‘It’s tiring’: Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi announces retirement as April fool prank

By: Sports DeskUpdated: April 2, 2022 11:06:37 am

Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, captain of the Indian team that won the Online Olympiad Gold in 2020, has announced his retirement from professional chess at the age of 27. The announcement however is an April fool prank from the Grandmaster.

“I have struggled to bring home the results. It’s not just recently but it’s something that has been happening since a long time. I crossed the Elo barrier of 2700 in 2017, and it’s been over 4 years and I have been oscillating between the 2710-2730 mark. It’s tiring,” Gujrathi said in an interview with chessbase.in on Friday.

“The life of a chess player is very scattered. You have to be travelling every now and then to play tournaments. Hence, it becomes very difficult to spend time with your loved one,” he said.

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India No 2 had also reached the quarter-finals of the FIDE World Cup 2021. The 27-year-old said that the Chess as a sport is a very lonely endevaour and at present he lacks motivation for the game and every trainning session feels like a drag.

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Gujrathi also accepted that taking a break from the sport would have only delayed the inevitable.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdFirst published on: 02-04-2022 at 10:09:57 am Next Story

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