Ivanchuk Reviews His Game Against Carlsen, Ignores Air Raid Alert
Vasil Ivanchuk, a famous Ukrainian Grandmaster, was just breaking down his blitz game against Magnus Carlsen (“a winning position which I spectacularly lost in just a few moves) when the air raid alert sirens went off. Kyiv was being bombed again. Ivanchuk, famous for his passion for the game, calmly continued with the analysis.
The game Ivanchuk was analysing was played recently during the Norway — Ukraine Solidarity Match. The World Champion and other top players took part in the event to show their support for Ukraine, but no one expected such a vivid example of how the war affects people in Ukraine, let alone professional chess players.
Ivanchuk said that his career has been affected by both COVID-19 and the war and he has not been able to take part in the events for several years now. He hopes that soon the war will end and he will be able to resume with the tournaments. ‘Of course, my normal life is playing chess,’ — said Ivanchuk.
We could not put it better than Reddit user xmuskorx who commented on the incident: ‘People who drop bombs on Ivanchuk should be ashamed’.
UPDATE: In support of Ukraine, World Chess has decided to produce an anti-war t-shirt for the team based on this story. After having received numerous requests, we are making it available for purchase, with all profits being donated to UNICEF to support their Ukraine relief effort.
