The ongoing Chess World Cup 2025 in Goa saw some controversy after Ian Nepomniachtchi's second round exit. The Russian GM lost to Diptayan Ghosh and after his defeat, slammed the tournament and its organisers on his Telegram channel. Reportedly, he had to change his hotels twice before losing to Diptayan, and had issues with the food.
Since his comments, many top GMs have defended the organisers. Now Dutch GM Loek van Wely has joined the bandwagon. He was in Goa as the coach of Max Warmerdam.
Also Read: Vassily Ivanchuk backs Chess World Cup organisers after Ian Nepomniachtchi's controversial criticism
Speaking in a podcast, he was asked about Nepomniachtchi's comments. He said, "It was a loser talking. He really came (to Goa) in the wrong state of mind that he was not going to like India or Goa. Okay, I mean, maybe the hotel was not what you consider a five-star hotel. But come one! We will live! We were there to play chess. You don’t get ill. You get your sleep. There’s always something to complain about."
"I guess the biggest complaint was that the internet was not working so well. At least not in the beginning. A chess player without internet means a chess player without cloud engines. And a chess player without cloud engines means a chess player without preparation," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"I guess the biggest complaint was that the internet was not working so well. At least not in the beginning. A chess player without internet means a chess player without cloud engines. And a chess player without cloud engines means a chess player without preparation," he added.
{{/usCountry}}Anish Giri also weighed in on the criticism recently. Speaking to ChessBase India, he slammed the criticism and debunked the controversy of bedbugs in the rooms of players.
“People who are not here (Caruana and Chirila), they said that there are bedbugs here. It’s kinda funny because they’re not even here, they’re there (In the USA)! They’re telling us that ‘you guys have bedbugs’. And now we’re in a state of panic: ‘where are the bedbugs?’ Some American guy is telling us that we have bedbugs here. And they’re saying that multiple sources have told them. I am like maybe it’s just one person who told many others and that’s why they’re hearing it from everywhere. I don’t have bedbugs in my room as far as I know,” he said.