After the tenth round of the Tata Steel Chess 2015 tournament, Magnus Carlsen joined Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam in the commentary booth for an extensive post-game interview. The following snippets from Carlsen’s remarks concern the Chinese players:
I’m following the Challengers group. It was very nice the last time we were in Rotterdam and there was no chance to follow the games in the Challengers group so there were fewer distractions and I could follow my own game too. There are many good games played there. Wei Yi is playing brilliantly, and [David] Navara is obviously a good player. I think Wei Yi has 2675 and I think that was exactly what I had at his age – and then you can talk about inflation and so on [smiling]….I won’t do that.
How good is Wei Yi? Is he a spectacular talent?
Yes, I think so. It’s hard to tell still whether he’ll be “just” a world class player or one of the best, but he’s really good and he’s a well-rounded player, not just a tactician.
Who do you see as the best Chinese player?
I think Ding [Liren] is the best just now. Yu Yangyi is going to be good as well. I remember he played here last year in the Challengers but he struggled mightily. He’s had good results since, but I think Ding is better. Wang Hao is still good, but he’s probably not playing professionally anymore.
Do you think that China can take over?
I think they’re already very good, they have been for many years, but they’re still struggling to find that one guy who will be one of the very best. But also I think India have more players than China, especially at a youth level, so I think right now it’s probably more likely that India will dominate rather than China. The Chinese will be there for many years and it’s a nice addition.
