Kramnik: “Intellectual effort gives me enormous pleasure”
Vladimir Kramnik has had a wildly uneven 2013, swinging from the highs of the Candidates Tournament and Dortmund to an abject last place at the Tal Memorial. The Alekhine Memorial was merely disappointing, and afterwards he gave a long interview to a popular Russian weekly magazine.
Vladimir Kramnik on the climax of the Anand-Gelfand match
Few know more about the tension of the final stages of a World Championship match than ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, so his interview on the eve of Game 12 shouldn’t be missed. He gives his impressions of the match so far and talks about what we can expect from the final game and possible tiebreak.
Anand’s WhyChess interview
After last year’s Tal Memorial, where Viswanathan Anand drew all nine games, he gave a long and fascinating interview to Vlad Tkachiev. Topics included the champion’s current form and the upcoming match against Boris Gelfand. On the eve of that match I’m resposting the interview here as it’s currently unavailable at WhyChess.
Anish Giri: The one who got away
Anish Giri is currently the world’s most promising junior, but although he now represents the Netherlands he started his chess career in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of his first coaches, Asya Kovalyova, explains how a chess superpower let a prodigy slip through its grasp.
Ilyumzhinov on the London Candidates and Grand Prix
In an interview with Sport Express, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has explained the decision to hold the next Candidates Tournament later this year in London. He also talks about plans for a new Men’s Grand Prix and the sale of the rights to the World Championship and other major events.
Averbakh: “History is written by the victors”
Yuri Averbakh, the world’s oldest grandmaster, celebrated his 90th birthday on February 8th this year. To mark the occasion he gave a long and fascinating interview to Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili, which turned into a whirlwind tour of chess history.
Ivanchuk: “I could have become a writer”
Vassily Ivanchuk’s recent interview with the Ukrainian daily newspaper “Den” isn’t your standard chess interview. In fact, Ivanchuk doesn’t talk about current chess events at all, instead displaying a deep interest in literature while also explaining, for instance, why Julius Caesar would have considered chess players happy.
Karpov, Kramnik and Kasparov on Spassky
To mark the 75th birthday yesterday of Boris Spassky, the Tenth World Chess Champion, the Russian Chess Federation website has published congratulations from three of Spassky’s great successors to the chess throne: Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov. They talk about Spassky as a chess player and a personality.
Spassky: “I knew the openings badly”
Boris Spassky, the Tenth World Chess Champion, today turned 75. In a long interview he talked about his introduction to chess, the road to the title and his friendship and rivalry with Bobby Fischer, as well as about his personal life, from surviving the Siege of Leningrad to his first unsuccessful marriage and moving to France.
Kramnik: Tseshkovsky “loved chess too much”
Vitaly Tseshkovsky, who died on the 24th December, coached the young Kramnik in the years when he broke into the World Top 10. Kramnik has now shared his recollections of Tseshkovsky, noting his talent was comparable to Timman’s, but he lacked the sporting and political skills required to top world chess in that era.
