From Friday (17 January 2025), top German player Vincent Keymer will compete in the traditional Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. At the beginning of the year, Holger Hank reported for the Deutsche Welle about Vincent Keymer and his work as a second during the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Gukesh D in Singapore. This resulted in a detailed interview. In the second part of the interview, the German number one talks, among other things, about the increasing popularity of side lines, his first experiences with Fischer Random ("Freestyle Chess") and the support of top players in Germany.

When you look ahead to your next tournament in Wijk aan Zee, what level of preparation can you expect?

When I travel to Wijk aan Zee, I would assume that some of my opponents are at least as well prepared as Ding Liren was. That's why I work with the same standards of quality and precision. Of course I don't have a team as big as for a World Championship match. It's a different format. But the preparation itself is at a similar level.

It is said that the chess openings have now been analysed to death. What does that mean for preparation at your level??

I think we've passed the point of over-analysis - and now it's getting interesting again. Ideas are moving more and more to the sidelines. The younger generation - and I count myself among them (laughs) - are very ambitious and don't want to draw. Both want to play and take risks - and then it's very exciting again. On the other hand, if someone with an Elo of 2650 is very well prepared and wants to draw with Black, it's very difficult to do anything about it, even for a top player.

When does a top player like you start to think during a game?

The transition from preparation to independent thought is critical. I ask myself: what do I know, what does my opponent want? Can I avoid it at a reasonable risk? Sometimes it's incredibly difficult. I often know that I've seen a position before and that it's in my files – but can I be 100 per cent sure? Because at my level, even a small change in the move order can cost you the game.

Opening preparation is very important in top-level chess. A lot of lines have been analysed to death. Against this background, how do you see the future of chess with a classical time limit? Will it become less important?

It's true that many of the top players advocate faster time controls. And many spectators probably also want more action. But I still like classical chess. It hasn't reached the point where it's no longer fun. Participation in top tournaments is still high – with the exception of Carlsen, all the top players still take part. But I can see that if you play at the top level and then draw seven or eight rounds in a row, it's frustrating. The fact is that very good computer-aided preparation now enables even not-so-strong players to compensate for the difference in playing strength.

Another development, which is currently the subject of much discussion, is chess with randomly selected starting positions: Fischer Random – or "Freestyle" as your sponsor Jan Henric Buettner calls it. Is "Freestyle" something for mathematical wizards or does it suit players who tend to play more intuitively?

That's a good question! Intuitive players immediately have a picture in their minds. The point is to ensure that everything fits together again given the unorthodox starting positions. Of course, the right balance is also important in Freestyle. But I have the feeling that you play more intuitively. I've noticed that we all find it very difficult to defend ourselves. When you are worse in Freestyle, everything collapses. That is a very interesting experience. At the moment it is still very unclear. That will surely change when we have more experience. We still have to learn that. In any case, long thinking times make sense in freestyle and then, in my opinion, it has great potential.

Photo: ChessBase India

Won't a theory also develop for Fischer Random or "Freestyle"?

Of course, when top tournaments take place, people will take an interest in establishing theory. But it's still in its infancy. At the moment, people are just starting to make connections. So, for example, what do I do when the knights are in the corners and things like that.

There seems to have been some tension between the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Freestyle Chess tournament series organised by Jan Henric Buettner, in which you play together with Magnus Carlsen and others. What is your opinion on this?

I can't say much about the discussions with FIDE. Of course, it would have been a big topic for me if I had had to choose between the FIDE tournaments and the freestyle competitions. But fortunately that's not the case at the moment.

When I spoke to national coach Jan Gustafsson recently, he said that the next two years are critical for your development. Do you agree?

Of course, I'm slowly getting to the age where the youth bonus no longer applies (laughs). But normally, by the time you're 25, you're at the end of your development – sometimes even later. But it's true, the next few years will of course be crucial for me.

Frederik Svane and Vincent Keymer | Photo: German Chess Federation / Katharina Reinecke

You only just missed out on qualifying for the Candidates Tournament in the last World Championship cycle – how do you intend to qualify this time?

Well, you can discuss whether it was really that close last time or not. But in any case, I want to try everything this time. I'll play the World Cup and the Grand Swiss. I also want to try to qualify through the FIDE circuit. I'm open to playing in open tournaments as well, to keep myself in the race.

How do you feel supported by the chess community in Germany?

The support of sponsors and patrons of elite chess in our country is getting better. Of course, we can't keep up with India at the moment in Germany. I still have my long-standing sponsor Grenke and, more recently, I have a lot of support from Jan Henric Buettner, for which I am very grateful. I am making progress. Unfortunately, the German Chess Federation only has limited funds available and has significantly reduced the financial support for top German players. We top players do get a few weeks of training and we are supported by national coach Jan Gustafsson, but compared to the continuous funding of top athletes in other sports, it's still not enough. In general, it's not that easy for chess players to build something. This is especially true for the other top players in Germany who are not as well supported as I am.

Part 1 of the interview...