By Admin 
Loek van Wely was once the World No. 10 in chess. He has worked as a second for Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky. He has coached Triveni Continental Kings to the title in both editions of the Global Chess League. The 53-year-old was in Goa recently as the second to fellow Dutchman Max Warmerdam. Excerpts from an interview van Wely gave The Hindu:
After Dubai and London, the Global Chess League is going to be held in India for the first time: Mumbai is hosting Season 3 next month.
India is just crazy when it comes to chess. Look at the way people react to players like D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi. So I think it is great the league is being organised in India. Chess in India today reminds me a little bit of how it was in Russia or the Soviet Union. Chess was also kind of State-supported in the Soviet Union, but in India there is a lot of support from companies as well. I know it all started in India with Vishy Anand, against whom I have played a lot of games, though I can’t quite call him a rival; I never won against him in the classical format.
So how do you look forward to this year’s Global Chess League? The pressure will be on you as the defending champion.
Absolutely, yeah. But, we have a good team. And we have added Zhu Jiner, one of the world’s top players. Wei Yi was telling me that we should get her.
Last year, another female player served your team really well. Alexandra Kosteniuk won you the final, in fact.
She is a team player. She is a fighter. That is why I wanted her in the team. And this year we have a local lad in the team — Vidit Gujrathi, who has moved his base to Mumbai [from Nashik], so I hope we will get some home support, too.
What do you like about the Global Chess League?
It is a posh event. It is the kind of event that smells of grandeur. And it is good for chess, of course. It also gives a lot of extra possibilities for marketing.
You have worked with Kramnik closely. Were you surprised by the comments he has made about players like Daniel Naroditsky? Kramnik is now being investigated by FIDE’s Ethics Commission for making allegations of cheating.
I know when chess players have been under stress for such a long time and working so hard… I have the feeling that the guy simply has lost it. You could see those crazy press conferences… And the guy has had a beautiful career.
Vladimir Kramnik.
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FILE PHOTO: AP
Yes. He is the only one to have beaten Garry Kasparov in a match.
Yeah, terrific career, you know, the only one to have beaten Kasparov. And then you think, what is his problem? It is not his job to get involved. It is not his speciality. People may disagree with his views. You see players collapsing in chess all the time, like Vasyl Ivanchuk crying after a game [against Naroditsky at the World Blitz Championship in New York last year].
Do you feel there is cheating in chess?
Yes, of course. But you need to back up your claims. When I was in the Senate [in the Netherlands], I was doing justice and security. I know a little bit about those things. I feel that if you have to catch the cheats in chess, you will probably have to violate the law, such as the ones regarding privacy.
Talking of your time in the Senate, how did you get interested in politics?
The funny thing is that I was always apolitical. There is always something dirty in politics, but I got this opportunity to get connected to it. It kind of fitted me in some way, because it was a new political party, which was standing for a new way of doing politics, but [I got involved] without thinking that I would ever be in the Parliament or the Senate. But then suddenly the party crushed the elections, and I was in the Senate.
How did you find the experience?
The experience itself was interesting, but I don’t like to come back. It is just not my natural habitat, you know. Chess is simple: you just play the best move, but politics can just be trickier.
Gukesh.
You were backing Praggnanandhaa, rather than Gukesh, to win the Candidates last year. Has Gukesh winning the Candidates and then the World title surprised you?
It probably is more di cult to win the Candidates than to win the World Championship match, especially against Ding Liren. I think in general winning the Candidates is a much bigger step, because your odds are never 50%, which is the case in a match. I was thinking very highly of Pragg.
And Fabiano Caruana, too. Maybe I am a little biased about Fabi, as I like the way he plays. I think Pragg is very objective. Gukesh is always pushing so hard. Sometimes too hard.
Other youngsters that you are impressed with?
We have a lot of new kids coming up. This Argentine kid Faustino Oro, then that American kid Andy Woodward. There is also Yagiz Erdogmus from Turkey. We also see the emergence of countries like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. And of course, among the top players, there is Vincent Keymer.
He has been superb of late and is now the World No. 4. He was Gukesh’s second in the World Championship match against Ding.
That could work either way. You may remember Kramnik was Kasparov’s second in his 1995 World title match against Anand. Kramnik beat Kasparov in the 2000 World title match. Kasparov never got a rematch.
How do you look back at your own days as a second?
It was less difficult those days, when there wasn’t this much computer in chess. Computers were already good, but you still had to push them in the right direction.
How was it working with Kamsky and his father Rustam?
He [Rustam] was interfering. He was deciding which opening to play. So Kamsky played with a handicap, but I think he was one player who maximised his talent. Later on, Kamsky opened up about his relationship with his father. And that was not so funny.
What is the state of chess back home now?
That I am still playing for the national team is not a good sign.