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.
Sergey Shipov’s review of 2012
2012 in chess was, yet again, the year of Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian prodigy finally surpassed Garry Kasparov’s highest ever rating, causing Sergey Shipov to remark in his review of 2012 at Crestbook: “He’s Kasparov’s heir – not Kramnik, Topalov or Anand”.
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.
Averbakh: “History is written by the victors”
Yuri Averbakh, the world’s oldest grandmaster, celebrated his 90th birthday on February 8th this year. To mark the occasion he gave a long and fascinating interview to Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili, which turned into a whirlwind tour of chess history.
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.
Magnus Carlsen: Not a child of the computer era
After the Tal Memorial in Moscow Magnus Carlsen gave a long interview that provided a remarkable insight into what makes the Norwegian stand out in world chess. He claims to have essentially developed as a player without computers, and to barely work on the game outside of tournaments.
Gelfand and Grischuk’s final press conference
Much of the final press conference of the Candidates Matches in Kazan needed no interpretation. Grischuk’s sportsmanship in defeat was there for all to see, and the rough course of the game was conveyed in the players’ English comments. There was again, however, much more in Russian…
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.
Vassily Ivanchuk: “I’m a very ambitious person”
Few would identify emotional outbursts as the quality to borrow from Garry Kasparov, but then Vassily Ivanchuk has always stood out from the crowd. In a long and fascinating interview he again displays the self-awareness and deliberate strategy that often lie behind his apparent eccentricities.
Two cats and three computers: Sergey Shipov at work
By mishanp on May 18, 2012
While commentating on Game 2 of the Aronian-Kramnik match Shipov wrote: “I’m at home in Moscow in the company of 2 cats and 3 computers. I consult them constantly when studying a position, but I don’t trust any of them”. Evgeny Potemkin’s videos filmed during Game 2 of the World Championship match reveal those weren’t empty words.
Posted in Russian | Tagged Anand, Crestbook, Gelfand, Kasparov, live commentary, Potemkin, Shipov, World Championship 2012 | 5 Responses