“Hikaru Nakamura showed his degree of Shame by exploiting rating spot”- Hans Niemann

Reported by Aditya Sur Roy | Location: Chennai, India | Topic: Grandmaster Hans Niemann Press Conference

Chennai, India — Following his game at the elite tournament in Chennai, American Grandmaster Hans Niemann
met with journalists in the press mix zone to share his unfiltered thoughts on his recent performance, classical
chess, FIDE qualification rules, his upcoming Olympiad debut, and his media battles.

Journalist: Today there was a very quick draw. What was going through your mind?

Hans Niemann: I was surprised by the lack of ambition in his opening choice, but I can understand—the
tournament is going well so he doesn’t want to continue. But it’s funny, I mean, I saw the variation, Bishop c3,
Rook e8… I mean, I saw everything, but I don’t think I believed that I could have received such a ridiculous gift.
So, I mean, it’s very rare that you are just winning out of the opening with Black against the World Champion. So
perhaps I should have been more optimistic, but yeah, just a very weird game.

Journalist: Any particular match that tested your skill sets in particular?

Hans Niemann: I mean, every game tests a wide range of your skills, but the game that I lost against Arjun was
incredibly complex. So maybe it exposed his strengths and my weaknesses. But I had many winning chances—I
mean, I was completely winning against Nihal, I had a dominant, almost winning advantage against Pragg. So,
you know, the start didn’t go my way, and then Arjun won a really nice game. Bishop b5 was a tactic I completely
overlooked, and then I just didn’t get any chances after that. In such a strong field, it’s hard to win games.

Journalist: Slightly strange question—we’ve seen with Gukesh and with Ding what becoming the World
Champion kind of does to you in terms of form, in terms of confidence, the pressure. You’re somebody who’s
always said that you want to be a World Champion, the next American World Champion after Bobby Fischer. I
was wondering, from a player’s perspective, does it still feel worth it, considering the suffering that your
predecessors have had?

Hans Niemann: Everyone would love to be World Champion. Saying it isn’t worth it… I mean, it’s not really a
reasonable question. Most people never even come close, right? But I think the main issue and the main reason
why you’ve seen Ding and Gukesh do poorly is that, first of all, they were never the best players in the world. Not
even close to it.

I mean, okay, Gukesh had a string of results over maybe from the Olympiad to the Candidates where he
performed maybe at the best or near the best. But Ding, long before he was fighting for the World
Championship, was actually a top-three player or even the second-best player for a long time. So he had an
actual, far more established or consistent career as a top player.

The issue with the World Championship cycle is that it’s very random. I mean, you don’t want to say random
because it can be easily misconstrued, but the Candidates… the entire system is not as equitable, and you’re
deciding things over such a small sample size that it’s natural that there are going to be players who just aren’t
the best who are going to prevail. Because you have such a low volume. The Candidates is only 14 games, and
you have to be first out of eight, you know?

The nature of the actual format… no matter how good you are, first of all, the margin in classical chess to be so
much better just isn’t there at the highest level. You simply cannot be miles better than your opponent because
of how much of a role preparation plays. So if you have a format where the difference between top players is so
small and the volume is so small, in most cases you’re going to have outcomes that are more random than a
knockout format. Ding made it to the Candidates and made it to the match by not even winning the games, but
second place… So at least now the system is starting to change. But for someone like Gukesh and Ding to do
badly… people have upswings and downswings in all nature of sports, but they were never really the best
players in the world, so it’s not like a major shock.

Journalist: So do you think Gukesh is the deserving challenger in this case?

Hans Niemann: There’s no reason to speculate who is deserving or not. Every single top player who played in the
Candidates tournament… everyone is deserving, because if he won the Candidates tournament, why is he not
deserving?

But I think that, first of all, the World Championship cycle should not be over two years. It’s far too long. But at
least the recent changes, where you have the Circuit giving spots, you’re starting to give spots on a far more
equitable grand sample size. Because in the previous Candidates, you had Abasov, who reached the semi-finals
of the World Cup and qualified for the 2024 Candidates. But someone like that would never, ever qualify from
the FIDE Circuit, because from the FIDE Circuit you have to have a sustained level.

The issue with previous events like the Grand Swiss… it’s a Swiss event. Being top two in a Swiss event… for
example, I was fighting for the top places in the final round. One of the reasons why I needed to win with Black
was because my tiebreak point score… three of us were tied, but I had 2066.4 and if I was 0.5 then I would have a
higher tiebreak than two people and maybe I could draw. So all these things are just random. Of course you have
control, but the issue with classical chess is that openings have completely dominated the game to where there’s
just not enough margin as there is in most sports.

Journalist: On a personal level, do you see this tournament as a preparation for the Olympiad, or what does this
tournament do for you?

Hans Niemann: In classical chess, there are not that many opportunities to play if you’re not in the closed events.
The main importance of these tournaments is to score FIDE points to push for the Candidates. I mean, that’s the
overriding theme.

Journalist: Do you think the current World Championship format is democratic enough?

Hans Niemann: I think the Circuit format is the most democratic format of all the events, and I think it’s the best
format. If FIDE removed all World Championships and then just made the Circuit World Championship format,
but instead of three events a year they made 10 or 12 events a year, I think that would be the fairest format.

Personally, I don’t enjoy classical chess. I mean, I enjoy chess, I like winning, I like the results, but everything
surrounding classical chess is just not enjoyable. The tournaments are incredibly long, you play only one game a
day… Sometimes games end in quick draws, or sometimes you’re playing with Black and it just doesn’t even
compare to Rapid and Blitz. There’s no comparison. Even when I win in tournaments or do well, I still have the
same feeling about classical chess. I just don’t feel the same passion.

Journalist: What do you think about this tournament’s format, because here there is no increment after move 40?
Was this time format suitable for you?

Hans Niemann: It’s definitely an improvement. In my past matches, we had 60+30, two games a day. It’s
definitely better than having… I mean, the FIDE time control is insane, or the Grand Swiss time control is
ridiculous. So it’s an improvement, but I think that we need to have a decisive winner in every game—whether
it’s with an Armageddon or whether it’s… I mean, to incentivize people to have any sort of ambition or to create
interesting games, you need to have some decider. Whether that’s two games a day and you play an
Armageddon, or you play a Blitz tiebreaker, or whether it’s one game a day with Armageddon, I think in chess
we need a result in every game. When you don’t have that, there’s just no incentive.

Journalist: Hans, congratulations on being inducted into the Olympiad team, your first Olympiad. What are your
thoughts and what will be your preparation representing your country in the Olympiad?

Hans Niemann: Considering that I’ve had quite a high rating for a few years, in most countries—maybe except
India—I would have been in the Olympiad team. So it’s great to finally be in the team as an American-born and
raised player, which is rare for us. So, you know, I hope to bring some patriotism to the team and inspire my
comrades to be even more patriotic.

Journalist: Is there any particular team you are looking forward to facing?

Hans Niemann: On paper, India is the biggest rival, although Indian players have struggled a bit recently.
Obviously they’re very strong, and probably on home turf they’ll feel even more emboldened by the riches that
await them if they win. You know, winning at home. I don’t know if the American team receives an apartment
and a car—it’s a bit more expensive in America! They receive a car, apartment, cash… the Prime Minister coming
to the tarmac to receive them. That might happen, you never know! As we say, make American chess great again.

Journalist: Going back to your point about classical chess having more draws than decisive results by its very
nature… Do you think there will be wider acceptance for the fact that we need to change the nature of the sport?

Hans Niemann: If you look at most individual sports, I would say that the best game to compare chess to is
tennis. There’s no greater comparison. Both are individual sports, and tennis is a very intellectual sport—it’s not
just about brute physical force, it’s strategic. And in individual sports, you see they have a universal format. In
all ATP Grand Slam events, there’s a knockout format.

In chess, we really need to adopt a singular format, at least for top-level chess, for fairness and also to make it a
marketable product. There’s so much more interest when you have a decider. A lot of people are clinging on to
this idea of classical chess, but if chess remains so clung to this concept of the purity of classical chess, then the
game is just going to be left behind as other sports and as the world develops. I just don’t see a long-term future
for classical chess.

Journalist: Are you a fan of knockouts in general?

Hans Niemann: For an individual sport, I think it’s the best format. I think it’s the fairest. For the Candidates
especially… when there was collusion among the Russian players and Fischer complained that even in the
Interzonals the Russians could draw or lose to help a player win… In a knockout format, everything is in the
player’s control. In the Candidates, you can win your last game against the person who’s in last place and win
the tournament because of that. It just doesn’t feel right. I think there’s a reason why tennis has the system that it
has.

Journalist: Your thoughts about classical chess are somewhat matching with Carlsen’s thoughts. Are you a bit
surprised?

Hans Niemann: I would say that any player who is honest and realistic about how they enjoy chess would have
that viewpoint. Obviously, if you are invited to Norway Chess and these top events, you don’t really have to…
Someone like Hikaru plays very few events a year just because he has a high rating that he can sit on. But I
would say that most players share the same viewpoint, but maybe some aren’t as active in expressing it

Journalist: What are your thoughts on the new World Cup format?

Hans Niemann: It’s at least an improvement, because having a month-long tournament is just so ridiculous.
When I was in Goa, I got so sick—I lost 5 kilos in four days. So I was super happy to be knocked out, because I
didn’t have to stay there. If I had stayed for two weeks and then got knocked out, I don’t know if I would have
survived, being so sick. So it’s definitely an improvement.

If I were to give my ideal format, I would say that each match should be finished in one day. I think it should be
two games with 45+30, and then you play the tiebreak. Also, this notion that as chess players we can only play
one game a day… I think we should be pushing our physical and mental limits by actually having games decided
by how much energy and mental fortitude you have, not that you spend five hours preparing and the first 25
moves you haven’t used your brain once. It’s a rehearsal. Ideally, Freestyle Chess in my opinion is the best chess
format. It’s just a better game.

Journalist: Just wanted to understand, you said you fell sick during the World Cup. Was it food poisoning or
something?

Hans Niemann: No, just allergies, sneezing… I was only there for 5 days, but in those 5 days I managed to… It
wasn’t food poisoning, I was just sneezing and sick.

Journalist: Players of your generation were raised on studying classic games. We were speaking to coaches now
—is it not required to study classic games considering there’s Stockfish?

Hans Niemann: It’s a personal preference. I think kids should work on and spend time on chess in whatever way
they enjoy and are passionate about. At the highest level, you have to do things you don’t enjoy—that’s part of
competing. But when you’re a kid and you’re young and improving, you should do what you enjoy. If you push
young kids too hard, they can burn out very easily.

Journalist: In the World Championship match in its current form, do you still see Ding defending the title, or do
you think Gukesh has an advantage?

Hans Niemann: In a match format, it’s really hard to say. I think it really depends on the start. The strain on
Gukesh’s confidence that his recent results must be taking… it must be taking a serious toll. So I would say that if
he starts well and can regain his confidence and take control, his prime form can return. But if he starts poorly,
it’s just going to be a reminder of all the bad results. You can’t say that his poor results are not an indicator
whatsoever. But in a 14-game match, anything could happen.

Journalist: Sticking to Gukesh, were you tempted to beat him and drop him below 2700 today?

Hans Niemann: I really don’t care. My job is to win chess games, not… It doesn’t matter who I’m playing, I’m
indifferent.

Journalist: Are you happy with the new criteria for the Candidates, now that the rating spots have been
removed?

Hans Niemann: That is a great, great improvement. The rating spot was taken advantage of by Ding, Alireza, and
then Hikaru once or twice… All three of them used interesting loopholes. Ding had his matches in China against
his comrades, Alireza had his matches against what you might call ‘YMCA Grandmasters’, and then Hikaru
showed his degree of shame. So that is a great improvement, and I think FIDE is going in the right direction.

Journalist: You have been at what I can call the lowest point of your career, where you were not getting invites to
top tournaments. But you played all the open tournaments you could find—maybe 100 or 150 classical games in
a year—and you came back into the world top 50, then top 20, top 15, and now you are playing elite events.
Gukesh is also going through a phase where he’s having bad results. What would you advise Gukesh to bounce
back, since you have done that?

Hans Niemann: In chess, it’s really difficult because when things go badly, people can try to tell you why, but no
one is inside your mind. Unless a coach has such a magical connection with you where they can read your mind
or know you so well, even the best coach can’t understand. That’s why when things go badly, it’s very isolating.
You feel like you’re the only one who understands why things went wrong.

In some sports, you can pinpoint like, ‘Oh, my form was wrong’ or ‘My positioning was wrong.’ In chess, it’s all in
your mind. In such an abstract sport, pinpointing that exact reason is really difficult. I would say it’s mostly a
mindset thing. He has all the opportunities in the world. For example, he dropped out of the Grand Chess Tour,
which I wouldn’t have done.

Journalist: Can you explain why?

Hans Niemann: As a World Championship challenger, I don’t think you should drop out of premier tours. You can
evaluate whether you feel a responsibility to compete in top tournaments, but just from a practice perspective, if
you’re going to play a World Championship match, the best practice you can get is playing against the top players
in the world. So I wouldn’t have done it. But I’m sure his team is giving him plenty of advice

.
Journalist: What has been the reaction you’ve experienced after coming to India, especially Chennai? Have you
seen a lot of fans coming for photos and autographs?

Hans Niemann: I haven’t left the hotel once! But yeah, there are plenty of fans, which is always nice in India.
Generally, India’s passion for chess is great. The support for chess… every time they win a tournament, the
government gives them basically whatever money they want—cars, apartments. For that price you can buy a
fork in some parts of the US! But no, the passion is great.

Journalist: What about the out-of-court settlement that you had with Carlsen? Do you think you are a moral
victim?

Hans Niemann: No comment.

Journalist: Going back to the statements you made about mental health in chess… Do you see athletes taking it
seriously, or do you think there should be a system to take mental health more seriously?

Hans Niemann: We get to travel the world playing chess—it’s not that hard of a life, you know? But obviously,
everyone should handle the stress in their own way. It’s part of the job.

Journalist: Recently you’ve been doing very well in fast formats, and next you are playing at the Esports World
Cup. What are your expectations?

Hans Niemann: I narrowly missed qualifying last year, so I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a huge event. Even
though it’s not FIDE-rated, there are huge prizes and a lot of top players. It’s rare that you play chess in a stadium
for so many fans. Having the Freestyle events was really a dream come true, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Journalist: You won the Rapid and Blitz in Poland recently. Are you more motivated now?

Hans Niemann: My results in Rapid and Blitz have always been good. I was fourth in the World Rapid
Championship, narrowly missing third on tiebreaks. I generally think my results in Rapid and Blitz are very
good, so I think I’ll do quite well there.

Journalist: Can you explain the difference between playing Rapid/Blitz over the board versus on a 2D board
screen?

Hans Niemann: When you play online, it’s actually possible to add a 3D setting where the pieces look 3D, which I
do sometimes to emulate training. But when you have a mouse, you manage your time differently. Over the
board, when you get into time pressure, it’s so much easier to collapse. The Esports World Cup has no increment,
so it requires far more vigilant time management and maybe some flagging skills.

Journalist: You are the only player in this tournament bringing your own water bottles. Is there some idea behind
that?

Hans Niemann: I just prefer to drink international water.

Journalist: Any particular goal this year you want to achieve?

Hans Niemann: Top 10, win a Rapid or Blitz World Championship. Plenty of opportunities and big tournaments
this year.

Journalist: If you beat the top players at the Esports World Cup, do you have a finisher move like we saw last
year with Hikaru throwing two kings?

Hans Niemann: No, I mean that was theatrical, and that event was an exhibition, not a serious event. I did
recently go to a WWE fight—Netflix gave me ringside tickets—and it was interesting, but that interest lasted for
maybe 30 minutes. It would be illegal to try one of those moves as a finisher in chess!

Journalist: Congratulations on the Netflix documentary. What was the reaction from friends and family who
didn’t know the entire situation after they saw it?

Hans Niemann: Very positive reaction. It was quite short—it could have been so much longer, and there were so
many things that could have been included that would have been even worse for them. Even then, they were
very displeased because it was not great for them. But my main goals are on the chessboard. Fighting a media
war against a mafia is just not of interest to me. It’s better to beat them on the chessboard.

Journalist: Was it exciting to see yourself on the big screen?

Hans Niemann: It was nice, but it’s not really something to be happy about. It’s more like a step in the right
direction, but only a step. The real comeback has to be on the chessboard.

Journalist: How do you see the future of the platform Endgame?

Hans Niemann: The platform has been growing a lot, with a lot of users from India. I think it will grow as a chess
platform, and hopefully we organize more events. It’s important to have fair competition in the market and keep
corrupt powers accountable. Thank you.