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.
“Kirsan released into space”
That was one of the many headlines that greeted Ilyumzhinov’s announcement last week that he was stepping down as Head of Kalmykia. Many of the reports in the Russian press might be characterised as political obituaries, but without the inconvenient obligation to speak well of the dead.
Karpov hits back
Today, in his Echo of Moscow blog, Anatoly Karpov responded fiercely both to FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s explanation for stepping down as Head of Kalmykia, and his statement attacking the “political” actions of the Karpov campaign, and especially Gary Kasparov.
Voices from Kalmykia
For all the attention devoted to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov as FIDE President, his role as Head of the Republic of Kalmykia remains more of a mystery. Daria Aslamova’s recent two-part report offered a fascinating glimpse into everyday life in the small steppe republic.
Kamsky on the Candidates Matches
Gata Kamsky, in Azerbaijan for the Baku Open which starts on Sunday, gave an interview to T. Tushiev for extratime.az. The conversation inevitably centred around the uncertainty over the Candidates Matches, with Kamsky coming out against any last-minute changes to the line-up.
Karpov proposes holding Candidates Matches in Kiev
Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion and candidate for the post of FIDE President, is proposing switching the Candidates Matches from Kazan, Russia, to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
Making a drama out of a crisis
Worries over the state of preparations for the World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk have recently made the headlines, but surely the strangest report appeared on the local Ugra Inform website. Their decision to transcribe the conversation during FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer’s inspection quite literally made a drama out of a crisis.
Candidates Matches once more in turmoil
In a bolt from the blue, the Kommersant newspaper reports that the Russian Chess Federation is lobbying to have the 2011 Candidates Matches switched from Baku, in Azerbaijan, to Kazan, in Russia. Veselin Topalov has joined the fray by refusing to play in Russia.
Ilyumzhinov: Chuck Norris owes me a bottle of whisky
While perhaps no surprise to the jaded observer, interviews with the President of the Internation Chess Federation are often extraordinary. Where else, in the middle of a heated election campaign, can you find a candidate talking openly about aliens, astrology, clairvoyants and meetings with such assorted characters as Saddam Hussein, Colonel Gaddafi, Bobby Fischer and Chuck Norris.
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.
