Pravin Thipsay

India's Third GM

“The biggest reason behind these performances is probably that they are playing too many tournaments. The brain may not be able to perform great at chess for 365 days of the year. Our top players are exhausted!

One of the reasons why the Indian trio plays so much could be financial incentives. In some tournaments, appearance fees exceed prize money, making it hard to say ‘No’. In other cases, players have friendly relations with organizers who personally request their participation, making it difficult to refuse.

Another reason for the declining results could be the loss of original thinking. Nowadays, top players get most of their opening preparation from their coaches, who simply give them a ready-made plan. Originality is lost as opening ideas are imposed from outside and do not always match the player’s individual style.

Another serious problem is that they play against too narrow a circle of opponents. They participate in closed invitational tournaments, not Open events, so they rarely face those they played two years ago.

When Top players constantly play only among themselves in closed tournaments, they lose tactical sharpness. Because many games come down to standard positions where you have a small advantage but no direct threats. As a result, tactical sense is lost.”