One of the world’s biggest sporting events will pit India’s teenage prodigy against China’s quiet assassin, but Norway’s GOAT will be absent.
The 2024 World Chess Championship begins this week with a showdown between 18-year-old Gukesh Donmaraju of India and reigning champion Ding Liren of China. And while the bout is still considered the game’s marquee event, the absence of Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, a five-time champion who declined to defend his title in 2022, looms large.
Grandmaster David Howell, a close friend of Mr Carlsen and one of Singapore’s official match commentators, believes that the world championship still has a special place in the world of chess, but this year is unique. That’s what he said.
“For a long time, it was the only thing that defined a tournament system that otherwise would have been completely unorganized,” Howell said. “Normally the World Championships are very successful in finding and recognizing the best athletes in the world. It still boasts a lot of prestige, but this year it’s a little different.”
In some ways, this has to be the biggest world championship ever.
The chess boom during the pandemic has made the game more popular than ever, but that increased interest is mainly felt online. Chess.com currently boasts 190 million users worldwide, up from 51 million in January 2020. The world’s largest chess platform told NBC News that one in 10 Americans has an account. Chess.com has also been busy hosting its own fundraising tournaments, slowly encroaching on the game’s governing body, the International Chess Federation (also known as FIDE).
This has led to growing debate about whether the 14-game championship format, where each match often lasts more than three hours, can still work in matches that often feature faster matches.
“There’s a big debate about whether it needs to be modernized or whether it’s still the most efficient way to find the best players in the world,” Howell said. “I still think we’re doing a great job in that regard. It’s no one’s fault that the No. 1 in the world has withdrawn.”
Magnus Carlsen’s legacy
Carlsen, who ruled the chess world for more than a decade, vacated his title in 2022, citing a lack of motivation. Although Ding was technically Carlsen’s successor, the consensus is that the Norwegian remains the best player in the world and the most marketable man in the sport.
Known as “GOAT” (a common acronym for “Greatest of All Time”), Carlsen was a standout in the chess world since his teens. His last title defense was in 2021 against Russia’s Ian Nepomniatchi in a dramatic series that drew record online viewers. At the height of the chess boom fueled by the pandemic and Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” Carlsen seemed poised to turn chess into a mainstream spectator sport.
However, Carlsen’s image was tarnished in 2022 when he was embroiled in a cheating scandal. Carlsen suggested that Grandmaster Hans Niemann, then a teenager and one of the game’s rising young stars, had cheated when he defeated Grandmaster in the Sinquefield Cup. This led to a $100 million lawsuit before the players settled last August and announced they had moved on from their feud. Terms of the settlement were not made public.
Howell pointed out that it’s not unusual for a world chess championship to lack top players.
“That’s what’s happened throughout history,” he said. “There have been some cases where players have become world champions, but on paper they may not be the best. If you think back, there was probably Max Juwe. [Vasily] Smithlov [Tigran] Petrosyan and then [Vladimir] Next is Kramnik. They weren’t No. 1 at the time, but they were world champions. ”
Din and Gukesh’s stake
Beyond Carlsen’s absence, the game of chess and the upcoming championship also face broader challenges, including geopolitical tensions and questions about the form of one of his opponents.
The most immediate issue is Mr. Ding. The current champion is a move-counting machine. But as he prepares for the biggest test of his career, Ding has looked seriously unwell at times.
Din won the championship in 2023 after a dramatic match against Nepomniatchi. The series ended in a 7-7 tie after three weeks, with Ding recovering from a terrible start and coming from behind to win. This was a proud moment for China, confirming its status as a chess power. But since then, the 32-year-old’s condition has worsened.
After a nine-month break, Ding returned to competition, but with disappointing results. His performance at Norwegian Chess in June was particularly worrying after he lost four games in a row, an unprecedented loss for a world champion. Din sometimes looks anxious, and his performance has dropped him to 23rd in the world in the latest FIDE rankings.
Ding admitted to having mental health issues and revealed how self-doubt and anxiety were affecting his play.
In this year’s championship, Din will face the genius Gukesh, who aims to become the youngest world champion in history. Gukesh represents a new wave of Indian talent inspired by India’s first world champion, Viswanathan Anand, who won the title in 2007, breaking Russia’s hold on the sport.
In contrast to Din’s struggles, Gukesh appears calm. At the Chess Olympics held in Budapest in September, he led India to its first-ever team gold medal with an astonishing score of 9/10. Currently ranked 18 places above Din, Gukesh has overtaken his rival to become the favorite to win.
politics and power struggles
The political background of the championship adds to the intrigue. Although chess likes to promote itself as a major world sport, it remains one of the few sports dominated by Russian leaders. FIDE, the international chess federation, is chaired by former Russian deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich.
Despite global sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, FIDE maintains strong ties with Russia, leading to growing criticism that the game is a tool of Russian soft power.
Russian influence on chess has been going on for many years. For decades, Soviet and Russian athletes have dominated world championships, with a few exceptions like Bobby Fischer and Anand. However, the unusual absence of Russian players in the finals this year highlights the changing landscape of world chess. Nepomniatchi is the only Russian in the top 10.
Howell said there has been a “clear shift” over the past decade, from Russia to China and India.
“We don’t know how many resources are being put into chess in China. It’s very mysterious. But in India, huge government support and patronage funds chess. Now, a golden generation is emerging. It is no coincidence that in terms of dominance, India therefore looks like the new Russia.
“This is the battle of Asia,” Howell added. “Two superpowers, India and China, are battling it out. They won’t be the first Asian world champion, but this still means a lot to the growth of chess in India, which is probably the largest chess economy right now.” have.”
The 14-game match will run until December 12th (or the 13th if a tiebreaker is required). The FIDE World Chess Championship is powered by Google, with online coverage and commentary provided by FIDE and Chess.com.
