PANAJI: As one of the most creative and unpredictable players in modern chess history, Vasyl Ivanchuk of Ukraine, born in 1969, became a Grandmaster in 1988 and quickly rose to the elite level. Known for his deep understanding and vast opening repertoire, he defeated nearly every world champion of his era, including
Magnus Carlsen, to lift the world rapid chess title in 2016.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!He continues to play competitively but is not happy with his own performance. On the sidelines of the World Cup, after he lost both the classical games in the second round, the 56-year-old spoke at length about various issues.
On his early exit from Goa, Ivanchuk said, “In my case, emotion is more important than chess preparations, so for some moments I’m losing concentration, it’s terrible. It is not possible to play stable, and I suffered an early exit.”
On his one-time rival Viswanathan Anand handling the administration part now, Ivanchuk said, “I’m not so strong in organisation like Vishy, so probably because of this, I have no choice but to play chess.”
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ivanchuk used a bunker to analyse games online. Recollecting those days in his war-torn country, he said he “couldn’t do anything but to play chess in those circumstances while focusing on the game despite being surrounded by the conflict.”
When asked if he will still continue to analyse games online, Ivanchuk said, “I would be happy to continue this, but during that period, some people helped me in the technical aspect. Now nobody helps me with it. I cannot do it technically."
When asked about chess players being dramatic, Ivanchuk said, “I cannot tell about all players but about myself. It’s difficult to explain, probably it’s some kind of addiction as well because of self-estimation, suffering, after losing and not playing games properly. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept reality, not only in chess, also in life.”
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