He doesn’t know who Ravichandran Ashwin is, but is mighty impressed with the new generation of Indian players who have taken the chess world by storm. Jan-Krzysztov Duda is a Polish Grandmaster, playing in the Global Chess League (GCL) for the team called American Gambit. The celebrated cricketer is a co-owner of the team.
Duda knows cricket is India’s sports obsession. “I’ve been there and know that cricket is very big there,” said Duda in a chat with RevSportz in connection with GCL. “People (cricketers) are famous and celebrities. I understand that, but I still don’t understand anything about cricket. In our country, nobody knows anything about cricket. I am sorry I’m saying that, but that is true. To answer your question, I didn’t know who he (Ashwin) is.”
The 26-year-old is rated 18th in the world in the classical version. He is ninth in rapid and 10th in blitz. He won the 2021 World Cup, which is a knockout event in the longest format. He has won the European rapids and finished second twice in world blitz. In 2020, he broke Magnus Carlsen’s unbeaten run of 125 classical games. Duda has been pegged somewhat back by the fast rise of the new generation spearheaded by Indians.
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“It’s actually quite amazing to see. There are so many of them and they are playing very strongly at the moment. They are given to preparation. I like this attitude of working hard and giving it their all to accomplish their dreams. (D) Gukesh, Pragg (R Praggnanandhaa), Erigaisi Arjun and Vidit (Gujarathi), who is a bit older, and (P) Harikrishna. They are aggressive,” said Duda, a part of the Polish team which finished 22nd in the open section of the recent Olympiad. He thinks Viswanathan Anand “has been a big inspiration and still is”.
The GCL to be played in London from October 3-10 will be a special outing for Duda, not just for chess. This will be his first trip to London. “It’s one of those places… Playing chess takes you to different places and cities. I have been on transit through London, but have not seen the city. So, yes, London sounds pretty cool,” said Duda, who is keen to explore the historic charm of the city.
Duda is excited to be part of the American Gambit. By rules of team selection for the competition, all GCL outfits are super strong. Duda is also in good company, with World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura of the USA in the six-member side. All of them play a game each in every round in the rapid format. “I know almost all of them. We are from different countries. We are a good side to win this event, just like the other sides,” said Duda. He is determined to do better than his previous GCL appearance, for Chingari Gulf Titans.
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