Chess legend Garry Kasparov has stirred the ho0rnet’s nest by claiming that he does not consider the upcoming title clash between D. Gukesh of India and reigning champion Ding Liren as a real World Championship Match. Indian Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay agrees with him but says the Chinese GM is the reason for that as he is not considered World Champion material by many chess fans and thus has not earned respect despite winning the title.

“For me, a World Championship match was always a match for the title of the best player in the world,” Kasparov said recently.

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Thipsay agreed and said that the debate would continue till the best player in the world kept away from it and also because a few players that had won the World Championship title did not earn the respect of the chess community. He compared Ding Liren with Alexander Khalifman and Ruslan Ponomariov, who won the FIDE Knockout World Championship titles between 1999 and 2004 when the title was fractured but did not earn respect.

“Winning the FIDE World Championship they never got the status of world champion. Yes, because it was a different format and Kasparov had lost to Kramnik and they dropped out of the FIDE cycle. When Anand won the FIDE cycle he got the due respect. But when Ponomariov and Khalifman got, they didn’t get respect from the chess world or the non-chess world,” Thipsay said on Tuesday at a symposium got together by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai for the upcoming World Championship Match.

“So again, very few players have had the respect in the eyes of the public of being the World Champion. Also acknowledged by the chess world and the best, (Bobby) Fischer, (Anatoly) Karpov, (Garry) Kasparov and (Boris) Spassky for some time.

“So in this Championship, Gukesh may end up getting that respect. But it’s a matter of completely different stature and as a result, it’s going to be a different match. But it will not enjoy the status of a real champion. Nobody will really be getting that till Carlsen is playing side-by-side. People would be looking for an opportunity to watch Carlson’s game first and then look the World Championship game second, if there’s an option,” Thipsay added.

Speaking at the same symposium on the upcoming World Championship Match, Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte said that though Ding Liren may be going through poor form and looks a poor shadow of his former self, he cannot be underestimated.

“Of course Ding, he is a very strong player. So, we have Ding 1 era 1 and Ding era 2. So right now he is Ding 2.0, which is not very strong. But if you see Ding 1.0, it was very difficult to beat him. He became a national champion like the Chinese national championship is one of the strongest national championships. And he won that championship thrice. When he won it for the first time, he was 16 years old.

“Then in 2018, I think he reached the final of the World Cup and he was the first Chinese player to cross 2800. And he reached the world number two spot behind Magnus Carlsen in the classical rating. And he was number one in the blitz and rapid ranking ahead of Magnus. But it was all before COVID and I think he was doing extremely well. And what I can say is that when he qualified to play the World Championship match with Nepo he qualified for the match when Magnus refused to play and fought back after losing the second, fourth, and seventh games to make the match into the tiebreak and win it in the fourth game.

“So, yes, right now if you compare Gukesh and Ding, the difference is clearly visible. When Ding was in the best form, he won the gold medal for China in the Olympiad on the top board and made sure China won the Olympiad gold. Same thing Gukesh has done this year. So I will say that Gukesh is in the same form that Ding was way back. And definitely, he is a clear favorite right now.

“But yes, we cannot underestimate Ding because he had the ability to play at that level. And I think it is just because of medical issues. This is the situation. If he can overcome that, it’s not easy to beat him,” he said.

Former Women’s Junior World Champion Soumya Swaminathan believes that Ding Liren will be playing this match for himself and not to earn respect. She said the Chinese GM is respected by many for the way he fought back against Ian Nepomniachtchi and won the title.

“Ding Liren has earned the respect of the chess community. There are many people in India who are rooting for him despite playing against Gukesh because of the way he fought back and won the World Championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi. He will be playing for himself and not to earn respect,” said Soumya Swaminathan on the sidelines of the SJAM symposium.

Thipsay, Kunte, and Soumya said Gukesh seems a far better player than Ding in his current form. They said he is more mature, very calm and patient, and seldom makes mistakes on the board.

Kunte said Gukesh may look serious and does not smile during the games, but he is able to switch on and switch off from the game easily.

If Gukesh plays or practices chess, that’s because he needs that. If he sleeps, that’s too like preparation for him, said Kunte, who expected the two players to battle it out in Ruy Lopez opening in Singapore.