World chess championship 2024

Recently, I spent an engaging four days in Singapore to attend Days Four, Five and Six of the World Chess Championship match between the defending champion, Ding Liren, and his challenger, Gukesh Dommaraju. I travelled with two chess friends, Tay Aik and Terry. While Terry opted for a hotel near the Vivocity shopping mall, Tay Aik and I decided on a budget hotel in Geylang. 

By the way, Geylang is no longer the infamous area it once was, although it still retains echoes of its colourful past. Singapore, in fact, had several questionable neighbourhoods decades ago, such as Geylang, but also Bugis and Desker Road. Anyway, our choice, the Ibis Budget Hotel, was clean, well-maintained and family-oriented, though the establishments around it still advertised their "special Eight-Hour promotional rates." Hmm...

The first day of our arrival was spent navigating our way to the match venue. Friends who had attended the match before us had suggested that we look for the Seafood Paradise restaurant, from where a free shuttle bus would take us directly to the Equarius Hotel on Sentosa Island. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, passed through the security checks and then relaxed in the Fan Zone before queuing up to enter the viewing gallery. In the Fan Zone, a simultaneous chess match was ongoing between a grandmaster and 10 players. On Day Four, Alexandra Kosteniuk was in the midst of playing her opponents; on the following day, it was Xie Jun, and on the third day, Viswanathan Anand was the main attraction. So, there were three days of former world champions facing their lucky opponents, drawn from those who had purchased VIP tickets. Once the games concluded, the tables were rearranged, bean bags were scattered on the floor for casual seating, and free-flowing coffee and tea were made available to everyone. There were also television screens in the Fan Zone streaming commentaries by David Howell and Jovanka Houska.

Inside the playing room, the players were seated at a central table, with one side of the room featuring a soundproof glass barrier that completely isolated the gallery from the playing area. On the left, two Arbiters sat at their own tables, while the Chief Arbiter—whom I'd rank as the third most important person in the room after the two players—was seated on the right. Just before five o'clock, a throng of photographers arrived and positioned themselves in front of the glass barrier, eagerly awaiting the entrance of Ding and Gukesh. When the players finally made their way into the room, both avoided each other's gaze and waited for Maurice Ashley to deliver the introductory statements. Every day, special guests were invited to make the ceremonial first move, with photographers snapping away madly. One of the Arbiters then carefully placed the moved piece back on its original square, and Ashley officially announced the beginning of the game. Both players shook hands, White made the first move, and then Ashley and the guest exited the room. After a brief moment, the signal was given for the photographers to scoot off as well. Amidst all this activity, the Chief Arbiter remained a peripheral figure, out of view and basically overlooked by both the photographers and the spectators in the gallery.

Meanwhile, in the viewing gallery, the audience was divided into VIP and general seating areas. Usherers guided ticket holders to their designated spots and placard holders raised signs asking everyone to remain silent. I found it curious that complete silence was required in the gallery, considering no noise could penetrate the soundproofed playing room. For the most part, the crowd adhered to the rule, though quiet discussions were ongoing among friends as they analysed positions and debated possibilities. Two television screens, positioned on either side of the gallery, displayed the game for all to follow, as it was impossible to see the actual chessboard from where we sat. At 5:30, everyone was ushered out of the gallery to surrender their mobile phones, laptops and cameras for safekeeping before being allowed back in. At the end of the game, applause erupted from the audience, and everyone would then rush out to retrieve their belongings.

The three games we witnessed in Singapore were all drawn, which left us feeling slightly underwhelmed. A friend who attended during the first week had the fortune of seeing two decisive games out of three—and even bumped into Gukesh on the rest day! No such luck for us, unfortunately, as we were there in the second week. Game Four concluded with a repetition of position, as did Game Five. In Game Six, there was a fleeting moment where it seemed the game might end quickly. When Gukesh spurned the repetition of position, an audible gasp rippled through the gallery—a clear expression of admiration for the Indian player’s fighting spirit as opposed to his opponent's non-aggression strategy. It was obvious he wanted to continue playing. Inwardly, I couldn’t help but think that, had the game ended in a quick draw, the audience would have been deeply disappointed—some might even have booed. Thankfully, we were spared that scenario!

With the Chief Arbiter, Hamid Majid

Former world championship contender Boris Gelfand

Former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

Photographers inside the playing room

Bean bags in the Fan Zone

Fan Zone

With the world champion's trophy

Former women's world champion Xie Jun

VIP seats in front, general seats at the back

Deposit counter for all mobile phones, laptops, cameras and other electronic devices

Stringent security check for sharp objects

Reliving old times by exchanging notes with Filipino grandmaster Eugenio Torre on chess personalities like Tan Chin Nam, Florencio Campomanes, Hasan, Matsumoto, etc

An old friend from Kuala Lumpur. Vooi Giap and I go back to the MSSM days of 1972