Матч за звание чемпиона мира между Ding Liren (CHN) и Ian Nepomniachtchi (FID) который проходит в эти дни в Астане (Казахстан) освещается не только во многих специализированных шахматных порталах, но и в традиционных СМИ.

9 апреля в ежедневной испанской газете EL PAÍS (Eng) вышла статья известного шахматного журналиста LEONTXO GARCÍA под названием Nepomniachtchi and Ding go head-to-head in Astana to succeed Magnus Carlsen где он приводит главные мысли из интервье с участниками матча.

Приводим несколько цитат.

“I have to go back to being the 2019 me. Then the pandemic came and, at the same time, I had a crisis with my girlfriend and we ended up breaking up. Chess now fills my life, but I also have a good friend. She and my team of analysts pull me out of emotional slumps very well,” Ding Liren

“Although Ian has prepared longer than me, I think I understand chess more deeply than he does, and that’s why I got to be higher than him on the world list. I started playing when I was four years old and my career can be divided into three phases: until the beginning of 2020, from then to last year, and the third, which starts now.” Ding Liren

“If I win, I will be the first Chinese world champion and I will be among the greats with the 16 previous champions.” Ding Liren

“I signed that manifesto with my heart. That war is horrific, a tragic catastrophe. I understand to a certain extent the sanctions against Russian athletes, although I have serious doubts whether they will help to improve the situation. If I am forced to play under the FIDE flag, as happened when Russia was punished for the massive doping scandal, I will do it. But I do not identify the Russian flag with war, which horrifies me, but with my country, which I love.” Ian Nepomniachtchi

Photo: ANNA SHTOURMAN (FIDE)

elpais.com