NEW DELHI: Five-time world chess champion and current world number one Magnus Carlsen has expressed his views on the classical chess format, claiming that the faster form of the game is “pure sport”.
He believes that classical chess is not the best way to determine the strongest player because it is “too forgiving” and allows players to mask deficiencies in their game.
Carlsen argues that faster chess formats, such as rapid and blitz, require a more well-rounded game and better overall skills. He considers these formats to be more representative of a “pure sport,” while longer forms of chess, like classical, become more akin to “science” and “art.”
“It’s hard to say exactly what measures the best player overall. I would say that right now, if you want the kind of chess in which you need the most well-rounded game, classical chess is probably the worst way because it’s sort of too forgiving. It’s too easy to mask the deficiencies in your game. And I think if you’re able to handle both faster chess and freestyle, you have covered a lot of bases. You do have your basic pattern, and quick tactics,” Carlsen told the Take Take Take podcast. “Faster chess, it is a sport. It’s sort of a pure sport kind of thing. But when you get to longer forms of freestyle, it becomes like more science, art.”
The Norwegian GM recently criticised the quality of the 2024 World Chess Championship match between India’s D Gukesh and China’s Ding Liren, which Gukesh won with a 7.5-6.5 margin.
Carlsen felt that the level of play did not meet the expectations of a World Championship match.
“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. It’s like it’s the stage where you play somebody who is like decent with openings but then you just win with class,” he had earlier said.
Despite not defending his title in 2023, Carlsen had previously won the 2021 World Chess Championship by defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Ding Liren, who finished second in the 2022 Candidates tournament, went on to face Nepomniachtchi and emerged victorious on tiebreaks to become the defending champion.
Gukesh, who became the youngest-ever world chess champion, acknowledged Carlsen’s superiority, stating that becoming the world champion does not make him the best player, and that Carlsen still holds that distinction.
“Becoming the world champion does not mean I am the best player, obviously that is Magnus,” Gukesh said at the post-match press conference in Singapore.