English Chess Forum

Interesting headline:

'Below 2700, Chess Doesn't Pay': England's No. 1 Nikita Vitiugov Quits Professional Game

This bit is admirable:

He added that playing second-tier tournaments brought him little enjoyment and that modern professional chess increasingly rewards quantity over the kind of deep investment in individual games that he preferred.

Slightly more controversial:

Asked whether England's ageing line-up was a "team of veterans", he offered an even more brutal description.

"A team of amateurs," he said.

He is, as he explained, comparing with professional stipends that are paid in countries that do that.

He also comments on Bodhana Sivanandan's "colossal talent" and this is not the full interview which I have not read - it is in Russian. Anyone able to read it or get more tidbits from a translation?

I feel this thread needs a new click-baity subject line:

"England Number One calls his team "amateurs""...

It would generate more attention than "Interview with Nikita Vitiugov".

It is a good interview. Read it!

Nothing very controversial there. The interviewer seems to find it surprising that those outside the top 50 are struggling while the game is booming at the very top, as though this does not happen in most sports, most of the time. Players such as Vitiugov always have, and always will, need to turn to writing/coaching/commenting, if they are to rely upon chess beyond a certain (increasingly young) age, at least if they are to make the sort of living consistent with buying tickets to watch Spurs.

I don't think it controversial that he calls his team mates "amateurs" either - but then I have always taken that term quite literally, divorced from playing strength. I guess that some team mates might think differently.

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 9:03 am

I don't think it controversial that he calls his team mates "amateurs" either - but then I have always taken that term quite literally, divorced from playing strength. I guess that some team mates might think differently.

He could have called them semi-professional, which would have been both accurate and have avoided the negative connotations associated with calling them amateur.

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 9:26 am

He could have called them semi-professional, which would have been both accurate and have avoided the negative connotations associated with calling them amateur.

It might have been the translator if the original interview was in Russian.

In Soviet days, they used to claim that their top players financed by the State were "amateur" on the grounds that they all had some nominal profession like journalism. Calling a player a "professional" was a little derogatory when applied to Western players.

He should have known better not to say that. Also, top-level chess has been elitest for a long time now, thats not exactly breaking news.

Ian Thompson wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 9:26 am

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 9:03 am

I don't think it controversial that he calls his team mates "amateurs" either - but then I have always taken that term quite literally, divorced from playing strength. I guess that some team mates might think differently.

He could have called them semi-professional, which would have been both accurate and have avoided the negative connotations associated with calling them amateur.

That would have been best as a formula to which no one could object, agreed. Still, he was speaking from his own perspective, which seems to be how hard it is to make money if one only wants to play top events. He seemingly regards the sorts of events that Adams nowadays plays (and often wins) as second rate events where most of the field are amateurs under almost any definition.

Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 12:33 pm

He seemingly regards the sorts of events that Adams nowadays plays (and often wins) as second rate events where most of the field are amateurs under almost any definition.

In his youth, Adams was a regular on the English weekend tournament circuit along with Julian Hodgson, You got to see the latest Tromp theory as a bonus, particular when they played each other.

Perhaps "amateur" may be defined as "not so arrogant as to think they can only associate with players rated 2700 or more".

McShane has been called an amatuer because he works for a long time now, often the world's strongest amateur.

It's a really interesting interview and it's well worth reading the full version using a translation tool (unless you're genuinely fluent in Russian - is this true of any forum members?). There are a few linguistic imperfections.

Just read the full version (translated by Google) and lots of extra chess content (Shreyas Royal is mentioned and Nepo gets a lot of coverage as Vitiugov was one of his seconds). Also lots of football content as Vitiugov clearly a big football fan. Well worth a read as Justin says.

Slightly disappointed that Vitiugov (rightly) refrains from commenting on active fellow chess players (would love to know his views on Nigel Short). He does have stern words for those who artificially maintain their rating at high levels.

The self-comparisons between himself and Korchnoi are really interesting, but really only the surface scratched there.

Nikita Vitiugov wrote:Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi said that after a change of residence, everything changes for a chess player, including their convenient and inconvenient opponents. I experienced the extended effect of this idea on myself—in the new circumstances, I changed overall, in some ways re-forming myself as a person. And chess didn't find the same significant place in my new life.

(Also Home Walls of Viktor Korchnoi, jointly with A. Kentler and V. Faibisovich - according to Edward Winter: "Rodnie steni Viktora Korchnovo by N. Vitiugov, A. Kentler and V. Faibisovich (St Petersburg, 2017)" - what does the title actually mean?)

I may break the habit of several years now and consider buying Vitiugov's forthcoming book (out in November I think, or possibly September):

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/ ... 1784833213

Chess Metamorphosis

From the publisher:

AN ENGAGING BACKSTAGE JOURNEY THROUGH ELITE CHESS, RIVALRY, EMOTION AND REFLECTION

Grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov narrates his journey through chess and life, with special focus on the 2020-2024 period, when he seconded his long-time friend Ian Nepomniachtchi. ‘Team Nepo’ dominated the 2020/21 and 2022 Candidates Tournaments, qualifying for the World Championship matches of 2021 and 2023, and finished second in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. With memoirs of training camps, preparation, Candidates Tournaments and World Championship matches, punctuated by 58 annotated games covering the period of 2001-2024, Chess Metamorphosis offers a unique backstage pass to chess at the highest level. Most importantly, the author shares his perspective of the raw human interactions, emotional highs and lows, and subsequent reflections after these tension-filled events.

It's maybe not entirely representative of the whole but I particularly enjoyed:

What myth about professional chess players irritates you the most?

“Chess is played by smart people.”

JustinHorton wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 26, 2026 11:10 pm

It's maybe not entirely representative of the whole but I particularly enjoyed:

What myth about professional chess players irritates you the most?

“Chess is played by smart people.”

Suddenly I like this man a great deal.