Exclusive Interview with Georgian Fide Master “Lile Koridze”

Lile Koridze, a 21-year-old chess player and very famous streamer from Georgia . She holds a title of Woman Fide Master. Do read her exclusive interview with "The Philox".

Q1. You became Fide Master at the age of 19 and two years back you defeated a very strong Super Grand Master Matthias Bluebaum. You have achieved so much success in a such short span of time. How do you feel about such success and failures as a chess player?

To be a Chess player you have to be mentally very tough. The game requires you to be psychologically very strong. Like any other sport, you have to deal with plenty of ups and downs.

I started playing chess when I was 8 years old. I really enjoyed playing the game and decided to build my career in it. I can play the game for many hours. I feel privileged to be a chess player and content creator for the game. I regularly stream on Twitch where I get to show my skills in speed chess.

Playing against Matthias Bluebaum was an amazing experience. I defeated him in the blitz section. He has 500+ more rating points than me which is a behemoth at that level.

Q2. Any particular chess player who is your inspiration?

I was in first grade at school when I started playing chess. I do not have any particular chess idol. There are so many amazing chess players to watch and choosing any one, in particular, is difficult.

I can’t name any one particular chess player but Georgian women chess players have inspired me. Many women in Georgia have achieved so much in chess which is a big inspiration for me.

Q3. In India, even though there are around 80 GM’s, people do not consider chess as a career option. Chess is still not considered to be a lucrative career option in India and many parts of the world. How much cooperative were your friends and family with your decision of Chess as a career option?

I would say I understand why they feel like that. That may be the reason for the people not supporting chess. People have different opinions. My family encouraged me to take chess as a career option. Streaming Chess helped me support myself financially. Be it friends or family I always have enough support to make me feel privileged. They always respect my decision. So I never felt bullied in that way. I do not blame the people but the chess world itself. The 64 square world needs to grow to accommodate the varied needs of different people so as to make it lucrative for others to join in.

In India though chess players are very strong. I played many Indians and even though they were lower rated their game was strong and the rating points were not rendering justice to their game. Also for the past few years I am seeing almost every month a new GM coming up. India will soon catch up to Russia in terms of the number of Grand Masters.

Q4. There is so much controversy going on in chess with respect to the use of chess engines not just in online matches but also in on-board games. Have you ever faced a similar incident where you doubt your opponent might be cheating, using a chess engine or any other unfair means?

Chess engines are becoming stronger and smarter day by day.  I myself faced a similar situation two times when I felt my opponent was cheating. It is difficult to prove this to the arbiter. But you can have this conjecture from the way they are playing.

In 2017, when I was 15, my opponent was regularly going to the toilet which had me in doubt. The level of moves he was playing was way beyond his rating. I had complained to the arbiter. Later the player himself accepted and apologised.

Few months later I had the same experience with another player.

This is the worst clutter I face in chess. I never understand the psychology of the player who do all these scandals. This is disrespectful to chess and chess communities. This also discourages potential players from building their career in chess.

Q5. Any comments on Magnus Carlsen  and Hans Neimann Chess cheating controversy?

I personally do not know much about Magnus Carlsen and Hans Neimann Chess cheating controversy. I would prefer to stay silent on this issue.

Q6. Do you think with the advent of Blitz and Bullet chess, Classical Chess is losing its sanctity given the fact that it takes lots of hours and does not interest viewers. Do you think it will withstand the test of time?

I had once similar conversations with the twitch community. Playing classical chess is tiresome. You have to play it like for 4-5 years scourging for millions of variations. I cannot imagine for people watching classical chess for such a long duration. You can play blitz or a few times rapid while streaming but the same is not possible in classical chess. In classical chess timings you can play hundreds of blitz matches and thousands of bullet one.

I believe the timings of classical chess must be reduced substantially so as to make sure in any given tournament a player can play 3-4 matches. With this timing only one match is possible. Reducing the time of classical chess will surely incentivise many to join tournaments. This will eventually save days for the players.

Q7. Have you ever met Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand or any other Big GM’s. What was your interaction with these Super GM’s was like?

I met Vishy Anand once. He took around 12 hours of lecture for a session in 2018. In that session there were so many players under 20. It came as a surprise to me as to how 5 times world champion and one of the great chess players of all time was so humble and kind. I also have picture with him

(we request her to share the picture which we posted on this post)

I once saw Magnus last year playing European championship. I tried to get a picture with him but I was unsuccessful. When he finished his match annihiliating his opponent I tried to approach him but he ran away.  Next day I saw him taking pictures with so many chess players. Some chess players are superstitious about few things. This may be  Magnus’s surreptitious superstition.

I also have a pic with Hikaru Nakamura. All these chess players are very humble despite achieving mammoth success in their life.

Q8. You have appeared in the streams of Anna Cramling, Botez Sisters, Eric Rosen. Have you heard about Sagar Shah or Samay Raina who are famous chess streamers in India. Would you like to join their stream in future if you get an opportunity?

I have heard about Samay Raina and Sagar Shah. They are very famous chess streamers in India. I once also collaborated with Indian GM Srinath in a sub battle. I also had the chance to commentate on a chess game b/w Nihal Sarin and Arjun Erigaisi with Srinath. He is very nice and humble just like any other Indian Chess Players.

I also know Vidit Gujrati, very strong GM, who also used to make content on chess. He is very sweet and humble person.

Samay Raina is a very famous comedian. His innovation of a blend of chess with comedy is applauded in India. Many of his streams had garnered 70k+ views. Sagar Shah also brought a revolution of Chess content in India.

I would surely love to collab with Samay Raina and Sagar Shah. Though it is difficult to reach out to them.

Q9. If not chess, What would be the career option you would have gone for?

I don’t know, it is very difficult to choose. I used to love dance but not that much to think about a career in it. I also received the highest grade back in my school and won a gold medal. It is difficult for me to choose any one particular stream apart from chess. I cannot give you one answer. I love being associated with chess and making chess related content.

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