Recently, The renowned chess grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen made a captivating move on his arrival at the Weissenhaus Lifestyle Chess Challenge that left followers intrigued and left to wonder- he was seen arriving at the venue of the tournament with his girlfriend, in an elated mood but surprisingly, it was not only GM Magnus that brought his girlfriend, GM Vincent Keymer also arrived at the venue on the Day 2 of the Quarter-finals of the challenge but the focus seemed to be on Magnus Carlsen only.
This decision has sparked discussions among his fans about whether the introduction of love into the chess arena is a winning/good or risky/bad choice to make.
One of the tweets on the topic mentioned was that of FM Fawole John Oyeyemi who expressed his view based on experience on X (Twitter);
Others also told of the pros and cons of taking your girlfriend with you to your tournament, which include;
1. Distractions, since chess requires intense focus, being distracted could impact one’s concentration during critical moments.
2. Worry: a fan made mention that Magnus Carlsen could get worried about his girlfriend being bored during the play, if she’s not a chess player nor familiar with anyone else around at the tournament.
During the tournament, some of his fans indirectly pushed the blame on his girlfriend as a result of “not playing effectively as the G.O.A.T” that he is popularly termed as, although the tournament is themed “the G.O.A.T. Challenge” in honor of Magnus Carlsen, but in his comment, he said , “I don’t refer to myself in those terms.
He elaborated that in the games he had lost, “I was missing tactics and I couldn’t see the full board completely,” before adding: “I want to leave another impression than that I’m just terrible at this, but I’ve sort of avoided the worst. I’ve shown now that I can at least play decently in classical chess!”, “I have to say yesterday I was not enjoying it!” said Magnus of his loss to Alireza Firouzja —promising he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
However, considering the typical pressure surrounding chess tournaments, the presence of a familiar face can create a sense of comfort, excitement and potentially reducing stress and contributing to a more relaxed mindset, rather than being on pressure and having a supportive partner by your side can be a powerful motivator, offering encouragement during the highs and lows of a tournament.
Let’s talk about GM Ding Liren, It’s been a tough event for him, but at least he has support on site (his mother) Showcasing the importance of support.
