Ponomariov: “Since becoming World Champion I haven’t worn that lucky sweater once” *FAKE*
Fresh from his victory in Dortmund, ex-FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov gave an interview to GM Dmitry Komarov of the Ukrainian Fakty, where he talks about chess and music, the upcoming Olympiad, some of the secrets of his recent success, and a valuable preparation tip from Veselin Topalov.
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.
Kramnik on beating Carlsen at Wijk
After Vladimir Kramnik beat Magnus Carlsen with black at Wijk he talked to Vasiliev at Chesspro. Kramnik didn’t hide his delight at “outplaying” his Norwegian rival.
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.
Aronian’s chess idols
Aronian was asked to name his chess idols by the 1news.az website, and came up with a surprise or two.
“Magnus’ trainer had clearly not done enough work”
After Magnus Carlsen only survived his first round Tal Memorial game against Kramnik by finding a study-like draw, Kramnik couldn’t resist the temptation to tease Kasparov a little.
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.
