Vladimir Kramnik expressed upset with the World Chess Championship’s results, describing it as a “childish one-move mistake.”
Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik severely attacked the World Chess Championship outcomes following 18-year-old D Gukesh’s stunning victory over incumbent champion Ding Liren in the 14th game. Gukesh’s victory not only crowned him World Champion, but also made him the youngest player in history, beating Garry Kasparov’s 1985 record.
However, Kramnik, who is known for his vocal comments, was unimpressed with how the championship ended, particularly with the pivotal error that cost Ding the title.
After Gukesh won with a total score of 7.5-6.5, Kramnik expressed his disappointment on social media, calling it “the end of chess as we know it.”* He went on to call Ding’s mistake “childish,” claiming, “Never before has a World Championship title been decided by such a basic one-move error.”* The gaffe, which occurred in the final game after five hours of play, was pivotal, causing Ding to lose both the match and the championship.
Kramnik’s comments were not restricted to the last game. Throughout the competition, he expressed concern about the overall level of play between the two contenders. After Game 6, he said, *”Honestly, I am very disappointed with today’s game.” Game 5 was also not of great quality, but today’s performance by professional players was particularly poor. It’s disheartening to witness such a standard.”*
He went on to attack both players for their lack of comprehension of key strategic ideas, stating, “This is a very strange game.” Both players continued to make mistakes—strategic errors—as if they did not understand the position.”* Kramnik, evidently agitated, said, *”Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but this is quite basic! Of course, both are excellent players and calculators. “They calculate beautifully.”*
Kramnik’s strong criticism underlined a rising worry among chess purists about the current approach to the game, in which precise calculation frequently appears to trump deep strategic knowledge.
