The trash talk gambit
Written by Jaideep Unudurti | Posted: November 7, 2014 1:07 am
Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen are all set to clash for the World Chess Championship starting Saturday. The return match, held in the Russian resort town of Sochi, will see Anand aiming to wrest back the crown he lost last year in Chennai. Just days earlier, legend Garry Kasparov had hinted darkly that Anand may be in cahoots with Russian intelligence to “destabilise” his protégé, Carlsen. In an interview, he said that the democracy-hating Russkies might nobble the incumbent champion.
The image of Anand confabulating with trenchcoated KGB agents over a plate of thayir sadam is certainly evocative. While it may have sent ripples amongst the more credulous Twitteratti, long-time watchers of the scene know that this is standard operating procedure. Boxing has its storied tradition of “weigh-ins”, where the contestants and their supporters trash talk, if not brawl. Chess championships too have their equivalent, when the two gladiators and their representatives in the run-up to the match fire verbal salvoes at each other.
Kasparov was Carlsen’s coach and still considers himself a mentor to the Norwegian. His statements are part of the put-downs, faint praise and veiled threats that fans have come to accept.
Carlsen’s mentor is Nakamura, not Kasparov.