""I think in classical chess there's a very healthy balance between uh talent and hard work and where how far each one will get you and as soon as you start shuffling the pieces to get rid of opening preparation and who's worked harder at that (...) the more talented people get a huge advantage compared to the harder working types we all know which category I sort of qualify myself in but uh well maybe I have to adjust that after a nice day today but yeah so in general uh I would definitely like to see more of these events but let's put it this way I would like to see more of these events without getting rid of classical events. I think as long as no classical events are harmed by it and removed but no it's a lot of fun for sure and uh while it might not be as serious it's definitely more fun all" — Sam Shankland in an interview with Maurice Ashley, September 2021"