“I am an impulsive person... I smashed a cupboard once!” — Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Poland’s No. 1

“Science says that character and temperament cannot be changed. I am an impulsive person. I once had some tests done randomly, and my impulsivity was 10 out of 10, maximum. It went off the scale!

Sometimes I like to wind myself up, I like to dwell on things… I don’t know, sometimes I just like to get angry, I suppose. So now, I admit, chess can sometimes completely throw me off balance.

I once smashed a cupboard here. It was during a Freestyle Friday when I had a lot of points and didn’t win the tournament. I still took third place because I lost two games. And actually, I should have had the best tie-breaks, but Caruana withdrew, someone else withdrew too, and suddenly I ended up third.

And then it really mattered to me, because, as far as I remember, it gave a qualification spot. I admit, I got pretty pissed off. Especially since when I was a kid, I simply couldn’t stand losing.

Later, I lost so many games that it levelled out to some extent. Sometimes I was even too calm. But now I can see that the old youth is coming back.

I’ve probably cursed under my breath more than once. Even in classical games, it happened to me more than once or twice. That’s just impulsivity. It’s a trait, a temperament.”