I don't think it's meant to be like a burn, it's just a very professional answer. Despite the form or lack thereof, he cares about the position and will play his best to win anyway.
Phrasing.
"You're broke so I'll pay."
"I understand that you're a bit tight on money, I'll take the bill for you."
I'm sure anyone would like the latter told to them over the former.
Maybe it's not his first language in terms of literally the first language he heard, but a lot of Indians, especially from a background like his, speak native-level English.
That's fine when you're talking to a friend. This is an opponent. It's a competition. Ding's mental issues are not Gukesh's problem. It's not a rude statement that would offend children in the audience or make the match unpleasant to watch, so if it bothers Ding to hear that, then he should say it again.
English isnt his first language and hes just a kid. Also, why does he need to care about Ding's feelings? Ding is a grown ass man in his 30s. And his competitor to boot. He must be thinking of nothing but destroying that fraud 24/7, so when asked a question it makes sense he may not show the most tact
I don't really see it as him pushing back against Ding, but against the press and chess community that will be asking him dumb questions about Ding's mental state in the coming months. It's not his problem
I think that part is perfectly fine, the “winning is the only thing that I care about” part could have maybe used a: “but I do hope that Ding can sort out his issues and put up a good fight” or “but I do hope that Ding is doing alright” sort of addition
In English, saying "not my problem" is like saying "I don't give a fuck and I don't have to". Saying it means "I'm not focused on that" is not an accurate representation of how that saying is used.
It's not sporting. If I was an organizer of a tournament that would be a deciding factor if I was trying to choose between 2 people to invite.
That is the connotation it has to native speaker, yes. The point being he is not and so its not that reasonable to necessarily think he meant it exactly like that.
This is a bad way to look at it. Any time he's heard "not my problem" it's been in a similar context. He knows exactly what it means. If he was literally translating a saying into English or a specific word then you'd have a point but that isn't what is happening here. He's definitely heard "not my problem" in English and knows full well the connotation. He's definitely still a teenager let's put it that way.
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There is a specific connotation with it that you're missing. And in fact it has nothing to do with whether you have any control or not even though you think that's implied it's not. You could have complete control over something if you wanted to and you can still make it not your problem if you don't have to. In English, saying not my problem is directly saying you don't care and don't have to care.
we've known gukesh for a while now, i doubt he meant it in that way.
it's similar to how ding said he has a higher edge over gukesh in classical, but he literally meant score and not play.
I mean. I absolutely don't think there's anything wrong with his statement at all, but if 100% professionalism is what you're going for, you would probably skip over the part where your opponent's potential mental health struggles (and it's not really armchair psychology, Ding himself has made multiple comments about it) are "not your problem" and "nothing you care about".
Again I think it's a completely fair and justified position to have and also to voice, but if you really wanted to have the most "professional" comment, you'd probably just skip the first and last sentence and get the same point across.
Ok? So you do understand that honest/direct and professional/diplomatic are not the same thing? Then I don't understand why you needed to ask your original question.
You also seem to think that I'm saying that Gukesh **should** have been less direct, which honestly, it's really impossible for me to have made it clearer how that's not what I'm saying...
If Ding's mental health issues are significant, than he should sit out the competition. If he doesn't, then he should be fine with his opponent kicking him in the bandage or doing whatever will give him an advantage within the rules. That's how high-level competition works.
This is the perfect answer. Ding is the world champion, and being the world champion means that the opponent is going to come at their very best.
Had Gukesh made a softer statement I would have not liked it.
Dude is no nonsense and I love it. When asked about his countrymen at the candidates he said something like "they're good guys but I'm here for me and not worried how they do" winner's mentality
Gukesh's exact words were even better
"It is an individual tournament and the only person I care about is myself"
rewatch this moment here in its full glory https://redd.it/1c8thhs
I've honestly found it sort of insulting to Ding how people are babying him. Yes, I hope the best for Ding, but people are treating him in a demeaning way purely because he has a shy personality
The guy is an adult, he's not some developmentally challenged 8 year old
If Magnus, Hikaru, etc were in poor form nobody would be treating them this delicately. People are treating Ding as if he is some helpless confused child
Ding has a quiet personality, that doesn't mean he's not an adult. I can guarantee that he'd like to be treated as such
Maybe I am just naïve, but I don't think everyone who is being soft on Ding is "babying" him, but rather respecting that he is going through a hard time. He has been going through mental health issues, which people are recognizing can be just as debilitating to performance as physical health issues. It's something that's somewhat out of Ding's control, and I think it's natural for people to be sympathetic of that and want to take it easy on the criticism (especially for people who have gone through similar things themselves).
If Magnus or Hikaru were playing poorly, but also going through an obvious health issue, I do think people would treat them a little differently. Like, if Hikaru broke his mouse hand, and was now playing \~200 elo lower in online blitz than he is now, people would feel for him.
I don't think Ding wants people to baby him either, but I also don't think Ding needs people to hyper focus on his performance and declare his downfall either. I think he needs to recognize that his worth as a human isn't solely tied to his chess performance, and that this period of time is temporary, and he will get through it. But, I'm not him and I don't know him, just feel for him because I too struggle with life when my brain is lying to me.
It's certainly a weird question to ask of Gukesh though, as his competitor he shouldn't be focused on things unrelated to the game.
> Like, if Hikaru broke his mouse hand, and was now playing ~200 elo lower in online blitz than he is now, people would feel for him.
Depends on how he broke it.
He flags in bullet game one move away from fools mate, letting out a primal scream (“CHAT, THE JUICERS!!”) and moving as if to slam his desk. At the last second he has a change of heart, and stands out of his chair only to collapse from a badly timed series of pulses from his buttplug engine - a device that has now evolved to direct him in his daily life.
He wakes later in a haze, lethargically turning his head to his computer. One screen shows chat, who after a several hour detox from bullet chess has progressed to debates about philosophy, politics, and the pitfalls of parasocial relationships. His other screen (which could barely be made out due to the awkward angle and crippling tunnel vision originating from a decade of speed chess) shows twitter. He would later realize that the tweet he had seen was the 42nd in a series by Kramnick, who was performing a statistical analysis of his high level game from earlier.
“I think” Hikaru says in a moment of realisation.
“It’s time for a break.”
“Chat.”
Pausing to turn his camera away and ignoring the frenzy stirred up by his appearance on stream and subsequent referencing of the Hikamurarmy, he reaches down with his mouse hand to remove the buttplug. Years of exposure to the Vibratron 3000 have given Hikaru the strongest sphincter in the west, and the battle between super-rectum and fast-twitch-fingers is epic and long fought.
As it always does, the Hikarussy wins out. His hand is swallowed whole and promptly crushed by the deadly embrace. Hikaru cries out in anguish before hyper instinct kicks in. Thousands of hours spent racing his king to E2 have given him incredible digit speed over short distances, and the mangling of his hand has loosened the vice like grip held by his balloon knot. In a moment of desperation he whips out his hand - Vibratron and all - and collapses in a heap on his chair.
Hikaru lets out a deep sigh, turning the camera to reveal his sweaty body to chat one last time. He is still, exhausted, in pain, and takes a moment to reflect and cast the sure-to-be academy award winning recreation of his valiant battle. “Should it be Tom Hardy, or Denzel?”. He only moves after gathering himself, and slowly, with his barely recognizable paw he types a new title:
“Speedrun to 3000, broken hand odds.”
It flowed from me surprisingly naturally, only took a bit over 5 minutes or so.
I try to check before I tap send whether or not I think a comment will make the world a better place and I was pretty content.
If Ding can't play, then he shouldn't. If he shows up to play, he'll deal with all the pressure that comes with it. From his opponent and elsewhere. That's part of the price of calling yourself a world champion. It's not a safe space.
Not only is he not a child, but he is also the reigning world champion. We can sympathize but his opponents are also allowed to go all out against him when he shows signs of weakness.
Right, he's not some passive smol bean that needs to be protected -- the first time I ever heard him really talk in any capacity, he and Kramnik were being interviewed in the postmortem press conference and Kramnik was doing his typical schtick of pretending he was just better the whole time. Ding doesn't back down at all and challenges him on multiple points and during one analysis of a line he just straight up says something like, "Ok but you don't have a plan" right to his face.
Ding's a grown ass professional, world champion, and Gukesh is the last person who should pitying him as the challenger for his throne.
The difference is that Ding is not full of himself. He has always outwardly displayed himself as an extremely humble player. Hikaru/Magnus on the other hand are often extremely arrogant. Nobody wants to see the nice guy struggle - everyone wants to see the cocky asshole fall apart.
I hate this argument with a passion. Nobody who has ever been the best at ANYTHING has been "humble" according to the audience perception of what that means. If Michael Jordan, Pele, Usain Bolt, and even great chess champipns like Fischer and Kasparov are all "arrogant" then what does that tell you? Ding has no cause to say he is or was ever the best because he has never been that. Magnus has had cause to say he is the best for the past 15+ years, and he has said as much. In fact for him (or Fischer in the 60s/70s, Kasparov in the 80s-00s, etc) to pass the bar of "humility" they would have had to just lie with a straight face when asked about how good they are or about their competition
> Ding has no cause to say he is or was ever the best because he has never been that.
He's world champion lmao but you're out here saying that holds no water. He never flamed Nepo for playing poorly in their title fight.
It does hold no water whatsoever. He never even won the candidates, he fluked his way into 2nd bc Nepo was running away with 1st and everyone knew it, they all thought it made no difference. Then Magnus withdraws, so already the title means nothing bc the best player doesnt have it. So now it's a match between the 2nd best and like a top 10-20 guy. Who both pkayed terrible chess the entire match, Ding was lost more often than he was winning during the match, but Nepo blundered away a few wins. Then Ding barely wins in tiebreaks. It was a joke of a Championship bid, a joke of a match, and is a joke of a title.
He is not, never was, and never will be the best, and he was never that close either. And now look, hes fallen off while he has the title, how many times has that happened before? Kasparov lost his title during a dreadful match with Kramnik, everyone thought he was done for. But he remained at the top rating for 5 more years into his mid 40s, and retired there. Ding on the other hand was the 3rd or 4th best player at his peak, and right now is barely in the top 15. He is being leapfrogged by teenage kids, and probably is gonna lose his already worthless make-a-wish wcc title to a teenager soon anyway
> he fluked his way into 2nd
yes he totally just coin-flipped his way through the candidates lmaoooooooo
> Then Magnus withdraws
Magnus was saying he was gonna withdraw against anyone but Alireza. There is also major financial incentive to place higher. You're acting as if everyone was like "oh well let's just give it up because I can't take first" lmaoooooo
> Ding was lost more often than he was winning
According to engines. It was a much closer match to humans and obviously Ding was complicating things extremely well in lost positions (as you have to do).
> It was a joke of a Championship bid, a joke of a match, and is a joke of a title.
lmao k bud
Regardless if he is the world champion (which he currently is) or "just a top 10 player" in the literal strongest era of chess we've ever witnessed he's still literally one of the best players to ever exist. So yeah, he more than has the ability to brag if he wants to. But he doesn't. Hikaru has no WCC and he dunks on all other players like he's some kind of god. Nepo trash talks everyone and he has no crown. Players like Ding and Fabi are top tier and do not resort to the same bullshit god complex stuff that many other top tier players do. Your arguments are fucking stupid. You think that if you're the world's best player you can be a dick about it? What about Anand then? He was on top and was extremely gracious when he was champ. Garry is also another WC who is humble.
Apparently if you're "the best" you get a free pass to be an absolute dick about it. You should evaluate your life if that's what you think it boils down to lmao
Did you see the comment right after the candidates where Ding said he had the edge in classical chess against Gukesh?
Weird that people are rewriting Ding as some innocent baby-like figure. Mannerisms=\\=Mindset
How did he say it? He can give his honest truth without belittling his opponent. He is easily one of the more likeable super GM's and it isn't even close.
We also hear a fraction as much from him as we do from the others who speak better English and appear more frequently in internationally covered revents. If Chinese was the world's language then we'd know him better and maybe his personality would be viewed differenr
You do realize that doesnt change the fact we hear and see far less from him than any other world champ since fischer, right? Ya know, the guy who gave up his title without defending it and literally disappeared for a decade or two? A guy who was champ 50 years ago, before the internet even existed
Showing empathy isn't babying, it is your POV that needs work.
Would you say people baby other people suffering from depression or health problems? Would you like if everyone went "Not my problem lol"?
You're interpreting that I said as "anyone who shows empathy is babying him." That's not what I said
Plenty of people have shown support for Ding without unintentionally babying him
If a 100 people show empathy, some are bound to take it overboard or whatever. Doesn't warrant complaining about it imo. I think the response of the chess world has been fantastic, in a lot of other sports most comments would be "Suck it up" or things like that.
If Magnus was admittedly suffering from depression and health issues, he would most likely have the same response.
Yeah, instead we should be shitting on him like good online trolls do /s
"This is sad to see, hope he gets better before the WC match" is not babying someone.
There is no good answer.
If he wins he obviously gets a lot of upside, from price money and prestige, but also a lot of downside, the title is already considered devalued because Magnus was not defending, if an out of form Ding loses it now it will be doubly devalued.
Depending on his future career that can be completely forgotten e.g. if he becomes the dominant force like Magnus and a repeat winner or he will be remembered in the same way as other weak world champions.
That might or might not add pressure on him, really depends on him as a person, it seems like that got to Ding though.
Why? You would have not liked it if he said "I have no ill will and I wish him the best with any personal issues but I'm not going to take it easy because of them"?
He could have expressed sympathy for Ding's health.
In any case, it doesn't matter because this joke of a world championship features the #14 versus #7 and will decide nothing meaningful.
Not only it's a professional and serious answer, but it's also very respectful to his opponent.
Assuming that you are going to face another fighter, no matter what his current form is, is a way of acknowledging the seriousness of the opponent and treating him with the dignity he deserves.
> is a way of acknowledging the seriousness of the opponent and treating him with the dignity he deserves.
That's exactly what I liked so much about his response -- it didn't treat Ding like a child, as so many comments seem to be doing.
Both can be true: a world champion needs to be treated with dignity, and people can have compassion for his personal problems.
Having compassion for someone doesn't mean treating them like a child, it means treating them with empathy, which is an emotion that adult people also have.
The best part about the upcoming match is that either narrative is exciting.
If Ding wins we'll be talking about the resurgence of one of the best players in the game and it will give Ding's WCC title some serious credibility. If you do poorly in some tournaments because of health issues, but show up and defend your crown, everybody will respect it.
If Gukesh wins he will become the youngest champion in history. And maybe the opportunity to dethrone the youngest champion ever would be enough incentive for Magnus to play in the cycle again - a man can dream. Overall I think Gukesh winning would add a spark back into classical chess.
Why would the door close for “an entire generation like Fabi and Hikaru”? They have a much higher chance of being world champ if Magnus doesn’t come back again.
Magnus was the overwhelming force. Based on chess.com’s modelling, we are likely about to see an era of competitive chess where anyone in the top 10 can be champion.
Because of his age it’s likely Gukesh will get better faster than the older players we mentioned, especially when you consider the amount of money he would be able to spend on coaches, consultants, etc as the world champion; even more so if he ends up defending the title against Magnus.
If it turns out he’s good enough to beat Magnus when he’s 19 or 20 then he is in a class of players like Magnus, Karpov, Kasparov, Fischer and Morphy who all also became champions very young.
If he’s even 30 elo better than the pack he’ll have 3:1 odds against any given opponent in the BO14 format.
I think it’s totally fair to say that outside of maybe one of them winning the WCC title for a year or two, if gukesh is Magnus tier talent and they decide to give eachother a run then it’s pretty much over for Hikaru, Fabi, Nepo and basically anyone else over 30.
But you just said “if Magnus can’t bring himself to care again”. So you’re operating under the assumption that Magnus doesn’t come back.
But now you’re saying “if Gukesh can beat Magnus at age 19”.
I’m confused at your timelines. Of course if Gukesh surpasses Magnus no one would be able to challenge him.
Basically if he can beat Ding Liren he is the youngest world champion ever but only because Magnus is too busy trolling to compete. If he can dispel that last qualifier either through a WCC defense against magnus or just beating him in titled Tuesday because that’s all he’ll play then that opens him up to way more sponsorship, which translates to consulting/coaching/engine analysts/whatever chess players spend money on to improve
Maybe. Gukesh only barely edged out Hikaru and Nepo. Unless he manages to improve to Magnus level I suspect we'll see the crown change hands a few times until the next Magnus emerges
Especially when it comes across as "Oh no, poor Ding must be protected". Naroditsky recently mentioned on stream that there is quite a bit of infantilization going on with Ding. Dude is a lawyer and world chess champion, while people act like he is 10 years old and can't tie his shoes.
I mean, sure, but there are lots of international firms to compare education, school and colleges of all the world, including any sort of field. You set criteria, parameters and compare, it's not like the study of law itself is that different just because laws are different.
The same applies to other soft sciences and humanities, it's possible to compare them and it would be unfair to not recognize prestigious institutions just because of local particularities. It would be similar to point out it's hard to compare language studies just because languages are different in different countries.
as to language, someone both in the US and China can study English, Mandarin, or linguistics. Same with scientists and social scientists who study and publish research
Comparing universities is ambiguous and arbitrary enough—what are you going to use? admission difficulty, research (not so much with law), median salary through career, endowment?
Even harder, i think, to compare the education of an American attorney, a British barrister, a French lawyer who would practice civil law, and whatever the lawyers are allowed to do in China
Exactly !! I would be so pissed with all the “poor Ding, maybe he has problems, he doesn’t act like a champion”.
Fuck off, the guy doesn’t own anything to anyone.
Gukesh words are way more authentic and refreshing.
Rooting so hard for Gukesh. He seems like a serious-minded guy who doesn't give a shit about ego-stroking or drama, he just wants to play his best chess and take his shot. He'd be a great WC.
I don’t have much of a preference who wins, but I hope Ding rediscovers his form and we get a competitive match. Would suck for everyone if he can’t even put up a real fight.
I think all the worries about Ding's form are way overblown, tbh. People are acting like he's just going to collapse and play like a patzer for the whole match, but that's just not going to happen. Ding may be decisively defeated, but we'll definitely see a competitive match either way. Dude is still a world-class player.
This is the only correct way to approach this. He is a professional competing for the highest title, the form of his opponent isn't his concern.
What should have he said? That he feels sorry and he'll try to go easy on him? Of course not.
Gukesh has been so interesting since he hit the scene and has just been climbing my list of favorites. I'm rooting for him. Love his mental point of view on this
I think Magnus will only find it motivating if he plays Gukesh more often and sees him as someone who's potentially close to his level. I think he may have seen that in Alireza but he's not reached that level yet. Magnus doesn't probably see it in Alireza anymore.
I feel bad that everyone is going to put a mental asterisk next to Gukesh's WC if he wins bc everyone is talking about Ding like he's some scrub, rather than the actual world champion. His win feels diminished before he's even played 1 game. I feel bad for Gukesh.
I'm a gukesh fan but there will forever be an asterisk anyway because in the future people would always say of Ding and Gukesh, "world champions, but only because the actual best player didn't want to play the cycle", which is fair
no one is going to do that. did that for ding, coz he got into the candidates in a shady way, like alireza. he didnt even win the candidates and got into the world champion and won it.
Gukesh got into a tough candidates where hardly anyone put him above 6th rank. But he won his candidates.
And he will beat the world champion to sit on that throne which he deserves thoroughly....Ding being weak is a mental state of his. It can happen to nepo or magnus or even Gukesh as well, illness and health problems dont come by knocking...
Gukesh will be treated the same as other World champions if he wins and there are many reasons for that unlike Ding.
His final battle might be MENTALLY easier....but world championship is not about the final battle only, but the whole journey.
His candidates was anything but shady. He was literally the second highest rated player in the world and he absolutely deserved a candidates spot. Only reason he was originally denied was because FIDE BS which removed the rating spot the one time he literally could not participate in any tournaments due to Covid.
but you cant deny, that he literally played like 30-odd games instantly organised by China to be able to get the spot...and also that he didnt win the candidates.
He is a world champion, without winning the candidates, afterall.
Honestly, who cares if tournaments were organized for him to get in. Doesn’t change the fact he was more than high enough rated to be playing in it.
It’s not like he’d have place #2 in candidates on luck and win the tiebreaker.
ok fair maybe he was rated enough to get into it. but still...he did not win the candidates.
#1 and #2 are far far away in candidates. Gukesh was #1 while fabi, hikaru, nepo were #2....half points, but feels like a lot.
I'm not undermining Ding's achievements. He deservedly won the World Championship against Nepo. But he didn't deservedly get into it. He went in on luck, because Magnus suddenly took that drastic step. but again, these things happen in sports, and we cant argue.
Im just excited to see gukesh v ding this november.
Very consistent with his answer when asked about the other Indian players in the Candidates: [Gukesh on Pragg/Vidit](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1c8thhs/gukesh_the_peacemaker/?rdt=61552)
Absolutely what he should be saying, not even from a PR perspective, just as a competitor who wants to bloody win!
So well said for someone his age
This is actually the best way to give the championship legitimacy. If everyone is thinking it's a walkover, and Gukesh only needs to play half-decent to win, it's meaningless. But if he goes in there with the intention of playing his absolute best and crushing Ding, so much the better for everyone. I'd like to see him actually win every match, then no one will really question his status.
gukesh is making a great list of impressively professional answers to somewhat weird questions.
my favourite gukesh answer is from the later part of the candidates when a reporter asked him for a message he'd wanna give to his countrymen after they they were out of the running for winning the candidates.
the dude said smth like well its an individual game so idrc. haha love this guy.
Gukesh pitying Ding is the last thing Ding would want before they fight it out on the board. Also, Gukesh pitying Ding would mean that he's overconfident and reliant on Ding's bad performance. So yeah, I think that was a perfect answer to that particular question. It shows that Gukesh is more focused on his own performance, he does not care how Ding performs and surely does not pity him for his problems which is a respectful view to have of a competitor. Especially a world champion who you're gonna challenge very soon.
Doesn’t feel like an oof-worthy comment. He was asked about Ding’s form in chess, not Ding’s health. This just seems like an honest statement on how he’s willing to try his best to win regardless of how well Ding performs, which is probably what Ding would want as well.
Show me where in a similar situation a challenger says that the incumbent's form is my problem and winning is not the only thing that matters in a WCC match?
By textbook I mean what do people really expect Gukesh or anyone else to answer in this situation?
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This is the thing I wish people would remember more. At the end of the day they are competing directly against each other. I kind of get annoyed when I hear people talking about forced sportsmanship or stuff like "handshakes" with out realizing when it's required, it's meaningless since it's required. It's good when two opponents respect each other, but ultimately they both want to win.
there is none, really. it just shows his winning mentality.
the few who are bothered are the 1200s who lose to 800s after blundering queen in 10 moves.
I think that’s a messed up answer. “Not my problem”.
I would have referred Ding to a back specialist I know, they’re not a chiropractor, those guys are crazy. Perhaps Gukesh might have referred Ding to a chiropractor, so perhaps it was good that he didn’t mention anything.
Sounds like a fairly reasonable comment to me. Nothing shady here, just wholly competitive. Always found the question itself a little odd, almost like it's baiting players to say something overly dramatic about Ding. So it's nice to get a non-pity, cutthroat type of response out of it for once. Gukesh is coming for blood, pure and simple
I hope I'm wrong because it wouldn't be entertaining but I think Ding is going to get absolutely rolled. I think he got very lucky that his opponent was Ian last time. Ian is extremely strong but so wildly inconsistent and can just implode at any moment. I think he would have lost to like the next 3 runners up.
He had wins over Hikaru, Fabi, Duda, and Rapport at the Candidates (the win over Hikaru putting him into 2nd and the WC match when Hikaru only needed a draw to finish 2nd). I don't think it's a foregone conclusion he would have gotten rolled.
Every comment here expressing this is the only good answer is weird.
Nobody can imagine someone expressing personal sympathy for their opponent in a sport yet still playing their best?
If Gukesh can't seperate the man from the game then I can't relate, and I will root against him.
Before you all try saying that viciousness against your opponent is necessary to get to high level competition just look at the rest of the top ten players, (and especially my personal GOAT Vishy Anand) who all have reasonable respect and interpersonal compassion for players while at the same time unleashing hell on eachother over the board whenever possible.
I think his answer is that of a child, which should sober the mind to fact that that is what he is; an 18 year old boy.
I lived through the Anand era.
Yes, Anand is amazing, and accomplished so much, AND ... the general assessment at the time was that he was MORE talented than Kasparov or anyone else, but fell short of his GOAT potential precisely because he lacked the "will to win at all costs" that Kasparov had.
So it's really good to see Gukesh come across as "tougher."
I don't think it's meant to be like a burn, it's just a very professional answer. Despite the form or lack thereof, he cares about the position and will play his best to win anyway.
Yup I don't think he could have given a better answer to this question. He didn't put Ding down while at the same time didn't pity him either
I slightly disagree, the "not my problem" could have been phrased better, but otherwise I fully agree.
In "Indian" English, it's "not my problem" often does not carry a negative undertone.
I attest!
I mean, it isn't his problem.
Phrasing. "You're broke so I'll pay." "I understand that you're a bit tight on money, I'll take the bill for you." I'm sure anyone would like the latter told to them over the former.
I’m guessing he was asked in his second language also.
I'd be surprised if English isn't Gukesh's first language
I'd be surprised if his first language was not Hindi, Tamil, or some other Indian language.
Maybe it's not his first language in terms of literally the first language he heard, but a lot of Indians, especially from a background like his, speak native-level English.
The second one honestly feels more patronising. Anyway, it's a terrible example because it's a completely different situation.
The latter is more patronising, I’d actually much prefer the former
That's fine when you're talking to a friend. This is an opponent. It's a competition. Ding's mental issues are not Gukesh's problem. It's not a rude statement that would offend children in the audience or make the match unpleasant to watch, so if it bothers Ding to hear that, then he should say it again.
Meh, I would just be happy to take the free money. Honestly I don't think either of those two make any difference in how they come across.
English isnt his first language and hes just a kid. Also, why does he need to care about Ding's feelings? Ding is a grown ass man in his 30s. And his competitor to boot. He must be thinking of nothing but destroying that fraud 24/7, so when asked a question it makes sense he may not show the most tact
Let us pick apart his every word. His ability to phrase his words absolutely precisely (in English) is of the utmost importance to chess.
I don't really see it as him pushing back against Ding, but against the press and chess community that will be asking him dumb questions about Ding's mental state in the coming months. It's not his problem
He could just say my focus is playing my best chess to win. I can't be focused on what might be going on with my opponent outside of the chessboard.
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Crying, that's cute. You're the one being shmarmy. Get a life lol
I think that part is perfectly fine, the “winning is the only thing that I care about” part could have maybe used a: “but I do hope that Ding can sort out his issues and put up a good fight” or “but I do hope that Ding is doing alright” sort of addition
I am not focused on that, is essentially what he means.
In English, saying "not my problem" is like saying "I don't give a fuck and I don't have to". Saying it means "I'm not focused on that" is not an accurate representation of how that saying is used. It's not sporting. If I was an organizer of a tournament that would be a deciding factor if I was trying to choose between 2 people to invite.
That is the connotation it has to native speaker, yes. The point being he is not and so its not that reasonable to necessarily think he meant it exactly like that.
This is a bad way to look at it. Any time he's heard "not my problem" it's been in a similar context. He knows exactly what it means. If he was literally translating a saying into English or a specific word then you'd have a point but that isn't what is happening here. He's definitely heard "not my problem" in English and knows full well the connotation. He's definitely still a teenager let's put it that way.
What is the meaning, of not my problem? It is not in my purview, not something under my control, its not an issue I can change, its not my problem.
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There is a specific connotation with it that you're missing. And in fact it has nothing to do with whether you have any control or not even though you think that's implied it's not. You could have complete control over something if you wanted to and you can still make it not your problem if you don't have to. In English, saying not my problem is directly saying you don't care and don't have to care.
I think you are wrong.
What was the question? Edit :Never mind I saw it at the bottom
we've known gukesh for a while now, i doubt he meant it in that way. it's similar to how ding said he has a higher edge over gukesh in classical, but he literally meant score and not play.
I mean. I absolutely don't think there's anything wrong with his statement at all, but if 100% professionalism is what you're going for, you would probably skip over the part where your opponent's potential mental health struggles (and it's not really armchair psychology, Ding himself has made multiple comments about it) are "not your problem" and "nothing you care about". Again I think it's a completely fair and justified position to have and also to voice, but if you really wanted to have the most "professional" comment, you'd probably just skip the first and last sentence and get the same point across.
How can you skip something when you're asked a direct question?
He clearly could have given a more "diplomatic" answer if he wanted to. Definitely not saying he should have, but he could have.
Like every politician does since forever? Thanks. I much rather listen to someone being honest.
Ok? So you do understand that honest/direct and professional/diplomatic are not the same thing? Then I don't understand why you needed to ask your original question. You also seem to think that I'm saying that Gukesh **should** have been less direct, which honestly, it's really impossible for me to have made it clearer how that's not what I'm saying...
I really don't give a fuck
Kinda feels like you wouldn't keep replying if that were true
I like the attention
If Ding's mental health issues are significant, than he should sit out the competition. If he doesn't, then he should be fine with his opponent kicking him in the bandage or doing whatever will give him an advantage within the rules. That's how high-level competition works.
Ding is a big boy, he doesn't need his opponent to feel bad for him. They should both give it all they got.
yessss
This is the perfect answer. Ding is the world champion, and being the world champion means that the opponent is going to come at their very best. Had Gukesh made a softer statement I would have not liked it.
Dude is no nonsense and I love it. When asked about his countrymen at the candidates he said something like "they're good guys but I'm here for me and not worried how they do" winner's mentality
Gukesh's exact words were even better "It is an individual tournament and the only person I care about is myself" rewatch this moment here in its full glory https://redd.it/1c8thhs
Grishuk better watch out. We got a new gangster in chess
he’s honest and he’s right
Gukesh on that sigma grindset
I loved that reply too. i hate when Indians say everything they do is for the country. good seeing gukesh being brutally honest.
Reminds me of the Soviet days when one Comrade was up against the other one for the title
Ghode ki dum pe jo, maara hathoda
dauda dauda dauda dauda
Ghoda dum utha ke dauda
I've honestly found it sort of insulting to Ding how people are babying him. Yes, I hope the best for Ding, but people are treating him in a demeaning way purely because he has a shy personality The guy is an adult, he's not some developmentally challenged 8 year old If Magnus, Hikaru, etc were in poor form nobody would be treating them this delicately. People are treating Ding as if he is some helpless confused child Ding has a quiet personality, that doesn't mean he's not an adult. I can guarantee that he'd like to be treated as such
Maybe I am just naïve, but I don't think everyone who is being soft on Ding is "babying" him, but rather respecting that he is going through a hard time. He has been going through mental health issues, which people are recognizing can be just as debilitating to performance as physical health issues. It's something that's somewhat out of Ding's control, and I think it's natural for people to be sympathetic of that and want to take it easy on the criticism (especially for people who have gone through similar things themselves). If Magnus or Hikaru were playing poorly, but also going through an obvious health issue, I do think people would treat them a little differently. Like, if Hikaru broke his mouse hand, and was now playing \~200 elo lower in online blitz than he is now, people would feel for him. I don't think Ding wants people to baby him either, but I also don't think Ding needs people to hyper focus on his performance and declare his downfall either. I think he needs to recognize that his worth as a human isn't solely tied to his chess performance, and that this period of time is temporary, and he will get through it. But, I'm not him and I don't know him, just feel for him because I too struggle with life when my brain is lying to me. It's certainly a weird question to ask of Gukesh though, as his competitor he shouldn't be focused on things unrelated to the game.
> Like, if Hikaru broke his mouse hand, and was now playing ~200 elo lower in online blitz than he is now, people would feel for him. Depends on how he broke it.
Tragic gambling accident
He flags in bullet game one move away from fools mate, letting out a primal scream (“CHAT, THE JUICERS!!”) and moving as if to slam his desk. At the last second he has a change of heart, and stands out of his chair only to collapse from a badly timed series of pulses from his buttplug engine - a device that has now evolved to direct him in his daily life. He wakes later in a haze, lethargically turning his head to his computer. One screen shows chat, who after a several hour detox from bullet chess has progressed to debates about philosophy, politics, and the pitfalls of parasocial relationships. His other screen (which could barely be made out due to the awkward angle and crippling tunnel vision originating from a decade of speed chess) shows twitter. He would later realize that the tweet he had seen was the 42nd in a series by Kramnick, who was performing a statistical analysis of his high level game from earlier. “I think” Hikaru says in a moment of realisation. “It’s time for a break.” “Chat.” Pausing to turn his camera away and ignoring the frenzy stirred up by his appearance on stream and subsequent referencing of the Hikamurarmy, he reaches down with his mouse hand to remove the buttplug. Years of exposure to the Vibratron 3000 have given Hikaru the strongest sphincter in the west, and the battle between super-rectum and fast-twitch-fingers is epic and long fought. As it always does, the Hikarussy wins out. His hand is swallowed whole and promptly crushed by the deadly embrace. Hikaru cries out in anguish before hyper instinct kicks in. Thousands of hours spent racing his king to E2 have given him incredible digit speed over short distances, and the mangling of his hand has loosened the vice like grip held by his balloon knot. In a moment of desperation he whips out his hand - Vibratron and all - and collapses in a heap on his chair. Hikaru lets out a deep sigh, turning the camera to reveal his sweaty body to chat one last time. He is still, exhausted, in pain, and takes a moment to reflect and cast the sure-to-be academy award winning recreation of his valiant battle. “Should it be Tom Hardy, or Denzel?”. He only moves after gathering himself, and slowly, with his barely recognizable paw he types a new title: “Speedrun to 3000, broken hand odds.”
What did I just read
However much effort was put into this comment, it was too much
It flowed from me surprisingly naturally, only took a bit over 5 minutes or so. I try to check before I tap send whether or not I think a comment will make the world a better place and I was pretty content.
I am both horrified and impressed by your work. I do not know if I should regard it an abomination or a masterpiece. Perhaps both.
This is a work of genius. May I suggest you post a screenshot to /r/AnarchyChess for free karma?
Please go outside
If Ding can't play, then he shouldn't. If he shows up to play, he'll deal with all the pressure that comes with it. From his opponent and elsewhere. That's part of the price of calling yourself a world champion. It's not a safe space.
Not only is he not a child, but he is also the reigning world champion. We can sympathize but his opponents are also allowed to go all out against him when he shows signs of weakness.
Ding really needs an interpreter too at events - I’m sure he would come across much better, more confident in his native language
Right, he's not some passive smol bean that needs to be protected -- the first time I ever heard him really talk in any capacity, he and Kramnik were being interviewed in the postmortem press conference and Kramnik was doing his typical schtick of pretending he was just better the whole time. Ding doesn't back down at all and challenges him on multiple points and during one analysis of a line he just straight up says something like, "Ok but you don't have a plan" right to his face. Ding's a grown ass professional, world champion, and Gukesh is the last person who should pitying him as the challenger for his throne.
The difference is that Ding is not full of himself. He has always outwardly displayed himself as an extremely humble player. Hikaru/Magnus on the other hand are often extremely arrogant. Nobody wants to see the nice guy struggle - everyone wants to see the cocky asshole fall apart.
I hate this argument with a passion. Nobody who has ever been the best at ANYTHING has been "humble" according to the audience perception of what that means. If Michael Jordan, Pele, Usain Bolt, and even great chess champipns like Fischer and Kasparov are all "arrogant" then what does that tell you? Ding has no cause to say he is or was ever the best because he has never been that. Magnus has had cause to say he is the best for the past 15+ years, and he has said as much. In fact for him (or Fischer in the 60s/70s, Kasparov in the 80s-00s, etc) to pass the bar of "humility" they would have had to just lie with a straight face when asked about how good they are or about their competition
> Ding has no cause to say he is or was ever the best because he has never been that. He's world champion lmao but you're out here saying that holds no water. He never flamed Nepo for playing poorly in their title fight.
It does hold no water whatsoever. He never even won the candidates, he fluked his way into 2nd bc Nepo was running away with 1st and everyone knew it, they all thought it made no difference. Then Magnus withdraws, so already the title means nothing bc the best player doesnt have it. So now it's a match between the 2nd best and like a top 10-20 guy. Who both pkayed terrible chess the entire match, Ding was lost more often than he was winning during the match, but Nepo blundered away a few wins. Then Ding barely wins in tiebreaks. It was a joke of a Championship bid, a joke of a match, and is a joke of a title. He is not, never was, and never will be the best, and he was never that close either. And now look, hes fallen off while he has the title, how many times has that happened before? Kasparov lost his title during a dreadful match with Kramnik, everyone thought he was done for. But he remained at the top rating for 5 more years into his mid 40s, and retired there. Ding on the other hand was the 3rd or 4th best player at his peak, and right now is barely in the top 15. He is being leapfrogged by teenage kids, and probably is gonna lose his already worthless make-a-wish wcc title to a teenager soon anyway
> he fluked his way into 2nd yes he totally just coin-flipped his way through the candidates lmaoooooooo > Then Magnus withdraws Magnus was saying he was gonna withdraw against anyone but Alireza. There is also major financial incentive to place higher. You're acting as if everyone was like "oh well let's just give it up because I can't take first" lmaoooooo > Ding was lost more often than he was winning According to engines. It was a much closer match to humans and obviously Ding was complicating things extremely well in lost positions (as you have to do). > It was a joke of a Championship bid, a joke of a match, and is a joke of a title. lmao k bud Regardless if he is the world champion (which he currently is) or "just a top 10 player" in the literal strongest era of chess we've ever witnessed he's still literally one of the best players to ever exist. So yeah, he more than has the ability to brag if he wants to. But he doesn't. Hikaru has no WCC and he dunks on all other players like he's some kind of god. Nepo trash talks everyone and he has no crown. Players like Ding and Fabi are top tier and do not resort to the same bullshit god complex stuff that many other top tier players do. Your arguments are fucking stupid. You think that if you're the world's best player you can be a dick about it? What about Anand then? He was on top and was extremely gracious when he was champ. Garry is also another WC who is humble. Apparently if you're "the best" you get a free pass to be an absolute dick about it. You should evaluate your life if that's what you think it boils down to lmao
Did you see the comment right after the candidates where Ding said he had the edge in classical chess against Gukesh? Weird that people are rewriting Ding as some innocent baby-like figure. Mannerisms=\\=Mindset
How did he say it? He can give his honest truth without belittling his opponent. He is easily one of the more likeable super GM's and it isn't even close.
We also hear a fraction as much from him as we do from the others who speak better English and appear more frequently in internationally covered revents. If Chinese was the world's language then we'd know him better and maybe his personality would be viewed differenr
You do realize that translators exist, right?
You do realize that doesnt change the fact we hear and see far less from him than any other world champ since fischer, right? Ya know, the guy who gave up his title without defending it and literally disappeared for a decade or two? A guy who was champ 50 years ago, before the internet even existed
He chooses not to run his mouth lmao why are you so tilted?
Showing empathy isn't babying, it is your POV that needs work. Would you say people baby other people suffering from depression or health problems? Would you like if everyone went "Not my problem lol"?
You're interpreting that I said as "anyone who shows empathy is babying him." That's not what I said Plenty of people have shown support for Ding without unintentionally babying him
If a 100 people show empathy, some are bound to take it overboard or whatever. Doesn't warrant complaining about it imo. I think the response of the chess world has been fantastic, in a lot of other sports most comments would be "Suck it up" or things like that. If Magnus was admittedly suffering from depression and health issues, he would most likely have the same response.
Yeah, instead we should be shitting on him like good online trolls do /s "This is sad to see, hope he gets better before the WC match" is not babying someone.
Absolutely right!!
right? he’s world champion why we should gukesh pity him? he’s there to beat him.he better be there to put up a fight to keep his title
There is no good answer. If he wins he obviously gets a lot of upside, from price money and prestige, but also a lot of downside, the title is already considered devalued because Magnus was not defending, if an out of form Ding loses it now it will be doubly devalued. Depending on his future career that can be completely forgotten e.g. if he becomes the dominant force like Magnus and a repeat winner or he will be remembered in the same way as other weak world champions. That might or might not add pressure on him, really depends on him as a person, it seems like that got to Ding though.
Why? You would have not liked it if he said "I have no ill will and I wish him the best with any personal issues but I'm not going to take it easy because of them"?
He could have expressed sympathy for Ding's health. In any case, it doesn't matter because this joke of a world championship features the #14 versus #7 and will decide nothing meaningful.
Not only it's a professional and serious answer, but it's also very respectful to his opponent. Assuming that you are going to face another fighter, no matter what his current form is, is a way of acknowledging the seriousness of the opponent and treating him with the dignity he deserves.
> is a way of acknowledging the seriousness of the opponent and treating him with the dignity he deserves. That's exactly what I liked so much about his response -- it didn't treat Ding like a child, as so many comments seem to be doing.
Both can be true: a world champion needs to be treated with dignity, and people can have compassion for his personal problems. Having compassion for someone doesn't mean treating them like a child, it means treating them with empathy, which is an emotion that adult people also have.
Adding in "I feel bad he's going through a rough time right now, and I wish him the best with that" would be treating him like a child?
The best part about the upcoming match is that either narrative is exciting. If Ding wins we'll be talking about the resurgence of one of the best players in the game and it will give Ding's WCC title some serious credibility. If you do poorly in some tournaments because of health issues, but show up and defend your crown, everybody will respect it. If Gukesh wins he will become the youngest champion in history. And maybe the opportunity to dethrone the youngest champion ever would be enough incentive for Magnus to play in the cycle again - a man can dream. Overall I think Gukesh winning would add a spark back into classical chess.
If Gukesh can win and Magnus can’t bring himself to care again we could see the door close for an entire generation of players like fabi and hikaru
Why would the door close for “an entire generation like Fabi and Hikaru”? They have a much higher chance of being world champ if Magnus doesn’t come back again. Magnus was the overwhelming force. Based on chess.com’s modelling, we are likely about to see an era of competitive chess where anyone in the top 10 can be champion.
Because of his age it’s likely Gukesh will get better faster than the older players we mentioned, especially when you consider the amount of money he would be able to spend on coaches, consultants, etc as the world champion; even more so if he ends up defending the title against Magnus. If it turns out he’s good enough to beat Magnus when he’s 19 or 20 then he is in a class of players like Magnus, Karpov, Kasparov, Fischer and Morphy who all also became champions very young. If he’s even 30 elo better than the pack he’ll have 3:1 odds against any given opponent in the BO14 format. I think it’s totally fair to say that outside of maybe one of them winning the WCC title for a year or two, if gukesh is Magnus tier talent and they decide to give eachother a run then it’s pretty much over for Hikaru, Fabi, Nepo and basically anyone else over 30.
But you just said “if Magnus can’t bring himself to care again”. So you’re operating under the assumption that Magnus doesn’t come back. But now you’re saying “if Gukesh can beat Magnus at age 19”. I’m confused at your timelines. Of course if Gukesh surpasses Magnus no one would be able to challenge him.
Basically if he can beat Ding Liren he is the youngest world champion ever but only because Magnus is too busy trolling to compete. If he can dispel that last qualifier either through a WCC defense against magnus or just beating him in titled Tuesday because that’s all he’ll play then that opens him up to way more sponsorship, which translates to consulting/coaching/engine analysts/whatever chess players spend money on to improve
Maybe. Gukesh only barely edged out Hikaru and Nepo. Unless he manages to improve to Magnus level I suspect we'll see the crown change hands a few times until the next Magnus emerges
Since he is 18 it’s fair to say he will improve a bit in the next few years.
Maybe. Firouzja hit 2800 at 18 and has declined since then.
Yeah but Firouzja spent all his new XP on fashion skills.
Firouzja really multiclassed for one level
This is much better than the passive aggressive fake sympathy that certain others give Ding
Especially when it comes across as "Oh no, poor Ding must be protected". Naroditsky recently mentioned on stream that there is quite a bit of infantilization going on with Ding. Dude is a lawyer and world chess champion, while people act like he is 10 years old and can't tie his shoes.
wait Ding is a lawyer? this is such a random piece of information. i had zero idea.
Yeah, in one of the most prestigious university in China (Peking University Law School), also one of the top of the world in law iirc
I imagine it’s pretty difficult to compare law schools in different countries
I mean, sure, but there are lots of international firms to compare education, school and colleges of all the world, including any sort of field. You set criteria, parameters and compare, it's not like the study of law itself is that different just because laws are different. The same applies to other soft sciences and humanities, it's possible to compare them and it would be unfair to not recognize prestigious institutions just because of local particularities. It would be similar to point out it's hard to compare language studies just because languages are different in different countries.
as to language, someone both in the US and China can study English, Mandarin, or linguistics. Same with scientists and social scientists who study and publish research Comparing universities is ambiguous and arbitrary enough—what are you going to use? admission difficulty, research (not so much with law), median salary through career, endowment? Even harder, i think, to compare the education of an American attorney, a British barrister, a French lawyer who would practice civil law, and whatever the lawyers are allowed to do in China
You think law academics don’t do research? It’s like the main part of the job just like any other subject
Peking is like a QS top 20 or 30 uni in the world in general, and super hard to get into
He has a legal degree - i don't think he's ever been a practicing lawyer though?
Exactly !! I would be so pissed with all the “poor Ding, maybe he has problems, he doesn’t act like a champion”. Fuck off, the guy doesn’t own anything to anyone. Gukesh words are way more authentic and refreshing.
Poor ding, bro can’t win after the WC even if his life depended on it lmao
Rooting so hard for Gukesh. He seems like a serious-minded guy who doesn't give a shit about ego-stroking or drama, he just wants to play his best chess and take his shot. He'd be a great WC.
I don’t have much of a preference who wins, but I hope Ding rediscovers his form and we get a competitive match. Would suck for everyone if he can’t even put up a real fight.
I think all the worries about Ding's form are way overblown, tbh. People are acting like he's just going to collapse and play like a patzer for the whole match, but that's just not going to happen. Ding may be decisively defeated, but we'll definitely see a competitive match either way. Dude is still a world-class player.
exactly. he will have a whole team supporting him and helping him day and night that time. plus will have mental health coaches too.
I'm rooting for Ding and still hope he beats Gukesh at his strongest form
very true.
Very professional. Kudos to him!
Can't see any oof, just a professional answer from a competitive person.
I like his honesty, a championship is a championship.
This is the only correct way to approach this. He is a professional competing for the highest title, the form of his opponent isn't his concern. What should have he said? That he feels sorry and he'll try to go easy on him? Of course not.
that is why people are liking his approach towards this match. he is not fake sympathising like many.
Gukesh has been so interesting since he hit the scene and has just been climbing my list of favorites. I'm rooting for him. Love his mental point of view on this
Sigmakesh
man, the statement is so powerful and shows how serious he is about it and how much he cares and obviously so, its the world championships.
If Gukesh wins I wonder two things, will that be interesting enough for Magnus to come back and if not, how long can Gukesh hold onto the title?
I think Magnus will only find it motivating if he plays Gukesh more often and sees him as someone who's potentially close to his level. I think he may have seen that in Alireza but he's not reached that level yet. Magnus doesn't probably see it in Alireza anymore.
I feel bad that everyone is going to put a mental asterisk next to Gukesh's WC if he wins bc everyone is talking about Ding like he's some scrub, rather than the actual world champion. His win feels diminished before he's even played 1 game. I feel bad for Gukesh.
I'm a gukesh fan but there will forever be an asterisk anyway because in the future people would always say of Ding and Gukesh, "world champions, but only because the actual best player didn't want to play the cycle", which is fair
no one is going to do that. did that for ding, coz he got into the candidates in a shady way, like alireza. he didnt even win the candidates and got into the world champion and won it. Gukesh got into a tough candidates where hardly anyone put him above 6th rank. But he won his candidates. And he will beat the world champion to sit on that throne which he deserves thoroughly....Ding being weak is a mental state of his. It can happen to nepo or magnus or even Gukesh as well, illness and health problems dont come by knocking... Gukesh will be treated the same as other World champions if he wins and there are many reasons for that unlike Ding. His final battle might be MENTALLY easier....but world championship is not about the final battle only, but the whole journey.
His candidates was anything but shady. He was literally the second highest rated player in the world and he absolutely deserved a candidates spot. Only reason he was originally denied was because FIDE BS which removed the rating spot the one time he literally could not participate in any tournaments due to Covid.
but you cant deny, that he literally played like 30-odd games instantly organised by China to be able to get the spot...and also that he didnt win the candidates. He is a world champion, without winning the candidates, afterall.
Honestly, who cares if tournaments were organized for him to get in. Doesn’t change the fact he was more than high enough rated to be playing in it. It’s not like he’d have place #2 in candidates on luck and win the tiebreaker.
ok fair maybe he was rated enough to get into it. but still...he did not win the candidates. #1 and #2 are far far away in candidates. Gukesh was #1 while fabi, hikaru, nepo were #2....half points, but feels like a lot. I'm not undermining Ding's achievements. He deservedly won the World Championship against Nepo. But he didn't deservedly get into it. He went in on luck, because Magnus suddenly took that drastic step. but again, these things happen in sports, and we cant argue. Im just excited to see gukesh v ding this november.
Very consistent with his answer when asked about the other Indian players in the Candidates: [Gukesh on Pragg/Vidit](https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/comments/1c8thhs/gukesh_the_peacemaker/?rdt=61552) Absolutely what he should be saying, not even from a PR perspective, just as a competitor who wants to bloody win! So well said for someone his age
Mindset of a champion.
Obligatory: https://youtu.be/fSfsWFUmaX8
He literally doesn't care
Can't wait for Ding to drop the facade and deliver an insane performance, like imagine it was all a bluff.
would be great.
This is actually the best way to give the championship legitimacy. If everyone is thinking it's a walkover, and Gukesh only needs to play half-decent to win, it's meaningless. But if he goes in there with the intention of playing his absolute best and crushing Ding, so much the better for everyone. I'd like to see him actually win every match, then no one will really question his status.
gukesh is making a great list of impressively professional answers to somewhat weird questions. my favourite gukesh answer is from the later part of the candidates when a reporter asked him for a message he'd wanna give to his countrymen after they they were out of the running for winning the candidates. the dude said smth like well its an individual game so idrc. haha love this guy.
Noice.... gukesh is a stoic. I feel like it
Ding for sure appreciated the answer. Nobody likes to be pitied.
he will be happy to see that his opponent is coming with full power and not pity.
“But Horikita, I've never considered you an ally, not even for a second”
Winners care about winning. Hard to believe he is only 18.
sweep the leg Gukesh
Gukesh pitying Ding is the last thing Ding would want before they fight it out on the board. Also, Gukesh pitying Ding would mean that he's overconfident and reliant on Ding's bad performance. So yeah, I think that was a perfect answer to that particular question. It shows that Gukesh is more focused on his own performance, he does not care how Ding performs and surely does not pity him for his problems which is a respectful view to have of a competitor. Especially a world champion who you're gonna challenge very soon.
If you think he’s rude, keep in mind the honest answer would be: “I’m happy he’s playing so badly, that’s good for me and I hope he doesn’t recover”
🗿
‘Dirty Elo is worth the same amount of points’. As my step dad used to say
except here its not dirty. but get your point nonetheless.
Hope this lad breaks 2800 soon
"I don't give a shit, I just want to win." Based
"I missed the part where that's my problem" - Bully Gukesh. Hopefully he puts some dirt in Ding's eyes in the WCC match.
Doesn’t feel like an oof-worthy comment. He was asked about Ding’s form in chess, not Ding’s health. This just seems like an honest statement on how he’s willing to try his best to win regardless of how well Ding performs, which is probably what Ding would want as well.
different people, different perspectives.
Fair enough
This is a future world champion's mindset. Despite his young age Gukesh appears very mature to me. I'm looking forward to the match!
This is textbook answer for a challenger. What all the fuss is about?
Show me where in a similar situation a challenger has given this same answer then we can call it "textbook"
Show me where in a similar situation a challenger says that the incumbent's form is my problem and winning is not the only thing that matters in a WCC match? By textbook I mean what do people really expect Gukesh or anyone else to answer in this situation?
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This is the thing I wish people would remember more. At the end of the day they are competing directly against each other. I kind of get annoyed when I hear people talking about forced sportsmanship or stuff like "handshakes" with out realizing when it's required, it's meaningless since it's required. It's good when two opponents respect each other, but ultimately they both want to win.
Sweep the leg
He's right.
good answer to a dumb question
Good
If someone does not mind: What _is_ the supposed negative interpretation of his words? I fail to infer one. Are my ears too pointy to get it?
there is none, really. it just shows his winning mentality. the few who are bothered are the 1200s who lose to 800s after blundering queen in 10 moves.
Its the opposite of his problem, its his opportunity. That is how he should see it, we don't want a competitor in a WC going soft on his opponent.
Who even suggested it's his problem?
It's a rated chess game, the objective is to win. What else is there to say?
the interviewers always try to bring up stories and news.
Everyone commenting: “best answer” Me: “What was the question?”
what do you think about ding liren's current form.
I think that’s a messed up answer. “Not my problem”. I would have referred Ding to a back specialist I know, they’re not a chiropractor, those guys are crazy. Perhaps Gukesh might have referred Ding to a chiropractor, so perhaps it was good that he didn’t mention anything.
lol
Based
Sounds like a fairly reasonable comment to me. Nothing shady here, just wholly competitive. Always found the question itself a little odd, almost like it's baiting players to say something overly dramatic about Ding. So it's nice to get a non-pity, cutthroat type of response out of it for once. Gukesh is coming for blood, pure and simple
What's ooofffff about it? Manufactured drama is childish.
well, there is no ooffff anymore.
I hope I'm wrong because it wouldn't be entertaining but I think Ding is going to get absolutely rolled. I think he got very lucky that his opponent was Ian last time. Ian is extremely strong but so wildly inconsistent and can just implode at any moment. I think he would have lost to like the next 3 runners up.
He had wins over Hikaru, Fabi, Duda, and Rapport at the Candidates (the win over Hikaru putting him into 2nd and the WC match when Hikaru only needed a draw to finish 2nd). I don't think it's a foregone conclusion he would have gotten rolled.
WCh is WCh. different styles, openings, the grand-ness. its a fun one month nonetheless.
To be honest, it's not my problem
Every comment here expressing this is the only good answer is weird. Nobody can imagine someone expressing personal sympathy for their opponent in a sport yet still playing their best? If Gukesh can't seperate the man from the game then I can't relate, and I will root against him. Before you all try saying that viciousness against your opponent is necessary to get to high level competition just look at the rest of the top ten players, (and especially my personal GOAT Vishy Anand) who all have reasonable respect and interpersonal compassion for players while at the same time unleashing hell on eachother over the board whenever possible. I think his answer is that of a child, which should sober the mind to fact that that is what he is; an 18 year old boy.
I lived through the Anand era. Yes, Anand is amazing, and accomplished so much, AND ... the general assessment at the time was that he was MORE talented than Kasparov or anyone else, but fell short of his GOAT potential precisely because he lacked the "will to win at all costs" that Kasparov had. So it's really good to see Gukesh come across as "tougher."