“Who plays better, Ivanchuk in good form or Carlsen?”
Boris Gelfand’s view, in an interview with Chess-News after winning the Candidates Matches in Kazan, was that an in-form Ivanchuk is still the best player in the world. As well as the topic of age in chess, he also talked about preparation, computers, Sofia Rules and the World Championship format.
Boris Gelfand: A completely happy man
After Boris Gelfand won the Candidates Matches in Kazan he gave numerous interviews that shed light on a player who, despite having been at the top of world chess for 20 years, is perhaps still something of a mystery to chess fans. It’s time for that to change, as an Anand-Gelfand World Championship match awaits!
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.
Khalifman: “Anand’s a genius. He emanates light”
While on his way to winning the Minsk Open, former World Champion Alexander Khalifman gave a long and thoughtful interview to Elena Klimetz for the openchess.by website. Topics include why his career tapered off after winning the world title, parental pressure on young chess players, and the match in Sofia.
Kramnik on competing with Carlsen
In something of a media blitz around his 35th birthday, Vladimir Kramnik gave another interview, this time to Evgeny Gik of the Moscow-based “Moskovsky Komsomolets”. He talks about Magnus Carlsen’s threat to his chances of reclaiming the title, chess politics and how age has affected his chess.
Gelfand at Crestbook Part II
The second installment of Boris Gelfand’s answers to the questions of Crestbook readers kept up the incredible length and quality of the first. A general title might be, “Everything you ever wanted to know about GM chess but never dared to ask”. He patiently answers questions ranging from “e4 or d4” to “what’s the meaning of life”!
Gelfand at Crestbook Part I
Boris Gelfand’s responses to reader questions at Crestbook were all you could hope for – patient, revealing and full of insights and anecdotes. Remarkably these translations are only a fraction of the original, and this is only part one.
Gelfand on computers and FIDE
After his win in the FIDE World Cup Gelfand gave a long and fascinating interview to Yury Yakovich at Chesspro.
Kramnik: “If Topalov becomes champion it will be a disaster for chess”
Kramnik gave a fascinating and controversial interview to Michael Khomich at Sports.ru after winning the Tal Memorial in Moscow.
