Singapore, Dec 13: International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Arkady Dvorkovich on Friday said mistakes by players make the sport exciting, downplaying the criticism around the quality of just-concluded World Championship match between India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren.
The 18-year-old Gukesh made history by becoming the youngest player to win the world title.
Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik was not impressed with the quality of chess on display during the match, calling it the “end of chess as we know it.” Kramnik expressed his frustration over the game’s quality, calling a critical blunder by Ding Liren “childish”.
“Sports is about mistakes, without mistakes, there would be no goals in football. Every sportsman makes mistakes but that’s what we are excited about, whether the opponent can find the way to use a mistake,” Dvorkovich said during the closing ceremony of the championship.
He congratulated Gukesh and Liren for their performance in the showpiece.
In his reaction, Kramnik wrote on ‘X’, “No comment. Sad. End of chess as we know it. Never yet has a WC title been decided by such a childish one-move blunder.”
Five-time world champion, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen too has been critical of the quality on display in earlier rounds, saying, “This does not look like a game between two World Championship contenders. It just looks like maybe the second round or third round of an open tournament.”
However, legendary chess player and five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand advised Gukesh to ignore those questioning the standard of the World Championship title showdown, saying criticism always comes with success.
‘Not just chess but also character and willpower’
Gukesh is hardly perturbed by the criticism over the standard of his match against Liren, saying big matches are not decided purely by how well a game is played but also by willpower and character, which he possesses in ample measure.
Gukesh trumped the Chinese in the 14-game contest, winning 7.5-6.5 to become the youngest world champion in the history of the sport.
Asked if he was hurt by Carlsen’s comments, Gukesh told BBC World, “Not really”.
“I get that maybe in some of the games, the quality was not high but I think the world championship matches are decided not purely by chess but by who has the better character and who has the better willpower. And I think those qualities, I did show quite well.”
Gukesh, though, conceded that he would have liked to compete at a better level.
“And the pure chess part, it was not at a very high level as I would have liked it to be because it’s a new experience for me. So the workload was different, the pressure was different.
“It’s understandable that I was a bit off but I managed to strike at the critical moments, which I am happy about,” said Gukesh. (PTI)
