My guest in this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast is Russian grandmaster Daniil Dubov. I interviewed Daniil yesterday, one hour after the 9th game of the World Championship match in Singapore had ended in a draw. With 5 classical games to go (and today being a rest day) the score between World Champion Ding Liren and Challenger Gukesh is 4½-4½. In that tense situation, I wanted to speak to an expert known for his great knowledge and original insights, to better understand what we have seen so far and what we can still expect. I am delighted that Daniil Dubov, currently rated exactly 2700, accepted the invitation. 

Daniil is an international grandmaster from Russia, who earned the grandmaster title in 2011, a few weeks before he turned 15. His biggest success to date was his win in the Rapid World Championship of 2018, where he finished ahead of speed aces Magnus Carlsen, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Hikaru Nakamura. In the most recent Rapid and Blitz World Championship, one year ago in Samarkand, Daniil finished 7th in the Rapid and 2nd behind Carlsen in the Blitz.

Daniil is rightly popular among chess fans because of his creative and highly imaginative chess and his outspoken opinions. But he is not only a perfect guest because of his perceptive views and thoughts on chess in general, but also because of the fact that on two occasions he was one of Magnus Carlsen’s seconds in a world championship match. The first time was in 2018, when Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana in London; the second time in 2021, when Carlsen defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai.

We talked for more than an hour and could have continued for hours as Daniil has no shortage of insights and opinions. To begin with he is not surprised at all that Ding Liren is playing much better than the pundits feared and he explains why. As he gives his view on the match, he shares memories of his work for Magnus Carlsen in the two world championship matches mentioned. It’s fascinating to hear him elaborate on how the work in 2018 was completely different (and much more fun) than the match in 2021, when the engines had become so much stronger and the role of the seconds had changed drastically.

In our long and lively talk, a lot is being touched on. Daniil Dubov treats the listeners to funny behind-the-scenes stories, but also gives a sharp analysis of the economics of the world championship cycle. He convincingly argues why the world championship has a detrimental effect of the overall chess economy, seriously affecting the income of many players in a negative manner.

In short, an episode you should not miss! I’m sure you will enjoy it.

 

Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro

1:30 – Welcome Daniil!

1:59 – Is Daniil surprised by the turn of events in the World Championship match between Ding and Gukesh?

5:36 – Daniil’s recollection of Ding’s world title victory against Nepomniachtchi last year

8:00 – Ding’s mental health issues

11:40 – The difference between a match and a tournament

14:27 – What is Daniil’s take on Magnus’s statement that the world title should not be decided in a classical match format?

17:20 – Will a 2800-player be able to maintain his rating in open tournaments?

19:50 – Ding’s current level and overall playing style compared to Gukesh and Magnus

25:02 – AD BREAK

26:00 – The Chinese and Indian ways of playing chess

29:50 – The Indian way of “learning through playing” as opposed to learning from chess books

31:13 – Why do Ding and Gukesh have guys like Rapport and Gajewski on their respective teams?

33:04 – Daniil’s experience coming up as a player in an era where engines where not as strong as they are now

37:24 – Daniil’s experience working with Magnus

40:55 – Does Magnus display the same “clarity” in his play that Fischer demonstrated?

42:52 – Why a modern coach should do more than just present lines

47:00 – How did Daniil befriend Magnus, and Magnus’s sense of humour

50:50 – AD BREAK

51:29 – Friendships among chess teams

55:59 – The Balenciaga sweater

57:36 – What is Daniil’s prediction for the rest of the World Championship?

1:02:22 – Why Daniil finds it “weird” to see top players like Magnus and Hikaru doing daily recaps of the World Championship match

1:06:34 – Liverpool vs Manchester City and Daniil’s love of other sports

1:08:28 – Weird press conference questions

1:13:53 – Should the World Championship match continue to exist in its current format?