Mark Taimanov at 85
For someone perhaps best known for spectacular failure – losing 6:0 to Bobby Fischer – Mark Taimanov has had the most successful of lives. A top Soviet grandmaster and a successful concert pianist, he’s now the happy octogenarian father of 6-year-old twins. He talks about his life and contemporary chess.
Kasparov on ending his work with Carlsen
While Garry Kasparov was in Georgia he gave an interview which extratime.az claim is the first to the Azerbaijan media in 20 years. It was one of the first public statements after the news that Kasparov had stopped training Carlsen provoked much speculation.
Karpov on the World Champions
Anatoly Karpov gave a long interview to the Russian RIA News. The most fascinating section is his assessment of his own place in the pantheon of Chess World Champions, including his controversial opinion that Anand and Topalov would have been unable to achieve the same success without computers.
Ivanchuk on chess genius
Ivanchuk’s surreal reply to an odd question on chess genius was one of the highlights of the Nalchik Grand Prix.