Sergey Shipov on Ukraine’s other chess genius
Andriy Slyusarchuk’s blindfold victory over Rybka last week earned him his 15 minutes of chess fame, which is not at all bad for someone who took up the game 8 months ago! GM Sergey Shipov has written surely the most eloquent assessment of the ‘trick’, and of the current state of man-versus-machine contests.
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.
Shipov on the Tal Memorial Rd 8
The sensation of the eighth round was Sergey Karjakin’s crushing win over Vladimir Kramnik. Shipov’s report begins, “generational change is inevitable”. Other highlights include the awakening of the “lion” Shirov, and Nakamura and Gelfand paying tribute to Capablanca and Alekhine.
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.
