Mumbai: The ink is barely dry on Gukesh’s historic World Chess Championship victory, and already, the sour grapes are ripening in Russia. The 18-year-old from India delivered a brilliant blow to China’s Ding Liren in the 14th game, but the Russians can’t seem to accept the turn of events.
President Of Russian Chess Federation Goes On A Tirade
Andrei Filatov, president of the Russian Chess Federation, has gone on a tirade, claiming that Liren “deliberately lost” and demanding that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) investigate the match. Apparently, the Russians have a new theory—Liren’s blunder was no accident. Filatov, clearly not a fan of Gukesh’s meteoric rise, was quick to express his bewilderment.
“Losing a position like that? Even a first-class player would have to be blindfolded to make that mistake,” he sniped. “This looks like a deliberate loss.” How charming — nothing like a conspiracy theory to spice up a post-game analysis. However, as is often the case with such sour reactions, even the grandmasters of reason, like India’s Viswanathan Anand, have shrugged off the absurdity. After all, fatigue and mental strain from hours of gameplay can cause even the finest to stumble— especially when you’re facing the pressure of an entire nation’s expectations. But the Russians weren’t done yet.
Former World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik On Gukesh’s Win
Vladimir Kramnik, a former World Champion, threw in his own “insight” with a tweet so grim it could have been written on a tombstone: “No comment, sad. End of chess as we know it.”
It’s a wonder he didn’t accompany that with a dramatic sigh. The audacity of this response from former Russian greats like Garry Kasparov and Kramnik is almost comical. They’ve been at the top of the chess world since the ’70s and ’80s, but now, they’re reduced to questioning the legitimacy of a teenager’s triumph.
The mere thought that India is now rewriting the rulebook has evidently ruffled more than just a few Russian feathers. Let’s face it: Gukesh’s win represents something more than just an upset in the chess world—it signals the decline of Russia’s once unshakable dominance. Maybe that’s why they’re feeling so threatened. In the end, though, it’s nothing more than the sound of jealousy from a chess empire in retreat.
