Gukesh will get World Championship title the respect it deserves, says GM Pravin Thipsay

"For me, a World Championship match was always a match for the title of the best player in the world," Kasparov said recently. Thipsay agreed and noted that the debate would continue until the best player in the world was involved, particularly because some players who won the World Championship title did not earn the respect of the chess community. He compared Ding Liren with Alexander Khalifman and Ruslan Ponomariov, who won the FIDE Knockout World Championship titles between 1999 and 2004 when the title was fractured but did not gain respect. "Winning the FIDE World Championship, they never got the status of world champion. Yes, because it was a different format, and Kasparov had lost to Kramnik, causing them to drop out of the FIDE cycle. When Anand won the FIDE cycle, he received the due respect. However, Ponomariov and Khalifman did not earn respect from either the chess world or the non-chess world," Thipsay said on Tuesday at a symposium organized by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai for the upcoming World Championship Match. "So again, very few players have had the respect in the eyes of the public of being the World Champion. Also acknowledged by the chess world are the best: (Bobby) Fischer, (Anatoly) Karpov, (Garry) Kasparov, and (Boris) Spassky for some time." He added, "In this Championship, Gukesh may end up getting that respect. But it's a matter of completely different stature, and as a result, it's going to be a different match. However, it will not enjoy the status of a real champion. Nobody will truly be regarded as such until Carlsen is competing alongside them. People would look for an opportunity to watch Carlsen's game first and then consider the World Championship game second if there's an option." Speaking at the same symposium on the upcoming World Championship Match, Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte expressed that although Ding Liren may be going through a rough patch and appears to be a shadow of his former self, he cannot be underestimated. "Of course Ding is a very strong player. So, we have Ding 1.0 and Ding 2.0. Right now, he is Ding 2.0, which is not very strong. However, if you consider Ding 1.0, it was very difficult to beat him. He became a national champion in one of the strongest national championships-the Chinese national championship-winning it three times. He won it for the first time at just 16 years old." Kunte continued, "Then in 2018, he reached the final of the World Cup and became the first Chinese player to cross 2800, achieving the world number two spot behind Magnus Carlsen in classical rating. He also held the number one position in blitz and rapid rankings ahead of Magnus. But all this was before COVID, and I think he was performing extremely well back then. When he qualified to play in the World Championship match against Nepo, he fought back after losing the second, fourth, and seventh games to bring it to tiebreaks and win." "So yes, if you compare Gukesh and Ding now, the difference is clearly visible. When Ding was at his best, he won the gold medal for China on the top board in the Olympiad, ensuring China's victory. Gukesh has achieved similar success this year. I would say Gukesh is in a form comparable to what Ding was back then, making him a clear favorite right now. However, we cannot underestimate Ding because he has shown he can play at that level. I believe his current struggles are due to medical issues; if he can overcome that, it won't be easy to beat him," Kunte said. Former Women's Junior World Champion Soumya Swaminathan believes that Ding Liren will be playing this match for himself rather than to earn respect. "Ding Liren has earned the respect of the chess community. Many people in India are rooting for him despite his match against Gukesh because of how he fought back and won against Ian Nepomniachtchi," said Swaminathan on the sidelines of the SJAM symposium. "He will be playing for himself and not to earn respect." Thipsay, Kunte, and Soumya all agreed that Gukesh seems like a far better player than Ding in his current form. They noted that Gukesh is more mature, calm, patient, and seldom makes mistakes on the board. Kunte mentioned that although Gukesh may appear serious and does not smile during games, he can easily switch on and off from the game. "If Gukesh plays or practices chess, it's because he needs that focus. If he sleeps, that's also part of his preparation," Kunte said, who expects both players to battle it out in Ruy Lopez opening in Singapore.