Burnout in chess 'big thing', one needs to pick his battles: world No.2 Nakamura

Stavanger (Norway), May 28 (PTI) With the current breed of chess players living out of the suitcase, burnout has become a real "big thing" with some very talented players losing steam at a young age, feels world No.2 Hikaru Nakamura.

Nakamura has advocated "picking your battle" in order to survive and excel in the ever-evolving climate of the sport.

Nakamura, one of the favourites in Norway Chess currently underway here, said that talented players like Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda and former Chinese world champion Ding Liren, among others, were probably suffering from the burnout syndrome, which could lead some of them to retire much earlier than foreseen.

"I think it's very clear when I look at certain players now in this modern day and age, where burnouts are a big thing. I think, I spoke about this the other day, but like I look at somebody like Duda, a very talented player, and already he's talking about retiring and he's like 32 (27 years)," said Nakamura, a former Norway Chess title winner who is in joint lead with India's Arjun Erigaisi on 4.5 points in this edition of the tournament.

"I think, you know, Ding (Liren), of course, before the World Championship (with D Gukesh last year), even after he lost the title, you know, he hasn't really been playing either. So, I think it's (burnout) very much a real thing. I think you have to pick your battles of where you want to play," opined the chess ace, a five-time US champion and a member of the gold-winning team at the Olympiad.

He said the online chess landscape had changed in the last few years with hundreds of GMs now flocking tournaments like "Titled Tuesday" every single week to remain wired to the game at all times.

"I think it's very easy now to play chess almost every day. Obviously, when you look at the online scene, there are events like, I'll just say, Titled Tuesday, specifically, which, maybe 3-4 years ago, almost nobody was playing. I was one of the few who did, but now all the top players seem to play that event," he said.

"Titled Tuesday has become one of the biggest online chess platforms with 500-600 players, many of them GMs, competing in it every single week.

"Magnus (Carlsen), Fabiano (Caruana), Arjun (Erigaisi) specifically. I mean, they played every week just like I do. So, there are a lot of events like that. There's also Freestyle (chess), there's the Grand Chess Tour, so many different things. I think for myself, like, I just try to enjoy chess as much as I can.

"I think, you know, it's very easy to play too many tournaments when you do that, sometimes you lose the enjoyment," added Nakamura.

He felt that young GMs were taking part in so many events in order to make hay while the sun shines.

"There's always this thing called economics or the money of chess. And I think for a lot of players, there's some concern in the back of their mind that maybe things are better now than they've ever been, and it might not always be like that.

"And, if you add that to the equation, I think for quite a few players, you feel like you're missing out on the opportunity because I think underneath it all, like, there's certain events that people probably don't believe will be around forever," Nakamura said.

American GM Caruana, who is also competing in the six-payer, double round-robin format Norway Chess tournament, believes a more "calculated approach" and being choosy about tournaments will serve players better.

"I guess it's very personal, I mean I probably should turn down some invitations sometimes. I don't, so I end up playing all year. But it is also exciting to play a lot, and I do enjoy it. I do also end up missing it if I'm watching an event.

"So maybe that's a sign (of burnout), but then, yeah, it can also be quite a lot to be playing sometimes, you know, two events a month, or not having too much free time," said Caruana, an Italian-American GM who is the third-highest player in history with a peak rating of 2844.

He added that while it's an individual's choice how many tournaments a player wants to play, a "more leisurely approach" may help bring out the best in them.

"It's also very individual… I mean, for the younger players it's probably a bit easier (to play all year round). When I was in my early 20s, and I didn't really think much of it, I could play 120 classical games a year, and it wasn't too much.

"But at some point, it's also always a good idea to take a bit more of a leisurely approach, or maybe a bit more of a calculated approach, and kind of pick your battles," concluded Caruana. PTI AM SSC SSC