in-the-world-of-chess-impossible-drama-and-unthinkable-warfare

Last week, as Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen clinched his seventh Norway chess title, India’s GM Gukesh Dommaraju stayed frozen in his chair, rendered paralysed for a brief few seconds by the pain and disbelief that only a game of chess can inflict. As for Carlsen, although it was no way his first win, it was still his most memorable yet. As much for the dramatic finale, as for his rivalry with World Champion Dommaraju. For, only a few days before the world number one had slammed his fist on the table in rage, sending the chess pieces jumping off the board and shocking his opponent Gukesh.

 

For understandable reasons, the incident grabbed traction on social and news media and won’t be forgotten anytime soon. However, in the world of chess, it was the nth incidence of emotions, war and everything in between.

 

On the surface, it is a game of 64 squares: neat, clean and with boundaries as clear as the black and white board. However, in the shadows, it is war. A game of strategy, poise and psychological warfare.

 

Anyone acquainted with the sport’s history, is well aware of the drama that has unfolded in World Chess Championships for decades now. Some of which has even been rendered eternal on celluloid, as in the case of US chess player Bobby Fischer. The figure who made headlines as much for his talent as for his hostile behaviour towards the opponents, organisers and managers.

 

Not the one to tolerate any noise in tournament rooms, Fisher once insisted that the match be held in an isolated ping-pong room. The 1972 World Chess Championship match, played between Fischer and Russian GM Boris Spassky, stands out in history not because of where and how it was played but also because it became symbolic of the Cold War in the backdrop.

 

The 24-year Soviet monopoly in the chess title and the Russian versus American narrative sparked excitement, upped the bets, hysterics and fetched unprecedented media attention. Fischer won the match and the episode finds a detailed depiction in the acclaimed biopic titled Pawn Sacrifice. Fischer, believed to be schizophrenic, hasn't been the only eccentric and celebrated player in chess history.

 

In the 1978 World Chess Championship, the drama scaled up to the next level as allegations became borderline amusing to imaginative. The actual game of chess between GM Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov took a backseat as the seats were x-rayed, and accusations were exchanged from both sides. Allegedly, Karpov infamously brought along a hypnotist whose only job was to distract Korchnoi.

 

Korchnoi, perturbed enough by a front-row observer and hypnotherapist named Vladimir Zukhar, lost his composure and came off the stage and yelled at Zukhar, after which he was removed from the front row.

 

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The drama did not end there. During the contest, Karpov’s team sent him a blueberry yoghurt, alleged by Korchnoi to be a code-word for the move as Karpov was sent different flavoured yoghurts earlier. An investigation followed and it was decided upon that Karpov could be sent yoghurt in the same flavour and at the same time during the game.

 

So demanding is competitive chess that contemporary players like Carlsen have often talked about psychological resilience and mental wellbeing. One of the earliest examples of the game taking a toll on mind and emotions is perhaps the case of Paul Morphy, a chess prodigy of the 19th century who retired as early as at the age of 22. Exhibiting signs of mental instability, Morphy wandered the streets wearing a chess uniform and was frequently seen talking to himself. He was speculated to have suffered from schizophrenia accelerated by chess and the pressure of success or failure.

 

A hypnotist or a flavoured yoghurt aren’t the only bizarre episodes in World Chess Championships. Almost two decades ago, the $1 million 2006 World Chess Championship was on the point of collapse due to a scandal infamously termed as Toiletgate in chess world. The match between Bulgarian contender Veselin Topalov and Russian opponent Vladimir Kramnik hit the headlines not due to prize money or the heavyweight players, but due to Topalov accusing Kramnik of visiting his personal loo too often during the play, almost fifty times during the six-hour encounter. That was not the only allegation hurled, it was implied that the frequent bathroom breaks were to consult a chess engine. Topalov’s manager Danailov also later alleged that Kramnik’s moves were 78 per cent of the time the same as recommended by Chessbase’s Fritz 9 engine.

 

In a chess championship, almost each grandmaster has a restroom behind the board where he can relax while it is his opponent’s turn to move. The players are frisked with metal detectors before every game and video cameras monitor the entire playing and rest area except the washrooms. The Russian rejected the proposition of a shared lavatory accusing the organisers of bias and forfeited the fifth round.

 

“I deeply regret the unsportsmanlike spirit and unequalled behaviour of my opponent whom FIDE donated a victory outside of the board by using dirty tricks. But I had to assess personal interests and those of the entire chess world,” said Kramnik. Although Kramnik walked away with the title of chess world champion, it was a deeply bitter contest at the end of which both players refused to shake hands with each other.

 

Popularly, soccer and cricket are associated with on-field antics, mercurial tempers and TRP-worthy moments. Surprisingly, chess has been far-worse. A game where not overt sledging but even breathing counts and has the capability to distract the opponent. As the first GM from India Vishwanathan Anand once said that even breathing is a tell-tale sign. “Sometimes the opponent stops breathing and you realise something drastic has happened,” he said, admitting to how his matches with Garry Kasparov in the 90s were “psychologically intense.” Fidgety moves, stillness, shift in decibels, sometimes attributed to breathing all count for studying your opponent. Little wonder that bitter wars, freaky allegations have defined chess as much as grand masters and high-IQ geniuses.