Game 1 of the World Chess Championship began Monday morning with defending champion Ding Liren defeating 18-year-old sensation Gukesh Dommaraju in one of the largest athletic events in the world.
Magnus Carlsen of Norway, the five-time champion who chose not to defend his title in 2022, is still missing from the world championship, which is still regarded as chess’s main event.
Grandmaster David Howell, Carlsen’s close friend and one of the official match commentators in Singapore, said this year’s world championship is remarkable but still has a special place in the chess world.
According to Howell, it has long been the only element that distinguishes what has otherwise been a very haphazard tournament system. The world championship often has a great track record of identifying and honoring the world’s top player. Although it’s a little odd this year, it still has a lot of respect.
In some respects, the matchup between Gukesh, a young Indian prodigy, and Liren, a quiet Chinese assassin, ought to be the most significant world championship to date.
Chess has seen a boost in popularity throughout the pandemic, but the majority of this enthusiasm has been felt online. The number of users on Chess.com has increased from 51 million in January 2020 to 190 million today. One in ten Americans have an account, according to the largest chess platform in the world, which spoke to NBC News. The International Chess Federation, or FIDE, is the game’s regulatory body, but Chess.com is also busy running its own lucrative competitions.
The question of whether the championship format, which consists of 14 games that typically last longer than three hours each, still works for a sport that frequently embraces shorter matchups has grown as a result.
According to Howell, there is much disagreement about whether it should be updated or if it is still the most effective method of identifying the world’s top player. It still does an excellent job at it, in my opinion. The world number one’s decision to walk aside is not anyone’s fault.
The legacy of Magnus Carlsen
After dominating the chess world for more than ten years, Carlsen resigned the title in 2022, claiming he was unmotivated. Although Ding officially replaced Carlsen, the Norwegian is still regarded as the world’s finest player and the most marketable person in sports.
Known as the greatest of all time, or GOAT as it is sometimes abbreviated, Carlsen has dominated chess since he was a teenager. Online viewership for his most recent title defense, a thrilling series against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in 2021, broke all previous records. Carlsen appeared ready to make chess a popular spectator sport during the height of the chess boom, which was spurred by the pandemic and Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.
However, Carlsen’s reputation suffered in 2022 after he became embroiled in a cheating incident. When he defeated him in the Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen implied that grandmaster Hans Niemann, who was then a teenager and one of the game’s up-and-coming young stars, had cheated. Before the players reached a settlement in August of last year and declared they had moved past their disagreement, it resulted in a $100 million lawsuit. The settlement’s conditions have not been disclosed to the public.
According to Howell, it is not uncommon for the world chess championship to be held without the best player in the game.
According to him, that has occurred throughout history. In a number of instances, a player may have been the world champion but not the strongest on paper. Max Euwe, possibly [Vasily] Smyslov, [Tigran] Petrosian, and subsequently [Vladimir] Kramnik come to mind. They were the world champions at the time, but they weren’t the top seed.
The stakes for Ding and Gukesh
Beyond Carlsen’s absence, chess and its impending championship confront a number of more general difficulties, such as geopolitical unrest and concerns regarding one of the players’ performances.
Ding presents the biggest obstacle right now. The current champion is a machine that calculates moves. However, Ding has occasionally appeared to be in a bad mood as he gets ready for the most important test of his career.
In 2023, Ding defeated Nepomniachtchi in a thrilling encounter to win the title. After three weeks, the series was tied 7-7, and Ding overcame a dismal start to win the match in a comeback. China was thrilled of the achievement, which confirmed its position as a chess superpower. However, the 32-year-old’s performance has gotten worse ever since.
Following a nine-month hiatus, Ding made a poor comeback to competition. His performance in Norway Chess in June was especially concerning because he dropped four straight games, which is not common for a world champion. Ding’s performance has caused him to drop to world No. 23 in the most recent FIDE rankings, and he has occasionally shown nervous.
Ding acknowledged having mental health issues and disclosed how anxiety and self-doubt have impacted his performance.
Gukesh, a prodigy who wants to become the youngest world champion in history, is competing against Ding in this year’s competition. Viswanathan Anand, India’s first world champion, who broke Russia’s monopoly on the sport in 2007 by winning the title, served as an inspiration for Gukesh and the emerging generation of Indian talent.
Ding’s difficulties stand in sharp contrast to Gukesh’s calm demeanor. He scored an outstanding 9/10 at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September, leading India to its first-ever team gold. Gukesh has surpassed his opponent as the favorite and is currently 18 spots ahead of Ding.
Politics and power struggles
The political context of the tournament adds to the excitement. Despite its efforts to portray itself as a significant global sport, chess is still one of the few that is controlled by Russia. Former Russian deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich is the leader of the international chess federation FIDE.
FIDE has maintained close ties to Moscow in spite of international sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine, which has fueled claims that the game is a vehicle for Russian soft power.
Russia has a long history of influencing chess. With a few notable exceptions, including as Bobby Fischer and Anand, the world championship was dominated for decades by Soviet and Russian players. However, there are no Russian competitors in the final this year, which is unusual and highlights how the world of chess is changing. The only Russian in the top 10 is Nepomniachtchi.
Howell notes that during the last ten years, there has been a noticeable trend away from Russia and toward China and India.
I’m not sure how much money is spent on chess in China. It’s a complete mystery. However, chess is heavily sponsored and supported by the Indian government. The emergence of a golden generation at this time is no accident. India appears to be the new Russia in terms of domination.
Howell continued, “This is the battle of Asia.” China and India, the two superpowers, are engaged in combat. Even if they won’t be the first Asian world champions, their success is nevertheless very significant for the game’s growth in India, which now has the largest chess economy.
The 14-game match is scheduled to conclude on December 12 (or 13, if tiebreaks are required). FIDE and Chess.com provide online coverage and analysis for the FIDE World Chess Championship, which is presented by Google.
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