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.
Le Quang Liem and the Soviet School of Chess
Moscow’s Aeroflot Open can be something of a graveyard for foreign chess talent, so for the Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem to win it twice in a row was an amazing achievement. It’s also thought-provoking: does Le’s success tell us anything about the current balance of power between Russia and Asia?
GM Peter Svidler answers your questions: Part I
Peter Svidler didn’t disappoint! The first instalment of his answers to reader questions bears all the hallmarks of his wit and self-deprecating humour. The Russian super-grandmaster talks about his career, chess colleagues, Carlsen’s withdrawal, chess literature… and much much more.
Kramnik: For now Magnus is my “client”
Fresh from his smooth win in Bilbao, Vladimir Kramnik gave an interview where he talked about the situation at the top in world chess, Magnus Carlsen’s recent loss of form, and his own hopes of regaining the top spot on the rating list.
“Chess punished the whole team” – Russian views on the Chess Olympiad
While the Russian women’s first team took gold with an almost flawless performance, their male counterparts found things a whole lot tougher. Vladimir Kramnik, Evgeny Bareev and Sergey Shipov were among those who assessed the silver-medal performance at the World Chess Olympiad.
Svidler on Rd 9: “As I don’t know the Grünfeld Defence…”
Peter Svidler’s win with black in round 9 kept Russian hopes alive, and he gave an entertaining account of the day’s play to Vladimir Barsky for the Russian Chess Federation website. Meanwhile, some remarkable turnarounds in the women’s event inspired Sergey Shipov to formulate a law of women’s chess.
“Fortune beckoned… then melted into thin air”
Russian Captain Evgeny Bareev comments on the first team failing to beat Ukraine and move into the lead at the World Chess Olympiad. The only (but perhaps sufficient) success story continues to be Sergey Karjakin, who revealed how a little female assistance gave him an easy victory against Pavel Eljanov.
Russia beats Russia
The key encounter in round 7 of the Olympiad was between the top two Russian men’s teams, with the “veterans” prevailing thanks, once again, to Sergey Karjakin. Meanwhile, the emotional roller-coaster of Radek Wojtaszek’s win against Hikaru Nakamura was captured in live commentary by Mateusz Bartel, the fifth member of the Polish team.
Bareev: “Today Ian played like a genius!”
The Russian men’s teams got back on track in round 6, with Evgeny Bareev again on hand to comment on the victories over the Czech Republic (2.5-1.5) and the Netherlands (3-1). Meanwhile, the women’s first team almost ensured themselves gold with a “hair-raising” victory against Ukraine.
Bareev takes the blame for defeat (updated)
Evgeny Bareev’s much-anticipated assessment of Russia’s defeat against Hungary again pulled no punches, though the punching bag this time was himself. He admitted it was a mistake not to include Vladimir Kramnik for the match against one of this year’s dark horses for the World Chess Olympiad.
