Legendary grandmaster and 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov did not perform well in the Champions Showdown Chess 9LX tournament. Kasparov scored 0.5 points after nine rounds and spoke about the result in the final interview: “I think there were very high expectations after my performance last year here, but last year I did some chess. This year when I arrived here I just realized that I didn’t play chess, over the board, for a year. And obviously the latest events in Europe, and all the war in Ukraine consumed my energy and attention. Some games here made me feel really good, but of course I wanted to do better. But looking at these nine games, I would say in at least six games, I missed very good chances.”.
Being asked about what are his thoughts on Alireza Firouzja’s potential and does Firouzja have what it takes to become World Chess Champion in the future, Kasparov answered: “He definitely looks very strong at least for his age. I will not be surprised if he makes it. By every count, he might be a real contender for the title. Naturally, his outstanding performance in these tournaments is just more proof that he’s really good. But there is a lot to do and to work on.”. Answering the question if he gave some advice to Alireza for the future, Garry said: “I was not giving advice. It is always nice to talk to a talented young player“. See the complete interview below
Read more: Chess 9LX final report / Fabiano Caruana: It was a total mess of a playoff and it was super difficult
