NEW DELHI: Teen Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa believes the gradual shift of elite players like Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura away from classical chess is largely due to the mental and physical fatigue associated with the longer format. Both Carlsen, a five-time world champion, and world No.2 Nakamura have increasingly opted for freestyle, rapid, and blitz formats over traditional classical events.Praggnanandhaa, who has already claimed three major classical titles in 2024—the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Classic, and Uz Chess Cup—feels that the intense preparation required for classical games is a key factor behind the growing preference for faster formats.“It’s difficult to play classical chess because everyone is well prepared… the opening preparation part is huge in classical chess. If you compare it to freestyle, you don’t have to prepare before a game, while in classical chess, you’re basically forced to.“I don’t think anyone actually enjoys that process, but you’re forced to and you have to have a plan for everything. That requires a lot of effort,” he explained.The 19-year-old from Chennai also pointed out the toll that repeated classical tournaments can take on a player’s mind and body.
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“And when you play a lot of such tournaments, then your energy is also (drained)… I mean you can also be mentally and physically exhausted. So all these things happen. I think that’s the reason why everyone prefers other formats,” he said.
Praggnanandhaa admitted he personally enjoys freestyle and rapid formats more, though he still views classical as the foundation of serious chess.“I mean, I myself like freestyle much more because of the fact that you don’t have to prepare before a game. That doesn’t mean we don’t want to work on (our) chess. We enjoy working on chess.“But the fact that you have to (put endless hours in preparations)… you’re forced to do before the game like three-four hours of preparation, then it’s not really something that everyone enjoys. So yeah, I like freestyle. I like rapid and it’s a bit more than classical for sure. But I think classical is still the main thing.”He also credited the Adani group for supporting his growth as a professional player over the past 18 months.“Adani Sportsline have been supporting me for the last one-and-a-half years already. And it’s quite important because we do travel a lot and training is also expensive than what people think,” said Praggnanandhaa.“For example, last year, I played in the Candidates, which required a team to help and then also like in-person camps. So all these things require support and that’s where I think the Adani group has been supporting me in a huge way.“And they were also there when I didn’t have (a good) last year; they were there supporting me throughout. So, yeah, a huge thanks to them.”
