My guest in this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast is Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. The reason I invited Loek van Wely is the successful role he played as the captain of the winning team, the Triveni Continental Kings, at the recent Tech Mahindra Global Chess league in London.

In a lively conversation, Loek talks about the innovative format of the Global Chess League and the impact it may have on the chess world. In passing he reveals his ambitions as a coach and gives his take on Vladimir Kramnik’s anti-cheating crusade that continues to fuel heated and widespread discussions online.

The victory of the Triveni Continental Kings in London was extra special as they had also won the inaugural Global Chess League last year in Dubai. And that they won again with an almost completely different team. The only two members who participated in both editions were star player Wei Yi and coach Loek van Wely.

Loek van Wely can look back on a rich career as a player. He won the Dutch championship 8 times and had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top-10 with a rating of 2714.
Besides his achievements on the chess board, Loek is a renowned coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. In more recent years he’s been coaching the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.

And the Triveni Continental Kings. When Loek made his debut as their captain last year, they were the surprise winners of the first Global Chess League in Dubai. This time, with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura and many more ultra-strong players representing rival teams, the Triveni Continental Kings weren’t among the top favourites in London either, but once again they prevailed in ‘the world’s first and largest official franchise chess league’.

In our talk, Loek explains the nature of the Global Chess League and how the teams are selected (by bidding) and how they are composed (one ‘Icon Player’, two  male Superstars, two female Superstars and one Prodigy).
And why they have names like the Alpine SG Pipers, the Ganges Grandmasters, the Mumba Masters, the PBG Alaskan Knights, the American Gambits and the Triveni Continental Kings.

If you are new to the Global Chess League, Loek will fill you in as he speaks about the strategies, the players that made the difference and the pros and cons of the remarkable time control (20 minutes per player per game, no increment) that almost inevitably led to wild time scrambles.

A talk with Loek van Wely about the Global Chess League, his coaching ambitions and Vladimir Kramnik’s highly controversial anti-cheating crusade. Don’t miss it.


The New In Chess podcast is published every Friday and can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the New In Chess website. 

Timestamps

0:00 – Intro
2:59 – Loek explains how the Global Chess League works
6:00 – Is there a limit to every team’s financial means?
7:18 – Magnus and Ding’s participation
8:58 – Wei Yi’s participation in Loek’s team and the “point system”
13:43 – How does Loek deal with situations where teammates have strained relationships, such as between Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina?
17:29 – AD BREAK
18:27 – The format and length of the event
20:27 – The controversial 20+0 time control and Alireza Firouzja’s performance
24:10 – Does the Global Chess League change the chess world?
26:38 – Are the organisers happy with the way the Global Chess League has taken off?
28:27 – What considerations go into Loek’s selection of his players?
30:04 – The bidding process on players like Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura
33:25 – AD BREAK
34:04 – Magnus’s participation?
36:35 – Does the Global Chess League, operated by India, foreshadow Indian dominance on the chess organisation circuit?
40:46 – What does Loek bring to the table as a coach?
43:26 – Does Loek’s own playing strength and activity as a player help him as a coach?
45:35 – What were the crucial moments that contributed to Loek’s team’s victory this year?
47:24 – What did Loek do to make Wei Yi feel comfortable as part of the team?
49:36 – AD BREAK
50:25 – How does Loek see his future in coaching and beyond?
53:56 – Is it always a coach’s dream to work with young talent?
56:30 – Vladimir Kramnik’s controversial cheating allegations
1:05:40 – Outro