I am fed up of the criticism when it comes to India - Vidit Gujrathi lashes out on Nepo's accusations

After his early exit from the FIDE World cup which is underway in Goa, India, the Indian super grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi gave an interview to Sports Today which was published on their Youtube channel where he spoke on various topics including the reason of his early exit, why Gukesh and Divya Deshmukh played the World Cup, broken FIDE rating system and much more. Here is a transcript of the interview.

Intro - So hello and a very warm welcome to the special interaction that I have had. He is one of our top grand masters 2700 ELO has done well featured in the candidates just unfortunately got eliminated in the world cup recently but yes he remains one of our strongest chess players in India currently I'm joined by Vidit Gujarati gives me an absolute honor to welcome him on sports today. Vidit thank you so much for taking time out and joining us.

Vidit Gujrathi -Thank you my pleasure.

Interviewer - Unfortunately, when you look at it, the chess World Cup loss, I mean it was a very very heartbreaking loss and we saw the visuals also after that like you were numb with that defeat. I mean h how have you taken it and now what is the feeling now that what is next for me? What were the first immediate moments after you got eliminated from the chess world cup?

Vidit Gujrathi - I was not really numb. Uh of course I was disappointed. Uh, nobody likes to lose in chess. And I was especially disappointed because I felt I was the better player in the match. Um, not to take anything away from Sam because he did what he could. He did his best. But as a player, I had the feeling. Sometimes you feel like you have been outclassed or something like this. Here I felt like I was the one to blame. Rather than he showing something extraordinary, it was self-sabotage is what I felt. That's why I was upset that I felt that despite being the better player I was knocked out um because I was leading the match I could um seal it at one point but I missed the chances and probably at the end I was just tired after 3-4 hours of the match and I missed some chances I became slightly slower which ended up costing me and credit to him that he took those chances. So that was it. But I was not too disappointed because I was really struggling uh physically in the tournament uh with my health. So I was in a way relieved that uh okay I mean of course I'm lost but uh physically I'm feeling better.

Interviewer - I mean uh was it because of the growing calendar that you are not feeling all that well or was it because change of atmosphere, change of venue and all of that?

Vidit Gujrathi - So I've been suffering for like couple of years already with this but the thing is it gets aggravated the condition gets aggravated during tournaments because the stress factor adds up to it and last 2 three years I've gone on a sprint where I was playing like two months non-stop not coming back home etc etc and that's why last year I felt a bit of a burnout and after that I've reduced my playing so in the last year or so I've played very little.

So yeah that that was one of the reasons that although it was painful in the brighter side was that okay now at least I can focus on my health.

Interviewer- Vidit you've seen in this world cup of this 2025 edition in particular 2700 plus ELO grand masters are getting knocked out left right and center by lower ranked players. Is it the nature of the format or do you think because 2700 ELO players have been playing nonstop? What is the key factor behind all these top players getting knocked out in the chess world cup even before the quarterfinals?

Vidit Gujrathi - So the answer is very simple because the rating system is broken. That's the clearest way because all the top players let's say in the top ten, they play amongst each other and the way rating system is structured the there is no high variability which happens when they this happens in the tournaments because the draw is not penalized so much, you know and chess is inherently draw when similar players play. So the fluctuations are very low. If you look at it every month the same people are there in top thirty and same players rank just keep shuffling because the rating system is not designed there are some shortcomings let's say for the rating system and the 2600 players they don't get to play the top players because there are not even because chess tournaments are invitation based so it's up to the organizer to invite and they go through the rating system many times or they might have a fan favorite who might they invite something like this. So the 2600 players they don't get to play the top players even despite their strength might be more.

Let's say in one year they have practiced but the rating doesn't reflect that strength. In chess there is no points for form. You know one player might be having an extraordinary year but his rating might not reflect it totally. He might be playing at a 2900 level performance but there's no bonus for that continuously for doing it. So that is one thing and secondly the technology has made a big impact. Earlier, only the top players did like have expert coaching and continuous you know training and that was required a lot because chess engines were not so good.

So you have to probe them again and again go deeper spend hours. Right now you can just put a chess engine you can rent it from cloud and right there it'll give you the answer. So the difference is now not on the opening part because they have all caught up. It's only the strength part and the strength part is not reflected in rating. So that's the issue.

Interviewer - I mean it's a very deep thing because we now had started with twenty-four Indians in the chess world cup. We are now down to only two and that is what my next question is Vidit, I mean there was no need for Gukesh and Divya to play the tournament because they have already qualified for the candidates in Gukesh’s case he'll be in the world championship tournament that will happen in November. Do you think like what your case was you played too much were Gukesh and Divya guilty of that in 2021 like they played too many tournaments either to just prove themselves or do you think tactically that was not on.

Vidit Gujrathi -Well it's for them to answer I think for Divya it's clear that she wants to play against top rated players because in women tournaments she does not play 2700s because there are no women players who are 2700. So there this is an opportunity that's why she played in Grand Swiss as well. So that's a very understandable decision and in the long run I think it's a good decision that she's doing because she's risking getting an comparative being a favorite in a women's tournament and playing in the men's tournament where she's a heavy underdog but this way she'll improve her strength. So it's a it's a bold decision and I think a good decision if she's very serious about getting to the top. Regarding Gukesh I don't know his thought process but I know that he wants to um he likes to play uh he he's at her at the heart he's a player who likes to play because that's how he grew up as well like he used to play continuous tournaments traveling a lot and that's his normal not in the Soviet era where you used to play one tournament in three months but I feel like maybe there's also added pressure subtle pressure of being a world champion and proving that I'm the world champion that could be playing on his mind. And another factor here is which is a bit strange is of the qualification cycle.You are it happened earlier also when Magnus could influence when he was the world champion etc.

That's the problem of the cycle not the players first of all. I'll clarify it because players are just doing their job playing tournaments but you also it can show how broken the cycle is. Let's say Gukesh could qualify to this for candidates with three via three or four ways,

1. Rating system - it's not possible

2. FIDE circuit - which he's not actively trying but of course he's playing the tournaments so that way you he cannot.

3. Third is FIDE grand swiss he couldn't

4. World cup he couldn't so qualifying to the candidates is actually a lot more tougher than other tournaments you it's it just shows it's broken.

Secondly, let's say Magnus I think was playing World Cup or Grand Swiss uh last time 2023. Even earlier I think he had he played some tournament in Grand Swiss earlier.

So being a world champion you can eliminate your opposition by playing the qualification tournament. I don't think any sport allows this.

So it's a bit strange. It's like the world you know it's in chaos so it's it's normal but it's just chaos.

Interviewer - Last couple of questions Vidit, I mean 2026 now what does it hold for you because unfortunately Grand Swiss you had won the last time around in the previous cycle but in this time you unfortunately didn't make it even in the world cup that was your last chance saloon when you look at it that also unfortunately you have fallen short candidates dream seems to be a bit difficult now how will you motivate yourself in 2026 then in that sense?

Vidit Gujrathi - Because I was not actually trying actively in this candidate cycle. In the previous candidate cycle I had given it my all like I was training I don't know just every single waking moment of my day and even dreaming about chess moves . So I it worked out but it was also very intense and I realized I cannot do this again and again. So this cycle I was taking it more more casually not in the sense of like disrespecting the game but just physically being able to put that same effort was not possible for me and I consciously took a decision to back off from it.

So I was not actively pursuing that's why FIDE circuit you need to play certain events I didn't even check that and like all this stuff. So for me the motivation was already a problem right after the first candidates because there my motivation level was at the peak and I have played a tournament which is just one tournament away from world championship and I realized how tough it was to even get there and after that I felt a certain void.

Okay now what next like you have played one tournament which is less than world championship and the satisfaction level I thought I will get is not there. So already that point the motivation was I was reflecting uh so I don't think the current year will affect it already it affected in 2023 especially towards November, December right 24 sorry.

Interviewer - Last question can you just you have been in Goa you played the world cup there are a lot of fake news being pedled about the conditions being horrible there would you want to tell and dispel all those fake news about the conditions in Goa. Especially I know that Ian Nepomniachtchi really has been on a trade.

Vidit Gujrathi - So yeah, so I have to actually read the exact things that he has said but I might know the gist of it. So I'll comment on the gist and not the exact things. So, let's start with the food. I think that's complete bogus that the food criticism because I was staying there and there was good food and let's say there were multiple restaurants within the thing as well which was some award-winning restaurants especially like I even went there and food was not an issue and especially they say about this only three or four meat options were there or something like this which is very surprising because non-vegetarians can eat vegetarian food and vegetarians can't do the same who have decided to do that. So when I go to Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, which I did in World Cup 2019, I struggled a lot with food. I was surviving on rice, plain rice. They don't have curry or anything that goes with it. I would decide to cook myself in the room because there was no other option.

Khanty-Mansiysk is also very remote place in Russia. It's not Moscow where you can find a lot of options.

Weather is extreme like minus 20°. I mean it was not at that point but in general it goes to extreme weather like for example when I went the sun never sets so 4:00 a.m. there is light etc. So I've played in extreme conditions and suffered with extreme food because okay it's my choice to be vegetarian but as a tournament no option was created and the hotel there was really bad the one where we stayed but I you know for me it's the normal thing and I realized that I also have had conversations in official FIDE tournaments where regarding the food is of poorer quality, etc. And they said okay we can only do so much with vegetarian.

So that was never taken into consideration and here the food criticism is completely unjustified in my opinion because there were many other players in this tournament and who were from the western countries and they had no complaints. So if you if the tournament goes it's like the grapes were sour you know that's that's the thing and he has a history of complaining after exiting from tournaments and this is not the first instance so everything what he says has to be taken with a pinch of salt he you can just look up the Twitter and people are many screenshots regarding the hotel yes I agree that the hotel could be better the rooms for example they were good but not at let's say Marriott or like five star standards. But the hospitality was great. For example, I'll give you an example on the rest day, the organizers provided like personal cars to everyone and wherever they want to go they could go in Goa and they would just have it which is unheard of like simple things you know they had gone a long way. The staff was very friendly. They used to take care of everything. The tournament hall was very good. No issues faced by anyone else.

So, I do agree that the room's quality could be better, but that's very hard to probably fix in the short term when you have to probably do a lot of things. But they did really well with the hospitality and also there were various grades of room. So, I don't know which room he took. I I got a very decent one. etc., etc. So, I don't know what else he has he criticized. I heard in the last interview I heard he complained about pineapple or something. I don't I don't know and the weather did he complain about the weather? I mean Khanty-Mansiysk has - 25 and 20. Yeah. Just because you're used to that doesn't make that is the right weather. So in general my frustration is also with the fact that it's a very biased thing people have it and Also, I'm frustrated a bit. Yeah. You know, you can realize that I'm not being totally non-emotional, unemotional, I don't know what even the word is like I'm emotional at this point because I'm fed up of this criticism when it comes to India.

This prejudice that you can have and you can complain. Of course, there are things that need to be fixed. I'm not denying that there are things that can be better and it's with everything. It can get better. I'm not denying. But to have this prejudice and do this, I'm sick of it. Especially okay I should tell them try getting a visa but how many documents that you need to submit to get a visa and the effort you have to do etc etc for many like you can go on and on not basically I just dislike this prejudice which we have and that's why I'm ranting a bit and some things feel like unjustified and people who are not there they can spoil the perception of the country and the place and that bothers me that bothers me a lot. So, I don't like it and that's why I'm ranting a bit.

Interviewer - All right. So, yes, we'll end with the food analogy like a pinch of salt like what you said with it at this point. So, thank you so much for taking time out and talking to us.

Yeah.Hope we see you in more tournaments and hope that you can achieve success in 2026 as well.

Thank you. Thank you.

Written by Arteyo. A QuiqChess production.