Coach Ramesh Ramachandran commented on the format change in the FIDE World Chess Cup. Ramesh believes the organizers’ goal is to reduce time for deep thinking, and calls the changes a regressive reform.

Ramachandran Ramesh

Ramachandran Ramesh

Indian GM, Praggnananda's Coach

“Why not add new, more extended Rapid tournaments instead of tinkering with existing standard time control events?

Aim seems to be to reduce chess to an instinctive emotional reaction measuring activity. How can deep ideas be found, analyzed, evaluated, implemented if not given any time to think?

Regressive reforms for the sake of appearing to do something new are not reforms.”

FIDE announced format changes for the World Chess Cup on July 13. The changes include a new time control, tournament duration, number of participants, and other adjustments. The changes take effect starting from the FIDE World Chess Cup 2027.

Credit: Lennart Ootes / FIDE