His skillset was on full display in the opening leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour at Weissenhaus, as he beat Magnus Carlsen in the semifinal and then Fabiano Caruana in the final. He also clinched the German C’ship this year, for the first time in his career, and won the Chennai Masters. He is currently ranked World No. 4 in the latest FIDE rankings, a career-high achievement.
Currently in action at the Global Chess League in Mumbai, and opened up on missing out on the Candidates in an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times. He spoke about his time as part of Gukesh’s team of seconds during the World C’ship.
Missing out on the Candidates…
Okay. It’s always tough. Yeah, of course, I was closest during the Grand Swiss, and of course I was disappointed that I didn’t make it there. I had very good chances. My game against Matthias Blübaum — I was kind of very winning. If I don’t blunder the idea, I think was extremely likely to win that game. And after winning that game, I would have extremely good chances to qualify for the Candidates.
And also in the last round against Arjun, I had some very nice winning chances. So if I had taken either one of those two chances, I would have very likely, almost surely, qualified for the Candidates. Of course, I would have liked to take that chance, but it wasn’t for me this time. Still, I am very happy with the way the year has gone, and I hope that next time, for the Candidates, things will go better.
How tough is it to qualify for the Candidates…
I don’t think it has become much tougher; it has always been this tough. Being in the top 10 or even top 5 doesn’t guarantee you a Candidates spot, and it never has. Of course, maybe nowadays it happens more often that so-called underdogs manage to qualify, but still, I do believe it has always been extremely tough to qualify for the Candidates.
So I’m very happy with the way I played this year. Of course, I have some regrets — there are moments I wish I had played better — but overall, I’m happy with my play.
Aspirations on becoming a World Champion…
It’s very tough to name specific plans. Of course, first of all, you need to get to the Candidates. I’ve always felt that the best way to achieve my chess goals has been consistently working, being disciplined, and just trying to improve my chess. Everything else — like how one exact tournament goes — is so hard to predict. The best preparation I can do is to focus on my own improvement in chess.
Freestyle and Classical chess participation next year…
I think I’ll keep it the same as this year. I will play freestyle events if they invite me — from what I heard, they will have another season next year. If they invite me and I can make it work, I will try to play those events. But at the same time, I will also play all the important classical events. So I don’t plan on skipping events from either category.
I don’t believe freestyle gets more or less exciting for us, because it remains the same game. They just have very well-organized tournaments at the highest level. I really enjoyed those tournaments as well. It has been a great addition to the calendar, and I believe that, in the way they produce it, it can also be very exciting for spectators.
Freestyle Chess preparations…
Basically, I don’t prepare for freestyle — that’s the whole point. Because we have no openings, the only thing that’s important is that you come there fresh and with enough energy, because the games themselves are very intense. I don’t believe there’s much preparation to do. I just go there and play good chess — that’s what I focus on.
For normal tournaments, if I have time, I usually have a training camp before the event, and then of course a lot of preparation on the day or the day before the game itself.
Analysis with opponents during Freestyle Chess games…
If you check the analysis and what happens on the board, you can very clearly see that we are serious about the analysis and that we use those ideas. Otherwise, why would we do it? We’re not forced to — we could simply sit at our boards on our own. But I believe it’s great to have the input of many strong players, to cover more ground and different playing styles. It’s quite interesting, and I do believe it adds value for everyone.
Chess roots…
I started playing at around five years old. I’m not from a chess-playing family — I found a chessboard, not even a full board, but one of those plastic rolls with pieces, at my father’s place. I asked him what it was, and that’s pretty much it. I was curious and wanted to find out what the sport was like. He knew enough to teach me the rules, and that’s how I started.
I went to a local club, played my first local tournament, and so on. I started working with Peter at the end of 2017, so he’s been with me throughout my whole professional chess career. It’s been amazing having him there from such a young age — showing me what it takes to be a world-class player, how to work, how to choose tournaments, deal with organizers, and plan a yearly schedule. Those things are extremely difficult to navigate without someone experienced.
Global Chess League…
I like playing here. It’s a well-organized event. For me, it mostly depends on the schedule — if other tournaments overlap, it becomes difficult. But generally, I like playing here. After the first round, it was a rough start for us, but I think we’ve come back nicely. I’m quite positive about our chances. We have a good team, good spirits, and while every team here is strong, I like our chances.
Time in India during 2025 Chess World Cup…
I didn’t really get to see much of the place — it was mostly airport to hotel, and I stayed there most of the time. I was very happy with my first match. My second match was also nice, against E. Penk, but it was extremely tough. I had the feeling from the start that he likes to go to tie-breaks.
He wasn’t pushing too hard as White, and as Black he tried to keep things controlled. He managed to make that second draw, and then we went to tie-breaks, which wasn’t what I had hoped for. Not because I don’t believe I can play well in rapid, but because it’s usually less controlled. As the higher-rated player, I would have preferred to keep things more controlled.
In the first rapid game as White, I had very good winning chances, which I blew due to time trouble. That was unfortunate. In the World Cup, you need the right performance at the right time, and a bit of luck. I can’t be too unhappy, but of course I went out earlier than I hoped.
Difference between D Gukesh and Ding Liren’s teams for the World C’ship…
I can’t really judge Ding’s team, as I didn’t know much about it. I can only speak about our side. It was really nice working with them, though it was tough, as the job of a second always is. But it was worth it in the end, and of course we won the match, which made it very special.
Our team consisted of Gajewski in Singapore, while Krishna and I were working remotely from Spain. It was a strong team, but not unusual for a World Championship match. It’s possible Ding’s team was even smaller. At that level, everyone tries to bring as much strength as possible.
Chess in India and Germany…
It’s quite different. Chess in India is absolutely huge. You can see it — so many top players, strong spectator interest, government involvement, and private investment. In Germany, it’s getting better, especially with strong players coming up, but right now the support in India is still much stronger.
