Chessvine.com - Interviews

Interview With Kasparov Talking About Carlsen.

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:43:00 -0400

Kasparov and Carlsen Alter Strategy for 2010

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:20:00 -0500

The cooperation between Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest chess player in history, and Magnus Carlsen, one of its greatest talents, began early last year. The results came faster than anyone had expected: Magnus was number one in the last two world rankings. Now the work between the two takes a new direction, with Magnus making all career decisions on his own. Press release.

Garry Kasparov: “Magnus is one of the greatest natural talents I have encountered in chess, and his recent performance has exceeded even my very high expectations. Our time together – our training camp sessions – has been deeply invigorating for me as well. It was because of these sessions that I felt confident to play the anniversary match against Anatoly Karpov in Valencia last September – with good results, I might add. It was also very gratifying for me to see Magnus climb to the world’s number one position well ahead of our original schedule. Magnus has shown the deadly instincts of a great champion. During his tournaments, when we spoke about upcoming games, Magnus always wanted to play the sharpest and most dangerous continuations, an illustration of his increased confidence in his powers. Our work together during the past year in Croatia, Oslo and Marrakesh gave him a great deal of ‘ammunition’ which, even when it was not used, helped him go into battle with the indispensable belief that he should expect to win every time he comes to the board. I see a great future for this extraordinary player.”

Source: Chessbase

Karpov Announces FIDE President Candidacy

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:59:59 -0500

“It is necessary to restore order,” Karpov was quoted. “The problems with the World Championship, the calendar, changes of decisions, changes during a cycle, this didn’t happen before. Besides, the prestige of the World Champion should return to its old level.”

Source: Chessvibes

Chessvibes Vugar Gashimov Interview

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:42:00 -0500

Brimming with confidence and grounded optimism GM Vugar Gashimov was interviewed by Chessvibes. check it out!

Gelfand On Chess Spectators

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:13:00 -0500

In a Recent Interview GM Borris Gelfand weighed in on chess spectators:

Q: Boris, is it important for you to have spectators in the playing venue during the match?

B.G.: Of course it would be more pleasant to play with the spectators watching our match. But it is obvious that chess has its huge Internet audience. No matter where a tournament takes place, 90-95% of the spectators would follow the games via Internet.

The internet has been a wonderful boom for chess!!

Anand's Birthday Wish

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:05:21 -0500

Anand's birthday wish: To see chess in Olympics

STAFF WRITER 12:38 HRS IST
Mona Parthsarathi

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) On the eve of his 40th birthday, the first chess player to become world champion in all three formats of the game, Indian ace Viswanathan Anand has just one wish -- to see his sport become an Olympic event.

"Obviously that would be for the (World Chess Federation) FIDE and the International Olympic Committee to decide.

Personally, it would be nice to have chess in the Olympics." Anand -- a world champion in Knockout, Tournament, and Match formats -- told PTI-Bhasha in an interview.

Anand doesn't foresee chess coming anywhere close to cricket in terms of popularity and is happy with whatever attention it gets in a nation obsessed with bat and ball.

"I can't complain... I am happy with the attention chess gets and the exposure I get," he said.

Source: http://www.ptinews.com & Susan Polgar's Blog.

Carlse And Kramnik Talk To Martin Bennedik

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:52:28 -0500

Martin Bennedik interviews Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik.

morozevich Speaks About The Tal Memorial

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:49:49 -0500

I haven't been covering the Tal Memorial (I know ... I know). Anyway, here is a snippet of an interview with Morozevich just before the event:

"Q: Turning to the Tal Memorial, how do you assess its strength?

A: I personally have no doubt that this is the strongest event in the FIDE calendar, in terms of the quality of the players. Of course, there are some foreign events, which can boast a slightly higher average rating than the Memorial. But in most of them you only get four, maximum six, elite players. But to get a category 21 with ten players, as we have here, the organisers need to work extremely hard. They have invited practically all the greatest players in the world. Eight players from the first ten! Plus ex-FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, and Vassily Ivanchuk, who at the moment has a slightly lower rating than usual. "

Check out the Full Chessbase Article or the Original Interview (in Russian).

Chessvibes Interview With Ivanchuk & Judit

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:54:01 -0400

GM Svetozar Gligoric At Jermuk

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:36:19 -0400

Chessdom has published the second part of an Interview with GM Svetozar Gligoric done by Smbat Lputian. Below are a few selected questions and answers from that interview that I found most interesting with my commentary:

Smbat Lputian: Is there something you could identify which prevented you from becoming champion? You mentioned that creativity was your greatest passion in chess, but in a match, the result becomes the paramount factor.

Svetozar Gligoric: Well, of course I have played many matches. Maybe on the account that I was not driven to become champion as some were, it was unpleasant for me to be in the tense environment that envelops you during such a match. For example, in my candidates match against Tal, after five games I was leading, but the expectations of my fans and friends who were constantly visiting me and calling me and encouraging me to win, I began to feel exhaustion from this added burden. The pressures of those expectations probably undermined my subconscious will to win, and when I lost the match, I felt more relief than disappointment. I could add that there was a similar expression of emotion by Petrosian, in 1969 after he lost the title to Spassky. The first meeting we had after his loss, he confided in me that he also felt this gigantic relief, stating how content he was that he was now an ex-champion forever, and was no longer burdened by the additional weight of being world champion. In fact, his results after this loss were much better than those while he was the champion.

Gligoric was always lauded for his creative genius but did indeed feel tremendous pressure during matchs and his results suffered. I remember reading his book "I Play Against Pieces" in which he virtually makes this same admission. It's a brilliant book, by the way, you should pick it up.

Smbat Lputian: You have lived a long life, seen the world, felt many emotions. What would you identify as the essence of life?

Svetozar Gligoric: The most important things are love and creativity. The harmony between man and woman, as in music, as in life.

I like this quote for sheer remarkableness. Gligoric is obviously a hopeless romantic but some part of me is as well ... that is perhaps why I have always enjoyed his life and games.

Chessdom Interviewed IM Tania Sachdev

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:47:21 -0400

Source: Chessdom

Tania Sachdev is a young International Master and Woman Grandmaster from India. She studied English Literature with Political Science and Psychology at the Delhi University and graduated in 2008. She was Asian U14, Junior and Senior Champion, and won the national Indian Women Championship in 2006 and 2007, also being a runner up in 2008. She is also holding bronze medal from the World U12 Championship.

After being asked about her career status, Tania commented: "I am currently playing chess full time. I would like to try my hand at presenting programmes on the television at some later time. My forthcoming events are the Asian Zonals and Women's World Team Championship and the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam. These are all events where I would be representing India."
She also kindly agreed to answer more questions in an interview for Chessdom.com.

Chessdom: This year you were very active in tournaments in Asia and Europe. How do you evaluate your results?

Tania Sachdev: I have played five tournaments in Europe so far this year. Gibraltar was not so good for me but Pfalz, Montcada and San Sebastian were good. I gained some rating points in these tournaments. I have just been awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award which is a high honour and recognition given to a Sportsperson for consistence performance over the last three years. The Award is given by the President of India.

Chessdom: You were Asia Chess Champion in 2008. What are your ambitions in the future?

Tania Sachdev: Yes I did win the Asian women's championship and this was a very precious title for me. I have one GM norm and would like to complete my title as soon as I can. I look forward for a medal for the Indian team at the chess Olympiad and that would be a dream come true.

Chessdom: How do you see the current situation in the chess world?

Tania Sachdev: Well lots is happening around the world in chess, good playing opportunities. Women's chess seems to be gaining with more women's closed events being organised. But i just hope that the format for the men world championship gets clarified as we get to see such high level chess in the cycle tournaments but there is always confusion and its forever changing! But besides that, I think chess is gaining a lot of popularity over the world.

Chessdom: As one of the top female players, do you have enough opportunities to play in high rated competitions?

Tania Sachdev: As a woman player I wish more closed women events were organised with a good prize fund. The tournament at San Sebastian, which was an all women closed event, was quite interesting with excellent arrangements. Well I do play in strong open events but there is not much opportunity to play in strong closed events.

Chessdom: Are you familiar with activities of the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess? What are the main challenges for female players? Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the position of women in chess?

Tania Sachdev: Yes, I am aware of the FIDE commission for Women's chess and the good suggestions put forward by Alexandra Kosteniuk in her May 7th 2009 letter. Allocation of a budget for organising specialised women tournaments in the form of closed and open events with proper coverage and good publicity. The prize fund of women tournaments at Zonal, Continental and World level should be increased. Even in open tournaments the 1st prize in women section is very small. It is for this reason that very few women players participate and take up chess seriously.

Chessdom: Indian national teams are already very strong. When do you expect to challenge the world's leading nations for Olympiad medals?

Tania Sachdev: Yes, we have a strong Men's team and a good Women's team. I hope our teams can win a medal in the next Olympiad.

Chessdom: What has got you attracted to chess and how would you best define your playing style?

Tania Sachdev: Chess has always been very fascinating for me. I think when you play chess it opens up so many other facets of your personality which one is not aware of. Logical thought process while handling a position in chess and dealing with a complicated situation in real life is so comparable. The ability to accept and deal with good and bad situation on the board and in your day to day life. Above all the interaction with so many people from different countries and visiting beautiful cities all over the world. I just love it all.

Well there was a time when I loved to play very aggressive and would be very bored in a positional setup. Now it seems to have reversed. I enjoy positional games and interesting endings. I think I am now more positional.

Chessdom: Who are you working with and how do you prepare for competitions?

Tania Sachdev: I am working currently with IM Vishal Sareen and with GM Ubilava sometimes. Well before a competition I work with my Indian trainer on seeing games and positions. With my GM trainer I work on specific openings and whatever I feel is my problem area.

Chessdom: Can you single out your most memorable game?

Tania Sachdev: There are many good games which one has played in the past but I always feel my most memorable one has still to come.

Interview with GM Surya Ganguly (by LatestChess.com)

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:26:53 -0400

Interview with GM Surya Ganguly
by LatestChess.com

GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly having FIDE rating of 2637 holds the record for the six consecutive Indian National Chess Championships. He played a crucial role working as second of Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship against Kramnik. Some of his latest achievements are Asian continental chess championship, Parsvnath International Open Chess championship and Indian national chess championship.

In this interview with GM Surya Ganguly, he shares his experiences working with Viswanathan Anand. According to him, being with Anand changed his attitude completely, also it raised his confidence level to great heights. He talks about Anand – Topalov match, his daily routine, his father who is a famous astrologer and in the, tactfully deals with the question on his marriage plans. Interesting interview with pictures and games.

LatestChess :- Hello Surya, We are glad to have you on LatestChess. Congratulations on winning the Asian continental chess championship! How was the tournament?

GM Surya Ganguly :- Thanks a lot! The tournament, as expected was quite tough with 40 Grandmasters participating in it. Since it was a qualifying tournament for World Cup this made the tournament even stronger. I had a long training session before Asian and decided to skip many tournaments for this. I did few training session with IM Atanu Lahiri and GM Sandipan Chanda. These trainings were immensely helpful. Apart from this I was also doing serious physical training under proper guidance which paid me the dividend.

LatestChess :- You got the opportunity to work with Anand and watch his games during Anand-Kramnik match, it must be an amazing experience to see how champions play and prepare. Could you please share your experiences with our readers? How did he approach you?

GM Surya Ganguly :- I think this was one of the biggest turning points of my chess career. Apart from being a legendary chess player, with an incredible intelligence and phenomenal memory, he is very good human being. Talking to him always feels like own elder brother who helps out in every possible way. The same goes with Aruna who is also extremely caring. I have learnt a lot of things being with them. Anand is on top of the world not only because of his rare talent but also due to his strict discipline and utmost dedication. He is always motivated to keep on improving his chess.

Link to Susan's Blog Post
Link to Latestchess.com Full Interview

Retrobites: Bobby Fischer Interview

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:21:53 -0400

thanks to Chessbase

Sport Express Interviews FIDE President

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:01:05 -0400

The Russian News Source "Sport Express" recently published an interview with FIDE President Kirsan Illumzhinov.

The interview was done entirely in Russian and since I can't read Russian I basically skipped over this articel when it first came out. I could have used Yahoo! Babelfish or some other translation software but I wasn't keen on trusting such translations.

Instead, I waited for the translation to come out and sure enough after a brief wait I found this Chessbase article! I've criticized Chessbase before for their content, site layout, and absence from social media but they're working hard to get news out and be accurate and I can certainly respect that. Go Chessbase!

Oh, and check out the article by the way. The interview is in reference to FIDE's negotiations with Universal Event Promotion (UEP, a name you've probably heard me mention before). Things have broekn down and if you want to be abreast in chess politics it's a major ordeal.

Chess GM Alisa Maric: Celebrity Superstar

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:44:23 -0400

Do you know Alisa Maric? I didn't know her until a short time ago. Here in the United States we don't hear about foreign Chess celebrities unless we really look hard ... or in my case ... stumble upon them by total accident.

Thanks to Susan Polgar's Blog I did manage to find an interview with Alisa Maric from LatestChess.

The real miracle of Alisa's success is two-fold. Firstly, she has managed to juggle a successful career as a female professional (hard in any country in the world). And secondly, her twin sister Mirjana is also a chess grandmaster! In fact Alisa and Mirjana are the only twins in recorded history to ever hold the GM title together. That makes her interview that much more entertaining ... you should run over there and check it out!

Can you guess who these beauties are?