Classical game still the king of chess, says Fide CEO

Freestyle chess may be the new kid on the block alongside other popular variants of the game such as rapid or blitz, but International Chess Federation (Fide) chief executive Emil Sutovsky believes the classical format is here to stay.

- Melvyn Teoh

Speaking to The Sunday Times on the sidelines of the recently concluded Fide World Championship in Singapore, he said: "Classical chess does have an appeal, a part of being a game and a sport, but it can help in a lot of things – children to focus better, to constantly improve, to evaluate their progress, to learn an ability to concentrate, to learn how to come back after the defeats."

According to the federation, 78 per cent of the audience at the Nov 25-Dec 13 event, held at Resorts World Sentosa, were under the age of 35.

"We constantly consider various formats, and that includes, first and foremost, the faster formats, the more dynamic with shorter time control," added Sutovsky. "For us, it's obviously important to keep the balance between all these (formats)."

The classical format of the game can take hours and the clash between defending champion Ding Liren and challenger Gukesh Dommaraju played out over 14 games – a total of 637 moves and just over 60 cumulative hours.