Chess and the Geopolitics: Interesting parallels between the 1972 World Chess Championship and the 2024 one that starts this month in Singapore
The idyllic backwaters of Sentosa in Singapore could not be more different than the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Esja looming over the beautiful city of Reykjavik. Both will soon be bound by a common shared history set over half a century apart. The upcoming clash for the 2024 World Chess Championship title being held in Singapore, between D. Gukesh of India and Ding Liren of China, evokes many similarities with the 1972 world title clash between Bobby Fischer of USA and Boris Spassky of then USSR, played in Reykjavik.
Beyond the chess board, the similarities in geopolitical backdrop are hard to miss. The 1972 championship was held at the height of The Cold War between USA and USSR. Henry Kissinger, then a close advisor on foreign policy to President Nixon, had famously called Bobby Fischer to convince him to continue playing against Boris Spassky. Kissinger understood what a victory against the country then considered to be the factory of chess world champions will do to the psyche of the American public. Fischer beat Spassky to become the world champion and was celebrated and feted in the US upon his return.
India and China are geopolitical rivals competing for the leadership of the global south in an increasingly multipolar world. It is the first time in history that India and China will be in a direct face-off for the world championship in a major sport. Over a billion hearts will bleed blue to the south of Himalayas as over a billion hearts will bleed red to the north of the range. The interest of the masses and policy makers is bound to be unprecedented. The battle for supremacy on the chess board will metonymize the rivalry among the two great nations in the real world.
On the chess board, there are hard to miss similarities between the 1972 and 2024 clashes. Fischer was in absolute dominant form going into Reykjavik. In the qualifying Candidates Tournament, he decimated Tigran Petrosian, Bent Larsen and Mark Taimanov. He also had a much higher ELO rating vs Spassky at the beginning of the title clash; Fisher at 2785 vs Spassky at 2660.
Ding vs Gukesh: The Battle for the Crown
Gukesh, often dubbed the 'most serious teenager in the world when on the board' is in devastating form. From barely qualifying for the Candidates, he won the Candidates by outsmarting more experienced players like Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi. His current ELO rating is 2783 vs Ding’s at 2728. Comparatively, Ding has struggled since winning the championship last time. He has been in erratic form and inconsistent on the board.
The youngest ever to play for the title of World Champion, Gukesh is the clear favorite going into the tournament. Odds are on his side. Will he make history by becoming the youngest ever to be the Chess World Champion? We will find out soon.
Even more exciting would be the prospect of Gukesh winning and prompting Magnus Carlsen, the highest rated player in chess history ever and arguably the best in the modern era, to come out of self-imposed hibernation to reassert his supremacy.
Chess is probably the only sport in the world where the reigning world champion gets to defend his/her title against the challenger. Carlsen, the five-time world champion, refused to defend his title in 2023 citing lack of motivation driven by absence of a challenger that excites him.
Carlsen had hinted that he would have played to defend his title if Alireza Firouza of France were his challenger. Gukesh lost to Firouza in the Candidates but still emerged the challenger to incumbent Ding Liren. Would Gukesh emerge as the best today or will that tag stay with Carlsen? A Gukesh vs Carlsen world championship clash may solve it. We surely would be looking forward to the day the two face off on a chessboard.
The author, aged 15, is a Chess IM (International Master), the youngest ever to win the Paris Masters in 2024 and a student of Class 10 at Phillips Academy, Andover, USA.