The secret world of chess seconds in Singapore: Who advises Ding and Gukesh?

The players at the World Chess Championship are on their own on the board. Between the handshake that starts the game and the one that ends it, there is no opportunity to exchange ideas with anyone. In contrast to other sporting duels, for example in the boxing ring or recently on the tennis court, the opponents are not allowed to be motivated, helped or encouraged by any trainer. The spectators are not in the same room either, but are watching the action behind a one-sided transparent pane: They see the players, but the players do not see the spectators. World Cup games are not just a fight against the opponent, but also against oneself.

With a few exceptions, the most important title in the chess world since 1886 is fought in a strenuous duel over several weeks, as was the case this year: defending champion Ding Liren, 32, from China and challenger Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, have been dueling in Singapore since the Monday before last. from India. After nine games played it is a draw, 4.5:4.5. Recently there were six draws in a row. It is quite possible that the match will last the entire 14 rounds. If the score is 7:7, it would go to the tiebreak, where first rapid and then blitz chess would be played. The thinking time would therefore continue to be reduced.

The match for the world championship is considered the toughest of all duels Chess. But at least off the board, the protagonists are not entirely alone in mastering this task.

This is evident these days with Ding Liren, whose Hungarian grandmaster Richard Rapport hardly seems to leave his side. In one video of the world chess association Fide, Rapport can be seen picking up the defending champion from the venue after a game, putting his hand around his shoulder and the two of them getting into the minibus that takes Ding to the press conference. A few hours earlier, on the way to the game, Rapport had accompanied the Chinese; there was a farewell a short wave.

During a World Cup, players work with a team of grandmasters

As in the last World Cup match, Richard Rapport is Ding Liren’s chief second. Since their successful collaboration at the World Cup around a year and a half ago, Rapport has been “very famous in China,” said Ding before the start of the match in Singapore. And a few months ago, “we started working together again.”

The work of the seconds is essential for the players at a World Chess Championship. If you face the same opponent for several hours every day for up to three weeks, you won’t be able to do your own follow-up and preparation between games. So during the World Cup, players work with a team of about five grandmasters. However, they are reluctant to reveal who exactly these supporters are.

“Chess is always about information,” explains German men’s national coach Jan Gustafsson on the phone: “And seconds could be linked to certain openings.” The Hamburger has World Cup experience: in 2016, 2018 and 2021 he was part of the team that Magnus Carlsen supported.

In Singapore too, all that is known so far is who the respective team leaders among the seconds are: rapport with Ding, Grzegorz Gajewski, a grandmaster from Poland, with Gukesh. The 39-year-old, who was part of Viswananthan Anand’s team of seconds ten years ago, has been working with the World Cup challenger since December 2022. “Gaju broadened my perspective on the game,” says Gukesh.

Of course, the helpers do the majority of their work preparing for the World Cup. Normally it is decided six months before the start who will play against each other. “And then it starts,” says former Carlsen second Gustafsson. The Norwegian’s team “completed training camps together and everyone worked at home in between.” Before the World Cup, Ding revealed that he had only started preparing three weeks earlier. This surprised many observers. Gustafsson says it’s not that unusual. With the seconds working for months, the player doesn’t have to be involved all the time.

Richard Rapport is an unusual second – but his ideas are a real asset to Ding

The aim of the work is to steer the World Cup games in directions that emphasize the strengths of one’s own player: “The opponent does the same thing and then a dialogue takes place during the match,” says Gustafsson. The plan has to be readjusted between games, “there are a thousand eventualities, not all of which can be prepared”.

When looking at Gukesh and Ding’s chief seconds, it is noticeable that only one of the two fits the classic profile of a helper: Gajewski is an experienced chess coach and is ranked 352nd in the world rankings. He no longer pursues personal ambitions on the board. Rapport, 28, on the other hand, is an unusual second. The Hungarian was himself considered a potential World Cup candidate not long ago, was number five in the world two and a half years ago and is still among the top international players. Only three places separate him and Ding in the world rankings. It is astonishing that someone like that puts himself completely at the service of a supposed competitor.

However, Rapport was also an unconventional grandmaster on the board, with a sometimes wild style of play. That cost him one or two wins in his career. But for the more reserved thing, Rapport’s ideas are a real enrichment. So far, the Chinese has chosen a different opening move in each of his games with the white pieces. Plus, Ding said recently, Rapport is “a very funny guy and cracks a few jokes when we train together. He gives us a good atmosphere.” Who else is on the team? Trade secret. But at least Ding revealed this much: he has one more second than last year, and therefore “more ideas”. Opponent Gukesh, meanwhile, thanked his seconds for their “interesting ideas”.

So ideas about ideas. Only the two of them on the board have to decide which of them they want to implement.