Vincent Keymer just lost the first duel with chess leader Magnus Carlsen. Not so bad, for the German super talent only experience counted anyway. “It was a special experience to play against the world champion. You don’t have that every day, «says Keymer about the game against the Norwegian Dominator last spring.
Vincent Keymer is 15 years old, and in October 2019 he became the youngest grandmaster ever to exist in Germany. He discovered his love for chess at the age of five, and now the student from Saulheim, just under 20 kilometers south of Mainz, knocks softly on the door of the world’s best. The way there is not an easy one, however, and success is not guaranteed. Of course there is “no shame” to be compared to Carlsen, says Keymer, but “I’m still a long way from that.”
Vincent Keymer seems modest, determined – and realistic. There are many talents in chess, but only a few make it to the top of the world. Keymer knows that too. The competition at his age is tough, especially the so-called child prodigies from India and China. That is why Keymer wants to finish high school in the next year and a half, then “a few years of chess – and then take a look”. His strong performances against experienced grandmasters naturally raised hopes in German chess.
Keymer has gone through “a fantastic development” in recent years, says Ullrich Krause, President of the German Chess Federation (DSB). There is definitely the possibility “that one day he will be able to establish himself among the world’s best.” The corona crisis at least suited the son of a family of musicians. No way to school, that meant more time for training, five to six hours a day, sometimes even ten. In his little free time, Keymer rides his bike to compensate, he had to give up other sports such as football or handball in a club because of the tight schedule.
The pandemic also helped the sport of chess – the 1,500-year-old board game is currently experiencing a real boom. The reason for this is the streaming platform Twitch. Famous streamers duel there in online chess, and the games are sometimes watched by more than 150,000 viewers. Established professionals like Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, currently world number one in blitz chess, provide valuable tips as commentators. Nakamura also streams itself, for almost 500,000 followers. The other world-class players also switched to the virtual board without further ado. “All good players and grandmasters are active on online platforms,” says Keymer. However, the focus is less on entertainment and more on competition.
School will soon start again for Keymer after the summer vacation. Then he wants to prove himself in live tournaments. In any case, Keymer made the world champion from Norway work up a sweat for almost seven hours. And maybe you can even beat Carlsen in the future? “I wouldn’t complain about that,” says Keymer with a smile. The last German world champion was Emanuel Lasker – almost 100 years ago. SID/nd
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