No one wants to dump on a teenager making a few careless comments on a YouTube stream.
But it has to be said, GM Denis Lazavik is developing quite the persona.
The 19-year-old Belarus number-one has emerged as one of chess's most entertainingly outspoken young players, apparently willing to say about his rivals what most grandmasters would keep to themselves.
This time, however, chess's new edgelord may just have gone too far.
In a remarkable interview in Russian with Chess Yaroslav, Lazavik took aim at women players, GM Hikaru Nakamura and teenage American GM Abhimanyu Mishra.
The most controversial comments came when Lazavik discussed training camps run by renowned Belarusian coach Mikhail Shereshevsky.
Lazavik welcomed the decision to separate male and female players.
"It is madness to train with women, especially when looking at openings—there is a difference in level," he said. "They don't understand anything that we are being taught."
When the stream chat subsequently accused Lazavik and his interviewer of sexism, the interviewer argued that men play chess better than women.
Lazavik replied: "You can't argue against the truth."
The comments have attracted criticism online, although some Russian speakers have argued that parts of the English translation circulating on social media make the wider exchange sound more sweeping than it was.
There was rather less ambiguity about Lazavik's assessment of Nakamura.
Lazavik defeated the American 3.5-1.5 in the semifinals of the Esports World Cup in Paris last month before losing the final to GM Magnus Carlsen.
Asked about beating Nakamura, Lazavik said he had been certain he would win.
"He doesn't know how to play at all! No jokes," Lazavik said.
He claimed Nakamura's opening and positional play both contained weaknesses and added: "I was simply sure that I dominate on all fronts."
Nor did Mishra escape.
The 17-year-old, who became the youngest grandmaster in history in 2021, recently spoke publicly about struggling to secure sufficient financial backing.
Lazavik had little sympathy.
"Mishra isn't that promising anymore," he said. "The years are passing. He's already 17. His rating is like mine."
He added: "No support? You should have played better, sorry dude."
Lazavik then argued Mishra should already have reached 2700, saying: "With your 2630 at 17, no one needs you in the modern world."
The swagger is particularly striking given Lazavik's own rating. He entered the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand rated 2621.
But his confidence is not entirely without foundation.
One of the strongest online players of his generation, Lazavik reached the Esports World Cup final after eliminating Nakamura and collected $190,000 for second place before losing to Carlsen.
He is now representing Belarus on top board at the Chess Olympiad, where the country has returned after missing the 2022 and 2024 editions.
Lazavik has certainly ensured that return will not go unnoticed.
At 19, chess's new edgelord appears to have decided that diplomacy isn't really his thing.