New Delhi, Dec. 5 -- Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin on Friday expressed confidence in the growing warmth between New Delhi and Moscow, calling India a "friendly country" and a key partner for future collaborations, as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the country for a two-day state visit.

Speaking in Delhi, Karjakin said, "I hope our relationship will grow. We see a friendly country in India. We hope we'll have a lot of projects here and maybe also in chess."

Karjakin, a chess grandmaster himself, also highlighted the impressive rise of India's chess talent and the strength of both nations' training systems.

"We have two strong chess schools, both in Russia and in India. There are a lot of young grandmasters here ...