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Hindustan Times
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
‘Magnus Carlsen respects D Gukesh': Nihal Sarin defends controversial table slam, tears into ‘misinterpreted words'
Magnus Carlsen's new rivalry with D Gukesh has become a talking point lately, and the pair have faced each other plenty of times this year too. At the recent Norway Chess 2025, the duo met twice, with Carlsen winning once, and losing once. In the tournament opener, the world No. 1 defeated the Indian GM with ease. They met again in a later round, and Gukesh sealed a sensational win. World champion D Gukesh vs Magnus Carlsen during Norway Chess.(HT_PRINT) The reigning World Champion was in a losing position in the endgame, and then Carlsen made a huge blunder, which saw Gukesh make a comeback to get his first classical win against the Norwegian. Carlsen's response was straightforward, as he slammed the table in angle, with the pieces falling off. It took him some time to get back to his usual self, as he shook hands with Gukesh, and also on his way back, patted the 18-year-old's back. Carlsen's reaction left everyone, including fans and commentators, in a state of shock, with some criticising him. Nihal Sarin defends Magnus Carlsen Indian GM Nihal Sarin rushed to Carlsen's defence. Speaking to Firstpost, he said, 'It's not that common and it's not desirable for anyone. No one wants to actively do it. Having been in that kind of position, I totally understand the reaction. Magnus was completely outplaying Gukesh and was winning. When all hope seemed lost, Gukesh started resisting brilliantly, and Magnus, very atypical of him, went a bit astray and it got a bit out of hand, and he ended up losing the game.' 'Having been in a similar position, I completely understand the reaction. Later, I saw Magnus saying in an interview that 'it's like a tennis player smashing a racquet.' So, I don't think it's anything personal,' he added. After Gukesh's World Championship victory, Carlsen criticised the quality of the match. Meanwhile, Carlsen also recently said that he is not convinced with the Indian's skills in rapid and blitz formats, and called him a weaker opponent. Then he lost to Gukesh in the rapid format of SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament. 'I feel like Magnus' words are being misinterpreted, and he has said it himself as well. Magnus definitely respects Gukesh. He's an amazing player. Gukesh's results in classical have been significantly better than rapid and blitz. His style is a bit more like that, very precise. In classical, you have much more time to sit and calculate, and rapid-blitz is much more instinct-based. So, I guess Gukesh has trained much more in the calculation way; it's more natural for him. And it's normal', he said. 'Obviously, he is improving in other formats too. He finished first in Rapid in Zagreb, I believe, ahead of a very strong field including Magnus. 'I feel Gukesh right now is a bit like how Fabiano Caruana used to be a few years ago. He used to be the one considered weaker in rapid and blitz. In classical, he was a beast. Around lockdown, there was a lot more rapid and blitz, and he just started to adapt, started to take maybe more interest in it, focused a bit more on it, and now he is among the best in those two. I feel Magnus' words are being overdramatised a bit,' he added. Nihal recently faced Carlsen in the quarter-finals of the chess tournament at the Esports World Cup, and got thrashed by the Norwegian in a one-sided affair.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Chess is boring for people; players like Gukesh, Pragg can take it to next level: Hikaru Nakamura
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel For "boring" chess to grow in the Western world, having strong personalities is a must, reckons American Grandmaster and World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura , who is impressed with the way Indian fans have embraced their stars like D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa . A chess player-cum-streamer par excellence, Nakamura realised early that personality-based initiatives work best for a player in a "boring" sport like chess, and he soon went in pursuit of blending his game with the technology to build his is one of the most keenly-followed chess players in the world for his insights and live streaming of matches as he continues to ply his trade on the board in different time zones."For most people, it's (chess) just a very boring game. So, the only way you can get beyond that is to find a way to showcase your personality, to make the fans want to cheer for some of the players," said Nakamura during an interaction on the sidelines of Norway Chess."And, especially in India, you see it when you have a Gukesh, or Praggnanandhaa, or Arjun (Erigaisi) playing in, say, a World Cup, these sorts of events," he 37, earned his GM title at the age of 15, becoming the youngest American at the time to do so. He is one of the best Rapid and Blitz players in the world and won Norway Chess in will once again vie for the prestigious title in the six-player double round-robin tournament American said the avenues for the growth of chess in India are fathomless given the way Indians flock to watch the likes of reigning world champion Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, among others."The Indians flock, and they all watch it. And, so, I think that's more about the personality and who the players are and the country they represent. So, if you can get the general public or the fans from countries behind the players, then sky is the limit in terms of potential," added Nakamura, who was an integral part of the USA team for several Chess Olympiads, including a gold-winning said that compared to the Western country, India was in a prime position to encash on personalities of players to take the game to the next level."When you look at the West, you look at the US or England or some of these Western countries, I'm not so sure that the interest is at that level yet (compared to India). But if you want to move in a direction where you hope chess can become bigger, then I think it's (building the game around personalities) a necessary part of it. So, for me, I don't really mind (showcasing my personality)."He felt that for making the sport bigger and better, while things like heart-rate monitors and other things might work, there was no substitute for personality-based initiatives."If you want chess to become bigger, you need more interest. And the only way I think you can really do that is with personality because, fundamentally for most people, chess is very boring."If you're not very serious about the game, you can't really follow it very close. And I know there are a lot of things. You have heart-rate monitors, other things to try and make it more interesting."
