Rising star Keymer expects plenty of hard-fought games at Chennai Grandmasters

Vincent Keymer is a rising star in the world of chess. The 20-year-old German has some impressive triumphs in his CV but his claim to fame would be working as a second in D. Gukesh’s team during his victorious World championship campaign over Ding Liren late last year.

The World No. 21 is in the city for the Quantbox Chennai Grandmasters tournament, beginning on Wednesday.

“It is a very interesting field. There are many young and ambitious players, so I am expecting a lot of hard-fought games. I just want to play good chess,” he told The Hindu.

About working with Gukesh, Keymer said “It was certainly special for me. It was the first time that I did this kind of work and it was interesting.”

Special ability

“I learnt quite a few things during that time. It is very tough to say what exactly translates into my play or level, but there are things that I learnt that are helpful for my own performances,” he said.

Asked what was special about Gukesh, he said the Indian is quite flexible in his repertoire. “Of course, his fighting spirit is very good… he can find a way and understand positions that are very tough to understand. He also calculates extremely well.”

Emphasising that qualifying for the Candidates, the tournament to identify the challenger to Gukesh, would be tough, Keymer said, “Qualifying for the Candidates is more or less the main focus for the next few months.

“ Obviously, it is going to be very tough, but I am going to give it my all.”