Gukesh has over 50% chance to become world champ but Ding can bounce back: FIDE CEO

 Indian chess prodigy D Gukesh has more than 50 per cent chance of becoming the youngest-ever world champion, feels the international federation (FIDE) CEO Emil Sutovsky.

The 18-year-old Indian will take on defending champion Ding Liren in the 14-round World Chess Championship clash beginning on Monday.

“He’s (Gukesh) almost there and enters the match as favourite… It’s definitely possible,” Sutovsky told FIDE Chess on YouTube.

“His chances are not less than 50 per cent… I would say higher. So, yes, he seems to be very much focussed on that.

“Obviously it is possible. But, I don’t think Ding is ready to accept it,” added Sutovsky, who reached a peak ranking of world No. 17, in 2004.

One reason for Gukesh being the favorite is Ding’s lacklustre performance this year, while the Indian recently led his team to a historic gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

However, Sutovsky cautioned against underestimating Ding, noting the Chinese Grandmaster’s potential to recover his form.

“I think it would be very exciting, not because I’m officially here, but as a fan. I think Ding, who has had an unimpressive year, would recover.

“I don’t think he would be the same Ding who was, let’s say, beating everyone in 2019 when I think he climbed to No. 2 in the world. But let’s say he would be worthy of a world championship (opponent) in this match.” Sutovsky further said despite speculations over Ding’s form, there could be lots of surprises in store for the fans.

“And the question on how high can Gukesh go, so I expect it to be a rather close match with unexpected twists throughout. So, let’s see if my forecast works.” At 32 years of age, the Chinese is more experienced than Gukesh, and Sutovsky indicated that if the matches prolong, it could be advantage Ding.

“We could see many games where younger players were collapsing against older (in the past). It’s also where your experience tells more in the final part of the game and you know more patterns, you know how to handle it (pressure) more.

“So, I wouldn’t say that youth necessarily gives you an advantage in very long games,” he added.

A lot has been spoken about the classical game of chess and how being in good physical shape is important to survive endless hours on the board.

But Sutovsky feels that beyond a point, hours don’t matter.

“I’m not sure that you need exactly physical shape on a seven-hour (game) actually. I think the physical shape tells more (in) the fourth or fifth hour and then, if you overcome certain moment, you play once again pretty well.

“At least that was my experience and that’s what I spoke about with many players… That’s a critical moment as fatigue comes (after four or five hours).

“Now, typically, if you go to hours six or seven, the position is already pretty simplified, so it’s a technical position and often you can play either by hand or by intuition and there maybe you are… you don’t need necessarily to calculate as much,” he added.