Gukesh’s struggle not a surprise for Niemann: ‘Never really best in the world’

“I was surprised by the lack of ambition in Gukesh’s opening,” was the opening salvo from the blunt Niemann when he fronted the media at the end of his tournament. “Obviously, I understand the tournament situation very well, which is why he didn’t want to continue. But I don’t think I believed that I could have received such a ridiculous gift. It’s very rare that you are winning just out of the opening with black pieces against the world champions. Perhaps I should have been more optimistic. It was just a very weird game.”

Niemann himself had to claw his way back into the mainstream after tournament invitations had dried up following the cheating allegations (that were never substantiated). (Chennai Grand Masters)

The draw meant that Gukesh still keeps his rating above 2700. Since becoming world champion, he’s lost 75 rating points in a space of 19 months. Gukesh was coming into the game with two losses in the previous two games. Was Niemann tempted to inflict another defeat on his vulnerable opponent to send his rating below 2700?

“I really don’t care. My job is to win chess games. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing. I’m indifferent,” quipped Niemann.

Ask Niemann if Gukesh’s wretched form would automatically make Javokhir Sindarov the favourite heading into the world championship battle later in the year, and the 23-year-old American does something uncharacteristic. He plays it safe without leaning one side or another.

“In a match format, it’s really hard to say. It really depends on the start. But the strain on Gukesh’s confidence over these years must have taken a serious toll. I would say that if he starts well and can regain his confidence, take control, then his prime form could return. But if he starts poorly, it’s just going to be a reminder of all the bad results. Obviously you can’t say that his poor results are not an indicator whatsoever. But in one match over 14 games, anything can happen,” says the American.

Niemann himself had to claw his way back into the mainstream after tournament invitations had dried up following the cheating allegations (that were never substantiated). Niemann is asked if there is any advice he has for the struggling world champion.

“In chess, it’s really difficult because when things go badly, people can try to tell you why they went badly. But no one — even the best coach — cannot go inside your mind. That’s why when things go badly, it is very isolating. You feel like you understand why things went wrong. In chess, it’s not like some other sports, where you can pinpoint that my form was wrong, or my positioning was wrong. It’s all in your mind. It’s such an abstract sport that pinpointing the exact reason is really difficult,” says Niemann.

While the rest of the world has been mulling just how heavy the weight of the crown must be, Niemann shrugs off the string of wretched results for the duo.

“I think the main issue, the main reason why you’ve seen Ding and Gukesh do poorly is that, first of all, they were never the best players in the world. Not even close to it. Gukesh had a string of results maybe from the Olympiad, and then the Candidates where he performed maybe at his best or near the best. And then Ding had, long before he was fighting in the World Championship, he was actually among the top three players or even the second best player for a long time. So he had a far more established or consistent career as a top player.

“For someone like Gukesh and Ding to do badly, I mean people have upswings and downswings of all nature in sports. But these two were never really the best players in the world. So their struggles are not like a major shock,” adds Niemann.

The pressure that comes along with being the world champion weighed heavily on both Ding Liren and Gukesh. You wonder if seeing their troubles, other players have started to re-evaluate their own ambitions. Niemann, for example, has been outspoken about being the next world champion from America after Bobby Fischer.

Is being a world champion still worth it?

“Everyone would love to be the world champion. Who’s saying that it isn’t worth it? It’s not really a reasonable question,” says Niemann, shooting down the question.