Updated on: Aug 12, 2025 06:02 am IST
Viswanathan Anand urged players to focus on all formats ‘mentally’, and also used D Gukesh as an example in his statement.
Chess has evolved over the years, and now we have many different formats in the sport. Other than classical, blitz and rapid formats have also been gaining plenty of attention. Meanwhile, even Chess960 has found itself in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
Recently, Viswanathan Anand urged players to focus on all formats ‘mentally’, and also used D Gukesh as an example in his statement.
Viswanathan Anand on why all formats are important
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the Chennai Grandmasters, he said, “The simplest way to say it is that they shouldn’t rule out any format mentally.”
“In a sense, you won’t probably have good results in all the formats, in all the years but I don’t think you’re assured of one format either. I mean Gukesh has had a bad Classical (event) in Romania, for instance. I think when one misfires, you should be able to compete in the other. So, you should try to be competitive in all. Maybe you won’t succeed, but it’s worth it.
“Sport is evolving very fast, new formats, new things. I think the only thing I can do is if they ask, I can describe how I faced a certain situation and then it would be their job to convert that. We are not comparing the same thing anymore,” he further added.
Gukesh has also been criticised for being weaker in blitz and rapid formats, especially by Magnus Carlsen. But he proved his critics wrong recently, topping the rapid section at the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid and Blitz Tournament in Zagreb. Gukesh even beat Magnus Carlsen in their rapid face-off. Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa also defeated Carlsen at the Las Vegas Freestyle Chess Grand Slam this year.
Chess also made its debut at the Esports World Cup recently, held in a rapid 10-minute-per-game format with no additional time increment.
