Ilya Odessky’s family threatened by criminals
Ilya Odessky – an International Master, author and arguably the best Russian chess journalist, has appealed for help as his family is being threatened by criminals.
Grischuk interviewed at Crestbook
Alexander Grischuk, one of the most interesting characters at the top of world chess, responded to reader questions at Crestbook. Topics included his preference for blitz and rapid chess, his other career as a poker player… and almost everything else under the sun.
Kramnik: For now Magnus is my “client”
Fresh from his smooth win in Bilbao, Vladimir Kramnik gave an interview where he talked about the situation at the top in world chess, Magnus Carlsen’s recent loss of form, and his own hopes of regaining the top spot on the rating list.
Ivanchuk: “People look at some of us as eccentrics”
Despite his loss today to Aronian, Vassily Ivanchuk has been in impressive form of late, particularly in his dominant performance on the first board at the Olympiad. He recently gave an interview to the Ukrainian “Podrobnosti”, where he talks about the Olympiad, what chess means for him and who he sees replacing his generation of players.
Update on the Gashimov saga
Perhaps the most significant story in the run-up to this year’s Olympiad was the Azerbaijan team’s decision to leave out Vugar Gashimov. They paid the price at the chess board (finishing 12th), but there were also more problems between the team and captain during the event, and conflict continues to rage now it’s over.
“Chess punished the whole team” – Russian views on the Chess Olympiad
While the Russian women’s first team took gold with an almost flawless performance, their male counterparts found things a whole lot tougher. Vladimir Kramnik, Evgeny Bareev and Sergey Shipov were among those who assessed the silver-medal performance at the World Chess Olympiad.
Svidler on Rd 9: “As I don’t know the Grünfeld Defence…”
Peter Svidler’s win with black in round 9 kept Russian hopes alive, and he gave an entertaining account of the day’s play to Vladimir Barsky for the Russian Chess Federation website. Meanwhile, some remarkable turnarounds in the women’s event inspired Sergey Shipov to formulate a law of women’s chess.
“Fortune beckoned… then melted into thin air”
Russian Captain Evgeny Bareev comments on the first team failing to beat Ukraine and move into the lead at the World Chess Olympiad. The only (but perhaps sufficient) success story continues to be Sergey Karjakin, who revealed how a little female assistance gave him an easy victory against Pavel Eljanov.
Russia beats Russia
The key encounter in round 7 of the Olympiad was between the top two Russian men’s teams, with the “veterans” prevailing thanks, once again, to Sergey Karjakin. Meanwhile, the emotional roller-coaster of Radek Wojtaszek’s win against Hikaru Nakamura was captured in live commentary by Mateusz Bartel, the fifth member of the Polish team.
Bareev: “Today Ian played like a genius!”
The Russian men’s teams got back on track in round 6, with Evgeny Bareev again on hand to comment on the victories over the Czech Republic (2.5-1.5) and the Netherlands (3-1). Meanwhile, the women’s first team almost ensured themselves gold with a “hair-raising” victory against Ukraine.
