Gukesh — the knight in shining armour for Amritsar’s struggling chess craft

Amritsar’s chess manufacturing industry is having a moment, just like its most recent brand ambassador and youngest world chess champion, D Gukesh. The chess board and 32 pieces that became a tool for the historic feat by Gukesh were carved and crafted in Amritsar.

While his win celebrates India’s growing supremacy in what is considered the most strategic and increasingly competitive game, it also puts spotlight back on Amritsar’s potential as a chess manufacturing hub, which over the years has been struggling for lack of government support for infrastructure.

Baljit Singh, who has dedicated 34 years of his life perfecting the craft of turning small pieces of wood into knights, one of the most intricately carved pieces in chess, is one of the many workers behind crafting the world chess championship set that Gukesh played with. His skill and spotlight on Gukesh’s win, earned him an honorary certificate from Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney.

Baljit works at Girdhari Lal Chopra Agents Pvt Ltd, a firm set up in 1920 that has been manufacturing world championship sets since 2012.

This particular design, explains Aditya Chopra, the firm owner, has been crafted from boxwood (papri wood), with detailed cuts and smoother finish. “This particular world championship set was designed by Daniel Wiel, commissioned by Pentagram, engaged by FIDE. They are weighted with lead to provide added stability and the side of each piece is coated and polished for smoother movement across the board. Aesthetics too are added in design, like making the features of knight more detailed. It’s a collector’s item now,” said Chopra, whose firm has global rights to manufacture and market the particular world championship chess set.

Limited edition of world championship chess sets

Inspired by D Gukesh’s win and pushing for developing the sport in India, the same world championship set that Gukesh played with in the 2024 World Chess Championship in Singapore, has been launched in a limited edition by Chopra.

The firm has exclusive manufacturing and branding rights to craft these limited edition sets, commissioned by World Chess, commercial partner of FIDE (Int’l Chess Federation).

This design had come up in 2011, when FIDE engaged Pentagram to re-design the championship set. Pentagram commissioned Daniel Weil, who created a design closely inspired by the Staunton Chess set.

Once retailed, this limited edition set, which comes with a tag World Chess X Gukesh, would fetch anywhere between $300-$500 globally. Gukesh will use this specific design to compete in all his future matches.

Chopra has a team of 30 employees, including 10 craftsmen and packaging members.

Baljit, who is among the senior members of the team, is a highly-skilled craftsman. Nonchalantly aware that his design is getting a lot of attention post Gukesh’s feat, his focus still remains on producing 50 to 80 pieces of knights a week.

“When I started, I used to work for 10 hours straight, getting 200 pieces a week done. Now, I have grown older and can only manage 40 to 50 pieces. It’s good that our work is getting attention, but the financial stability is decreasing,” shared Baljit.

Along with Baljit, several craftsmen continue cutting, chiselling and finishing these raw pieces of boxwood and sheesham in the busiest lanes of Hall Bazaar. Chopra said, “If the boxwood or sheesham that we order from Chhattisgarh, Raipur or Odisha is not dried properly, it becomes unsuitable for crafting. Once done, the logs are chopped and carved.” The carving and chiselling of each piece, including the tricky ones like bishop and knight, are done by Baljit as it requires precision. “Any minor variation on design or length and the entire day’s work goes waste,” said Baljit.