The Fan Zone at the World Chess Championship in Sentosa was buzzing with activity on Monday, with several events going on simultaneously.
Diehards from different countries at the Equarius Hotel took part in rapid chess games, and learnt – from an interactive booth – about the strategies employed by past world champions.
Singapore’s five grandmasters – Tin Jingyao, Wong Meng Kong, Wu Shaobin, Kevin Goh and Siddharth Jagadeesh – also made an appearance, taking part in a question-and-answer session and pitting their wits against amateurs in friendly match-ups.
“I would say the Fan Zone in Singapore is much more vibrant compared to the 2023 World Chess Championship in Astana,” said Kazakh chess player and FIDE (International Chess Federation) lead instructor Akhmet Ishmukhamedov. “There are so many activities for fans to enjoy.”
On each day since the World Championship started on Nov 25, up to 500 fans have watched the intense battle between China’s reigning champion Ding Liren and India’s wunderkind Gukesh Dommaraju at the Equarius’ playing hall. They can see the action through a one-way glass panel with the players enclosed in a sound-proof room.
Often, there is little action, as the contestants take time to contemplate their next move. On those occasions, it has been the Fan Zone which has kept the spectators energised and enthused.
“The parallel activities have been well chosen, and that is one of the reasons why this World Championship is one of the best organised,” said veteran Spanish journalist Leontxo Garcia, who has been covering most major chess tournaments since 1983. “The venue is very good and the conditions for the players are excellent.”
ChessBase India journalist Abhyudaya Ram, who has covered several international tournaments, agreed: “Choosing Singapore as the venue was a good idea as it has superb facilities. The organisers have put in a lot of effort, including getting Google as the sponsor, which has elevated chess’ profile.”
Grandmaster Goh, who is also the CEO of the Singapore Chess Federation, said he has been happy with the spectator turnout, but said it was important for him the “people enjoyed themselves”.
“They are having a good time, as there has been a fair bit of tension and excitement,” he said. “For many, the experience has been unique, with so many side events.”
However, not all have been thrilled by the quality of play shown by Ding and Gukesh. It has been a ding-dong battle – with the pair tied at 6.5 points on Wednesday with one game left to play on Thursday. If the scores are still tied at its end, the contest will go into a tie-break today.
“This does not look like a game between two World Championship contenders. It looks like maybe the second or third round of an open tournament,” five-time world champion and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen said in a podcast after Ding and Gukesh were tied 6-6 after 12 games.
“You have to make it difficult for your opponent. That’s when mistakes happen. If you play like the way (Gukesh) played today (in Game 12), it is very easy for the opponent to play near perfectly and win.”
Goh said he too was surprised by the overall low quality of play, with both Ding and Gukesh making mistakes and letting each other off the hook on several occasions.
“If you compare these games with those between Magnus and Vishwanathan Anand, or Kasparov and Kramnik, the quality of play in the past was undeniably better. As an organiser, I might offend a lot of people by saying this, but I want to be objective,” Goh said. “Ding and Gukesh are strong players, but the way they are playing, it is not reflective of their strength.”
Leontxo admitted the games have not been of a high level, but attributed it to “special factors”.
“Ding is showing a lack of confidence; he probably is yet to recover fully from the mental health issues he’s been having for the last one and a half years,” said the Spaniard, who has been a chess writer for the respected El Pais daily since 1995.
“Gukesh is good at calculating variations, but at 18 he is very young. It’s clear he lacks a deep understanding of overall strategy and must work harder.”
For Singapore’s youngest grandmaster Siddharth, 17, however, Gukesh has done very well.
“The games have been much closer than people have expected because Ding has raised his game and has been pushing hard for wins” said Siddhrath. “Both have been making mistakes, but that is understandable as there’s a lot pressure since the time control has been shortened.”
Akhmet too believes that it has been a good contest. “The statistics show that the accuracy of their moves is higher than 95 most of the time,” he said. “So they are playing like machines. That was certainly not the case in Astana last year when Ding and his Russian opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi blundered often. Ding eventually won but the chess was not of high quality.”
