Chess | Nepomniachtchi backs Sindarov for the World crown

Ian Nepomniachtchi has played the World chess championship match twice. Not even some of the world’s strongest Grandmasters could make such a claim.

He knows how challenging the long series of games in a match for a player is. Looking ahead to this year’s World title match, he feels the challenger Javokhir Sindarov starts as the favourite, but the reigning champion Gukesh still has chances.

“I wouldn’t say it is something like 80-20 in favour of Sindarov, but it would be more like 65-35,” Nepomniachtchi, who is here for the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, told The Hindu on Tuesday.

“I believe it is important who wins first. If Gukesh manages to win one at that stage, or at least not to lose, the match could become unclear because he gets some confidence. But, if Sindarov starts with a win, it could easily turn into a snowball.”

Nepomniachtchi is glad to be back at the GCL after missing out on the last two seasons. “I had some visa issues in 2024 and skipped the event last year,” said the former World No. 2 from Russia who is playing for Ganges Grandmasters.

Fun format

“I think the GCL has a fun format, and it is really fun for players. Sometimes, especially classical chess, it can be a little bit too controlled, and a bit boring for players as well as fans.”

He believes the format at the GCL brings a lot of different imbalances. “You don’t know the colour (of your pieces) before the game, at least for the first part,” he points out. “Then we have the points system (four points for a win with black pieces). And it is nice to play in front of a respectable audience. Normally chess fans are quite elderly, and they just start snoring in the first row.”