– I think this is simply wrong. Magnus Carlsen’s coach, Peter Heine Nielsen, is ready in his speech at X. In a message in which he refers to a video from the International Chess Federation (Fide), he comes out strongly against the players in the ongoing WC match between Ding Liren and Dommaraju Gukesh is also filmed in the players’ rest room. – Give the players a break. Enjoy their chess moves, but don’t turn the WC match into a reality show, writes Nielsen. Speaking to news, he elaborates: – We (chess) are not supposed to be a reality show. We must preserve integrity. Seeing pictures of Ding eating peanuts or a player sleeping doesn’t win us anything. It degrades our product. CRITICAL: Peter Heine Nielsen (right) has been a coach for Magnus Carlsen (left) for a number of years. Here are the two together in 2022. Photo: Jørund Wessel Carlsen / news – Our product is that this is the ultimate showdown in chess, between two who have deserved to fight for the WC title. The focus should be on that, and therefore you should show the players when they are sitting at the board, not when they are out, he says further. From 26 to 31 December, you can follow Magnus Carlsen and the rest of the world’s elite in the Blitz and Rapid Chess Championship on news. – Isn’t it the case that they are filming when news’s chess commentator, Torstein Bae, disagrees with the Dane. – Basically, I think it’s great that we can see the players in action during the games – also when they are in the back room. It interests us to see if they sit with their eyes closed in a chair or if they eat nuts or goodies, says Bae. Where Nielsen argues that you have to believe in the core product, i.e. chess, Bae also looks at it from an entertainment perspective. – We want to see the players and get close to them, not just the moves and the graphics of the moves as you got in the past when you had a very hard focus on chess. I probably feel that Peter and several others are still a bit in that mode, and they have every right to be, says Bae. The chess commentator continues: – I think the general public thinks it’s fun to see the players in other ways, and I don’t think the players necessarily react to it either. I think it’s completely natural to show someone eating a banana while running a marathon and someone eating peanuts during the World Chess Championship. – As long as they are aware of this and they are in the middle of the game, this is perfectly fine. It’s not like they film in the bathroom. Then I would have more understanding of Peter Heine Nielsen’s arguments, Bae says with a chuckle. NOT WORRIED: Torstein Bae. Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB Relaxing in an armchair became a “meme” Also in connection with the World Cup match last year, where Ding Liren beat Jan Nepomnjashchij, Nielsen reacted to the images from the back room. Nielsen believes the players must be given the opportunity to relax, without having to worry about whether what they do ends up as content on social media. Earlier in the WC, among other things, a video sequence of Ding Liren relaxing in one of the chairs in the back room was turned into a “meme”, which Magnus Carlsen, among others, has commented on. RELAXING: The Chinese way of relaxing became the talk of the internet. Photo: Screenshot: Fide – The World Chess Championship is a stressful event and I think it is only fair that the players have the opportunity to relax. That they should go and think that there is a camera filming them while they eat, that is an unreasonable stress and something that you don’t put on normal people in some situations, says Nielsen. – You cannot imagine a political debate where their lunch break is filmed. These players have to eat at some point and they must be allowed to do so in peace, he says further. – What are they going to do? news has contacted Fide for a response to Nielsen’s criticism, but has not yet received a response. Regarding the use of video from the break room during last year’s World Cup match, Fide replied that the players are top performers and that they are paid accordingly. – The most important thing is what happens on the board, but the players’ reactions and body language are part of what makes chess a sport, and the public must see that, the association replied last year. – They get a lot of money for it. But what should they do? Should Ding refuse to defend the title? asks Nielsen. Tuesday was a rest day for the players. The two have played twelve games, where the score is now 6-6, in the best-of-14-game match. If the players are also tied after the next two games, the whole thing must be decided by a replay. Join us in prepping the steep World Cup hill 01:35 Practiced victory grips in the dark: – I had my headlamp with me 00:54 Refused to shake the opponent’s hand after this: – Childish and hopeless 00:50 Ola Lunde has never seen this before : – Very special 00:51 Show more Published 11.12.2024, at 06.26
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