“Blitz can improve, not spoil classical chess”: Former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

Kolkata: Swiss Grand Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk during her match against Indian International Champion Vantice Agrawal on Day 1 of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid 2024 in Kolkata. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) PUNE: Former women’s world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk believes the rise of rapid and blitz chess has not diminished the merits of the classic game, saying success in any format still requires the same foundation of hard work and understanding.Ahead of the Global Chess League in Bengaluru, where she will represent the Triveni Continental Kings for the third consecutive season, the Swiss grandmaster said shorter time controls remain closely related to classical chess.“To perform well in blitz or rapid, you still have to work on chess,” Kosteniuk told TOI.The 43-year-old noted that while young people are increasingly playing one-minute and five-minute games online, sustained success in rapid or blitz cannot be achieved without studying openings, tactics, patterns and basic strategic principles.“It’s kind of interconnected. I don’t see a problem with introducing faster time controls or even focusing on them. Players who take online chess seriously also work hard to improve their level and get many of the benefits of playing chess,” she said.Kosteniuk, the 2008 world champion, argued that elite female players are capable of producing remarkably high-quality games under intense time pressure.The former world No. 3 also rejected suggestions that women’s chess is stagnating due to the limited number of players above the 2500 Elo mark and the absence of competitors near 2600. “Women’s chess is also on the rise,” she said, adding that rankings alone will not give the full picture as rating points are increasingly difficult to obtain.