Love for chess keeps Ivanchuk going

Vasyl Ivanchuk is widely regarded as one of the greatest players never to have won the World chess championship. A former World No. 2, he has nevertheless lifted the World blitz and World rapid championships.

He was 47 when he won that World rapid title in 2016 at Doha, ahead of the planet’s strongest player Magnus Carlsen. He continues to play chess competitively.

“Because I cannot do anything else,” Ivanchuk said at Rio Resort, where his campaign at the World Cup ended early. “I play chess because I have no choice, I don’t see any serious alternative, and I am not so strong in organising, like Vishy Anand (who is here as FIDE’s deputy president). And of course I like to play chess.”

The Ukrainian Grandmaster admitted life wasn’t easy in his country following the Russian invasion. He said he used to analyse online from the bunker. “I would be happy to continue this, but in that period, some people helped me in the technical part, but there is nobody now,” he said. “I cannot do it myself.”

The 56-year-old said he was happy with the conditions at the World Cup, begging to differ from someone like Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Russian player who had expressed his disappointment after his exit. “I just want to thank the organisers, the players, the correct atmosphere, to the arbiters of course,” he said. “I have no complaints. I can only say thank you to everybody, especially those who have supported me.”