#43. Loek Van Wely Talks About (Winning) The Global Chess League!

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek was the captain of the winning team, the Triveni Continental Kings, at the recent Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London.

Loek van Wely can look back on a rich career as a player. He won the Dutch championship 8 times and had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his achievements on the chess board, Loek is a renowned coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. In more recent years he’s been coaching the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.

If you are new to the Global Chess League, Loek will fill you in as he speaks about the strategies, the players that made the difference and the pros and cons of the remarkable time control (20 minutes per player per game, no increment) that almost inevitably led to wild time scrambles. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Loek talks about the innovative format of the Global Chess League and the impact it may have on the chess world. In passing he reveals his ambitions as a coach and gives his take on Vladimir Kramnik’s anti-cheating crusade that continues to fuel heated and widespread discussions online.

0:00 – Intro

2:59 – Loek explains how the Global Chess League works

6:00 – Is there a limit to every team’s financial means?

7:18 – Magnus and Ding’s participation

8:58 – Wei Yi’s participation in Loek’s team and the “point system”

13:43 – How does Loek deal with situations where teammates have strained

relationships, such as between Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina?

17:29 – AD BREAK

18:27 – The format and length of the event

20:27 – The controversial 20+0 time control and Alireza Firouzja’s performance

24:10 – Does the Global Chess League change the chess world?

26:38 – Are the organisers happy with the way the Global Chess League has taken off?

28:27 – What considerations go into Loek’s selection of his players?

30:04 – The bidding process on players like Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura

33:25 – AD BREAK

34:04 – Magnus’s participation?

36:35 – Does the Global Chess League, operated by India, foreshadow Indian dominance on the chess organisation circuit?

40:46 – What does Loek bring to the table as a coach?

43:26 – Does Loek’s own playing strength and activity as a player help him as a coach?

45:35 – What were the crucial moments that contributed to Loek’s team’s victory this year?

47:24 – What did Loek do to make Wei Yi feel comfortable as part of the team?

49:36 – AD BREAK

50:25 – How does Loek see his future in coaching and beyond?

53:56 – Is it always a coach’s dream to work with young talent?

56:30 – Vladimir Kramnik’s controversial cheating allegations

1:05:40 – Outro