Vladimir Potkin on chess coaching and cheating
In an interview given after becoming European Individual Champion, Vladimir Potkin talks about how he won, what it means for his “day job” of coaching Ian Nepomniachtchi, and gives his view on the cheating scandal that was the talk of the town in Aix-les-Bains.
Birth of a Supernova: Vasiliev reports from Wijk aan Zee
Hikaru Nakamura’s tournament victory was described as “the birth of a supernova” by Yury Vasiliev in two final reports from the Tata Steel 2011 Tournament. The Russian journalist was on the ground in Wijk aan Zee to provide photo reports and comments from players and observers throughout the event.
Nepomniachtchi back in the race
With his win on tie-breaks in the Russian Championship, Ian Nepomniachtchi, born in the same year as Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin and now 2732.8 on the live rating list, confirmed he’s back in contention for the highest honours in chess.
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.
“Svidler is Svidler” – Bareev on the Russian team’s start
Russian first team captain Evgeny Bareev, not a man to mince his words, gave a refreshingly blunt assessment of the first day’s play at the Olympiad. The Russian press also included some excellent photo reports, with Vladimir Barsky’s description of his “chess flight” particularly memorable.
