When the first moves come onto the board in the Kazakh capital of Astana on Sunday, Magnus Carlsen will no longer be there. Instead, the still best chess player in the world plans to commentate the games of his two possible successors Jan Nepomnjaschtschi and Ding Liren live on the Internet. Carlsen continues to play chess, but mostly online and with short time control. His voluntary renunciation of the World Championship title defense put chess in a difficult position: After all, the long-term champion from Norway has made a decisive contribution to the growing popularity of the traditional mental sport in recent years.
Law Student vs Fastplayer
Ding Liren agrees. “Chess has lost its luster as a result,” the Chinese World Cup finalist told Die Zeit at the beginning of January. He himself doesn’t like being famous. Ding Liren, the current No. 3 in the world rankings, is in the chess scene anything but an unknown For a decade, the former law student has been one of the top players in the world and is a strong positional player who is rarely in danger of losing a game.
It’s completely different with his opponent in Astana. Russian Jan Nepomnyashchi is known as a player who draws very quickly and is always good for an upset. Sometimes “Nepo” comes up with brilliant attacking ideas, sometimes he makes hair-raising mistakes. For example, two years ago in his World Cup match against Carlsen: After a good start, Nepomnjaschtschi suddenly lost the thread, conceded three defeats and in the end had no chance against the Norwegian.
Nevertheless, the Russian is now a slight favorite going into the 14-game match. The experience from the first world championship fight and the great support from the Russian chess scene speak for Nepomnyashchi. This is also confirmed by grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen, who, as Magnus Carlsen’s head coach for many years, knows exactly what is important in a world championship fight: “Ding Liren has to be extremely stable personally, only then does he have a chance.”
World Cup in the Shadow of War
But Astana isn’t just about the best moves on the chessboard. The duel over the Carlsen successor is overshadowed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Jan Nepomnyashchi will be flying a neutral flag in Astana because of sanctions against Russia. He himself signed an open letter from Russian chess players against the war last year. Nevertheless, a possible world champion Nepomnjaschtschi in chess-loving Russia should be celebrated by the propaganda.
Carlsen trainer and FIDE critic: Peter Heine Nielsen
It is hardly surprising that in this environment it is difficult for the World Chess Federation FIDE to market the World Cup internationally – even though chess has recently gained in popularity worldwide. Because FIDE is traditionally close to the Kremlin and is led by a Russian. The association was only able to present a host and sponsor for the World Championship fight in January. The world championship fight, which is worth two million euros, is now being sponsored by the financial company of billionaire Timur Turlov, who is on Ukraine’s sanctions list.
Turlov was a Russian citizen until autumn 2022 and now has a Kazakh passport. He has also recently been appointed President of the Chess Federation of Kazakhstan. According to FIDE boss Arkady Dvorkovich, the world association also had an offer from Argentina on the table to organize the World Cup there. “Due to the time zones, however, it is more convenient for fans in China and Russia to watch the match in a location that lies between these two countries,” Dvorkovich explained at the opening press conference about the decision for Astana. Peter Heine Nielsen, who is known as a critic of the current FIDE Presidency, is disappointed by the chess officials: “I think that’s wrong. Chess is booming. It should be easy to find a sponsor who isn’t on a sanctions list .”
DW also asked the world chess federation FIDE for this article. The questions submitted have so far remained unanswered (as of April 6th, 2023, 2 p.m.).