Kramnik: “Intellectual effort gives me enormous pleasure”
Vladimir Kramnik has had a wildly uneven 2013, swinging from the highs of the Candidates Tournament and Dortmund to an abject last place at the Tal Memorial. The Alekhine Memorial was merely disappointing, and afterwards he gave a long interview to a popular Russian weekly magazine.
Vladimir Kramnik on the climax of the Anand-Gelfand match
Few know more about the tension of the final stages of a World Championship match than ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, so his interview on the eve of Game 12 shouldn’t be missed. He gives his impressions of the match so far and talks about what we can expect from the final game and possible tiebreak.
Anand’s WhyChess interview
After last year’s Tal Memorial, where Viswanathan Anand drew all nine games, he gave a long and fascinating interview to Vlad Tkachiev. Topics included the champion’s current form and the upcoming match against Boris Gelfand. On the eve of that match I’m resposting the interview here as it’s currently unavailable at WhyChess.
Ivanchuk: “I could have become a writer”
Vassily Ivanchuk’s recent interview with the Ukrainian daily newspaper “Den” isn’t your standard chess interview. In fact, Ivanchuk doesn’t talk about current chess events at all, instead displaying a deep interest in literature while also explaining, for instance, why Julius Caesar would have considered chess players happy.
Karpov, Kramnik and Kasparov on Spassky
To mark the 75th birthday yesterday of Boris Spassky, the Tenth World Chess Champion, the Russian Chess Federation website has published congratulations from three of Spassky’s great successors to the chess throne: Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov. They talk about Spassky as a chess player and a personality.
Kramnik: Tseshkovsky “loved chess too much”
Vitaly Tseshkovsky, who died on the 24th December, coached the young Kramnik in the years when he broke into the World Top 10. Kramnik has now shared his recollections of Tseshkovsky, noting his talent was comparable to Timman’s, but he lacked the sporting and political skills required to top world chess in that era.
Svidler: “The circus is travelling to Khanty”
After Peter Svidler won the 2011 Russian Championship he gave a long interview to Vladimir Barsky for the Russian Chess Federation website. Barsky had been with Svidler at the World Team Championship in Ningbo, China, so had witnessed the dramatic change of fortune between the two events first-hand.
Evgeny Bareev: “A lot of people live in China”
The World Team Championship in Ningbo, China is shaping up to be a fantastic event. Russia is again the team to beat, though with Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Armenia and hosts China breathing down their necks, it won’t be easy. It might, however, be easier than the team’s journey, which was described by Bareev.
Karjakin reflects on moving up in the world
Sergey Karjakin recently finished joint top with Magnus Carlsen at the Kings Tournament in Bazna, and moved up to fourth on the July 2011 FIDE rating list. In an interview with Yury Vasiliev he talked about his ambitions, his rivalry with Carlsen, the Candidates Matches and the future of classical chess.
It’s the end of classical chess as we know it (and I feel fine)
Alexander Grischuk was the focus of controversy over the recent Candidates Matches. His route to the final, winning no classical games and sometimes agreeing to short draws with White, seemed to highlight the format’s problems. Grischuk himself, however, welcomed the difficult times for classical chess.
