Vassily Ivanchuk: “I’m a very ambitious person”
Few would identify emotional outbursts as the quality to borrow from Garry Kasparov, but then Vassily Ivanchuk has always stood out from the crowd. In a long and fascinating interview he again displays the self-awareness and deliberate strategy that often lie behind his apparent eccentricities.
Judit Polgar: “I love chess”
While Vladimir Potkin’s transformation from coach into major tournament winner was impressive, perhaps the most popular story of the recent European Championship was Judit Polgar’s spectacular return to form. After the event she gave an interview to Evgeny Surov of Chess-News.
Vladimir Potkin on chess coaching and cheating
In an interview given after becoming European Individual Champion, Vladimir Potkin talks about how he won, what it means for his “day job” of coaching Ian Nepomniachtchi, and gives his view on the cheating scandal that was the talk of the town in Aix-les-Bains.
Blondes have more fun
Hopefully, at least, as the chess didn’t go quite so well for them! The brunette team won the April Fool’s Day blitz match in Moscow’s Central Chess Club by a crushing 20-point margin, with Nazi Paikidze and Daria Charochkina finishing joint first in the individual standings.
Blondes versus brunettes
Yes, it’s the chess event the world’s been waiting for! Later today, in the famous Botvinnik Central Chess Club in Moscow, a team of blonde players will compete in a blitz match against a team of brunettes. The games will be broadcast live on the internet (video link unconfirmed!) from 5pm, Moscow Time.
Anti-hero? Evgeny Vasiukov on Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi, who turned 80 yesterday, is one of the great figures of twentieth-century chess, but also one of the most controversial. Evgeny Vasiukov, who’s known him for 60 years, felt compelled to voice what he considers the truth about Korchnoi, both as a man and a chess player.
“I don’t consider chess a game. It’s theatre.”
Kseniya Simonova’s mesmerising sand art performance was the highlight of the opening ceremony of the 2011 Amber Chess Tournament. Afterwards, the Ukrainian artist talked about her love of chess and her impressions of Monte Carlo, a “sandbox for adults”.
GM Ruslan Ponomariov answers your questions: Part II
Ever been confused by the plethora of chess engines? Fiddled around with Microsoft’s Chess Titans? Do you find Dvoretsky’s books tough going? If so, you’ve got more in common with one super-GM than you might have thought! Ponomariov’s in-depth answers to reader questions are a must-read.
Farcical end to strong women’s event
Chess events perhaps aren’t famed for their organisation, but it’s still unusual to find all the participants of a major tournament going on strike before the final round is played. That’s what happened in the Cotroceni Women’s International that recently finished in Bucharest.
Le Quang Liem and the Soviet School of Chess
Moscow’s Aeroflot Open can be something of a graveyard for foreign chess talent, so for the Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem to win it twice in a row was an amazing achievement. It’s also thought-provoking: does Le’s success tell us anything about the current balance of power between Russia and Asia?
