and the positive impact it can have on the brand in terms of sales and building brand equity.
The advantage of elite games like chess and golf is that age does not matter but skill and staying on top of the table does.In the case of non-televised sports, the top player must have other aspects such as personality and a good presence on social media.
Bijoor has listed such aspects as: glamor quotient, participation in social functions, marriage to another celebrity in the same field or in a different field.
With chess turning into an expensive game, many top players were focused on surviving with little money and did not give any thought to their market position.
Gradually the situation is changing and some chess players are signing sponsorship and brand endorsement deals.
For example, Warangal-based young GM Arjun Kumar Erigassi last year signed a five-year, $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Singapore-based QuantBox Research – perhaps the biggest deal in Indian chess.According to Erigacy, the sponsorship does not come with any conditions such as achieving Elo rating, winning tournaments and others.
Bengaluru-based dairy products major Akshaykalp Farms and Foods Pvt Ltd has tied up with GM Nihal Sarin.
According to Gurtu, another young GM Leon Mendonca had signed a brand ambassador deal with Geno Pharmaceutical and the contract had recently expired.
