The 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, is deeply concerned about the future of chess. He said this during a regular interview.

“Clearly, FIDE is in deep crisis. It was expected, but no one imagined it would start so soon. Yes, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, travels quite a lot, but he has to reconsider his attitude towards chess. It would be good if he consulted with professional chess players in order not to make wrong decisions. For example, the knockout world cup tournament. The chess lost its image and reputation. It is sad that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov does not want to understand the essence of chess, he wants to make changes in its rules,” said the famous chess player.

Anatoliy Karpov thinks that current world champion Magnus Carlsen does not care about the reputation of chess.

“World champions should think about the protection of chess traditions. However, Magnus Carlsen wants everything to suit him. As a result, he let the changes in chess rules, which is unacceptable,” concluded the former world champion.