After he won his semi-rapid match against Alexei Shirov in Len, we managed to get Vishy Anand before the ChessVibes camera once again. The World Champion was cooperate enough to agree to an interview after his dinner with the organizers and sponsors. And so on Sunday night, about an hour after midnight (!), we had a nice talk about becoming a father, about the Candidates matches in Kazan, about cheating in chess, and much more.

но вводить такие крупные перемены в игру пока что рано

imho не имеет отношения к теме. очень немногие любители рэндома предлагают заменить ими классику совсем.

- Многие на твоем месте предпочли бы винить в своих промахах кого угодно, но только не себя…

- Человек сам несет ответственность за свои поступки. Я всегда пытаюсь разобраться в себе, почему произошло так, а не иначе. Могу «уйти в себя», пребывать в плохом настроении, но родные и друзья не позволяют мне подолгу находиться в этом состоянии.

Порой я очень эмоционален, но эта черта проявляется по отношению к людям, которых я давно и хорошо знаю. В случае с незнакомыми, стараюсь реагировать на все без эмоций, предпочитаю просто отмолчаться, даже если меня провоцируют на спор. Нужно уметь сдерживать себя и не распыляться по пустякам (улыбается).

Свежее интервью-
Александр Грищук о Казани, реформах, Накамуре и многом-многом другом (часть 1)

Ждем второй части

Российский гроссмейстер Сергей Карякин прокомментировал свой резкий подъём в международном рейтинге, а также сравнил себя с Владимиром Крамником, которому он помогал на недавнем претендентом турнире в Казани.

То, что я поднялся с 23-й на четвёртую позицию в мировом рейтинге за два года, — это результат плодотворной работы с моими тренерами — Юрием Дохояном и Александром Мотылёвым. За два года удалось многого добиться, теперь нужно закрепиться на новом уровне.

Могу ли сказать, что играю уже лучше Крамника? У каждого из нас есть свои преимущества. Я моложе, поэтому, более вынослив. У Крамника же огромный опыт, и тот багаж знаний, который он накопил за свою карьеру, превосходит мои знания. Тем интереснее было с ним работать в Казани, — сказал Карякин в интервью Спорт-экспрессу.

Также гроссмейстер отметил, что цель стать чемпионом мира становится всё ближе. Теперь, конечно, эта цель ближе. В первую очередь из-за того, что я уже четвёртый в мире! Осталось преодолеть всего три ступеньки, — отметил россиянин

Interview With GM Jan Timman
By Eugenio Dessy for cagliariscacchi.com
Published by Chessdom

From 22th to 26th June an International tournament took place in Torre delle Stelle, a beautiful seaside place in Sardinia (Italy). GM Jan Timman was one of the guest players and granted the following interview to Eugenio Dessy, the director of the organizer's internet site www.cagliariscacchi.com. Photos by Danilo Mall. Thanks also to SoloScacchi.net for kindly

sending the material.

Q: Mr. Timman, first of all how did you find this place, Torre delle Stelle? Have you ever been in Sardinia?

A: I found everything beautiful. I came here one week in advance and the organization gave me a comfortable house just in front of the beach. This allowed me to go to the sea without failing to prepare the tournament.

I have never been in Sardinia before and I enjoyed it very much. Anyway, I have been in Italy several times, and not only for tournaments. My parents loved Tuscany and when I was a boy we spent there summer holidays for many years.

Q: And which tournaments did you play in Italy?

A: I remember Venice 1974, for example, when GM Liberzon won. I was 23 and when the tournament finished, I stayed some days more to visit the city, together with Italian GM Sergio Mariotti and American IM James Tarjan. We had a good together and it was nice to meet Mariotti here, in Torre delle Stelle, more than 30 years later.

I remember also Reggio Emilia 1984-85, a very strong tournament (Lajos Portisch was the winner) and more recently, in 2000, the European Championship in Saint Vincent, in Val D’Aosta, another beautiful Italian region.

Q: What can you tell us about this tournament in Torre delle Stelle?

A: I’m quite satisfied with the third-fourth placement. Even if I strongly wanted to win, you must notice that this was a strong tournament, and moreover we had to play seven games in five days, with two double rounds, and I’m 59 years old. You may say that I’m not so old, but in such conditions young players are certainly the favourites. I hope that next year there will be a 9 rounds tournament with one game per day.

Q: We know this tournament was the first for you in 2011. What did you plan for the rest of the year?

A: From 19th to 28th July I will play the Dutch Open in Dieren, a 9-rounds open, and from 3rd to 11th September I will play another 9-rounds in Antwerp. Then I will probably stop for the rest of the year.

I usually play more tournaments but now I’m working on a book that needs some hard work.

Q: Can you tell us something about?

A: Yes, sure, it is a book about endgames, the title will be The Art of the Endgames. In the last years I developed a true passion for the endgames. Endgames are certainly more “scientific” than the middlegame, that’s more artistic and fascinating but is also harder (you need to spend a lot of energy in calculation) and this scientific dimension is very interesting.

Think about tablebases for example: the progress of software has allowed to solve all the endgames with six pieces, so we can study these endgames knowing that we have the right solution. It is also true, however, that software doesn’t explain us the “system” to reach the solution, it simply calculates very fast and gives us a series of moves, but human mind is different and needs to synthesize.

I will try to do that in the book, and I can also tell you that the Torre delle Stelle tournament will be mentioned, with some positions taken from the games played.

Q: When and how did you start playing chess?

A: I started when I was 8 years old. My father taught me, but he hadn’t much time to play because he worked a lot. He was a mathematician, but he loved the game. At home there were a lot of chess books, all bought by him, even if they were all written before the war, the newest were of 1938.

My older brother was fanatic for chess but when I began to beat him he didn’t like it and didn’t want to play anymore against me. So I began to go to the local chess club where I could play more but I was no fanatic in those first years. When I was 12 I played in a simultaneous game held by Max Euwe and I got a draw.

Q: I think that Max Euwe was (and is still) a legend in The Netherlands. Did you draw inspiration from him during those years?

A: Well, Euwe was really very much important for me but mostly for his human qualities. He was very close to my family because he was my mother’s professor of maths and when he understood that I could have had a future in chess he personally cared to find some financial help for me and managed to found the “Timman’s committee”, so I could study and take chess as a profession.

Q: Did someone train you in those years?

A: Yes, IM Hans Bowmeester started training me when I was 15. I went to him every Wednesday, in the afternoon, because in Dutch there are lessons at school only in the morning that day. He was very important for me, he appreciated a lot the games of Botvinnik and Smyslov and always showed and explained me all details.

I think he was the best master for me, he had a very good way of teaching because he was balanced, he taught well tactics, strategy, endgames and all sides of chess and I got improved much with him.

Q: Which is your favourite player?

A: It has always been Botvinnik, but going on I learned to appreciate many others, especially Fischer, and more recently Karpov and Kasparov of course. And also Smyslov.

Q: Is there, in Dutch nowadays, a “school” or something of the sort, to form young players?

A: No, there is not something really organized. Now we have only one player, Anish Giri, with possibilities to become a top ten.

Q: Your suggestions may be very useful to improve this state of things...

A: Well, but I think that first of all someone should ask me for that! In that case I would give some help with pleasure.

Q: And what do you think about young Italian players? You met some of them here in Torre delle Stelle.

A: I think they are good players. IM Luca Shitay will soon become a GM, I’m sure. Sabino Brunello is already GM and is always improving. They are two really strong positional players. Also Vocaturo, who wasn’t here, is strong. I think that the trend in Italy is promising with these young players.

Q: And what about Caruana?

A: Of course he’s the best Italian player, he’s a strong all-round player and has all the possibilities to become a top ten. Italian federation is rightly supporting him.

Q: Do you think chess has changed a lot since your golden years? Which suggestions would you give to a young player intentioned to raise his/her skill?

A: Sure chess has changed very much since ‘70s-‘80s. Of course computers had a lot of importance in those changes, but, in general, I don’t think that you can say that chess is now at a higher level. It is true that many opening lines have been improved and the endgames with six pieces were solved, but not always contemporary players show to play better than the past. I think that Spassky, for example, could still play now and be one of the strongest as well.

Q: Do you think physical training is important in chess?

A: At the highest level and in the long games and long matches it is certainly important. The most trained player of all was probably Kasparov, but he was even excessive in my opinion from that point of view: I always take long walks, also during tournaments. Long walks are good because they keep you in a good form and make you relax.

Q: Have you got a game of yours that you love particularly? An immortal game?

A: I love several of my attacking games, but my best game I think was the Karpov-Timman played in Mar del Plata 1982, when I played an excellent positional game.

Q: In conclusion, can you tell us something about your hobbies and/or interests?

A: I like music, of different kind, but mostly I love reading. I like the classics of Russian literature, above all Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy. I also love South-American literature, especially Borges, and I also wrote an essay about him. Other favourite writers are Kafka and, among Italian writers, Italo Svevo: he didn’t write many books but those few books were really excellent, like Confessions of Zeno.

Q: Thank you Mr. Timman for your kindness and we are waiting for you at the next Torre delle Stelle.

A: If you invite me again, I will certainly come.

www.crestbook.com/node/1513
КС-конференция с Левоном Ароняном. Часть 1

Vladimirovich: Левон, добрый день!
– Каково Ваше мнение о шахматах Фишера, и когда они накроются?

Аронян: На век моих и Ваших правнуков этой игры хватит.

Marignon:
– Интересуетесь ли Вы и пробовали ли играть в другие разновидности шахмат, помимо классических и фишерэндома?

Аронян: Лет 10 назад я пробовал играть всякие вариации шахмат. Больше всего мне нравятся атомические и шведские, то есть те, которые очень далеки от нормальных шахмат.

Marignon:
– Как Вы оцениваете перспективы енохианских шахмат?

Аронян: Я посмотрел на данную Вами ссылку и понял, что это очень интересно. Если у меня появится свободное время, я изучу эту игру и вызову Вас на матч. Будем с Вами единственными, кто будет владеть мастерством в этой игре.

Последний ответ вызывает у меня чувство глубокого восхищения

даже Фишеровские шахматы по гармоничности в игре уступают классическим шахматам.

Е.СУРОВ: Вы сказали, что о рейтинге задумываетесь тогда, когда он становится угрожающим. Вот недавний случай, когда Карякин вас перегнал в рейтинге – относится к угрожающим?

В.КРАМНИК: Да нет. Угрожающим он был, когда у меня было 2727 – когда я болел и, тем не менее, решил не отказываться от турниров в 2005-м году. Сыграл серию турниров, играл ужасно. Да просто зевал в один ход очень часто. Грубейшие зевки, и я докатился до восьмого места в рейтинг-листе, имея 2727. Вот это уже было угрожающим. А то, что Сережа обошел меня немножко – во-первых, это что, там несколько пунктов. Во-вторых, понятно, что сейчас поколение сильное, конкуренция мощная, и ты не застрахован от того, что можешь с четвертого скатиться на шестое, потом подняться на третье… Сейчас вся первая десятка очень сильна. Понятно, что если мой рейтинг опустится до какой-нибудь девятой позиции, то это меня начнет немножко тревожить. Пока третий, четвертый, пятый – не так принципиально. Скажем так, близко к 2800 – это вполне приличный рейтинг. Я не думаю, что я в данный момент играю на 2825 Карлсена, поэтому…

Е.СУРОВ: А он играет?

В.КРАМНИК: В целом – да. Я думаю, что он грамотно выбирает турниры, и в этих турнирах он действительно играет на 2825. Если, скажем так, взять турнир «шесть первых по рейтингу в два круга» - я не уверен, что он сможет держать такой рейтинг. Потому что у него все-таки такой стиль игры – он очень хорошо «чистит хвост».

Е.СУРОВ: Алексей Дреев вместе со мной, меня зовут Евгений Суров, мы находимся в поселке Новханы, недалеко от Баку. Только что завершился турнир «Баку-опен», все шахматисты сейчас в расслабленном состоянии – в хорошем смысле этого слова. И Алексей Дреeв по-философски сейчас…

А.ДРЕЕВ: Действительно такое случилось, с этим не поспоришь, это факт, на некоторое время – достаточно большое – я не то чтобы не был в элите, но я был не на своем месте в шахматной табели о рангах. Это действительно так, потому что когда у меня было 2606, потом, через три месяца, стало 2607, то прогресс был какой-то неубедительный..

Е.СУРОВ: Не казалось, что карьера близится к концу?
А.ДРЕЕВ: Нет-нет, мне так не казалось. Может, кому-то и казалось, но я свои силы в шахматах знаю. Я не хочу себя нахваливать, но просто я себе цену знаю. Я действительно шахматист высокого уровня, и таких за всю историю шахмат было, может быть, человек сто. Вот я к ним отношусь. Не к первой сотне по рейтингу, а к тем, которые развивали шахматы. Без ложной скромности.

Е.КЛИМЕЦ: Да? Значит, сайт ФИДЕ меня дезинформировал, извините. Но все-таки сейчас вы на какое-то время отошли, вернулись и по-прежнему играете довольно интересные дебютные схемы, реанимируете варианты. Это протест против какой-то всесторонней изученности? Или же это желание получить свою игру?

А.МОРОЗЕВИЧ: А какие я играю такие уж необычные дебюты?

Е.КЛИМЕЦ: Практически все.

А.МОРОЗЕВИЧ: У меня все дебюты самые обычные, по-моему.

Е.КЛИМЕЦ: То есть, на ваш взгляд, все в порядке, все обычно?

А.МОРОЗЕВИЧ: Порядка нет, но необычность – это, мне кажется, старый образ, который присутствует потому, что людям лень взглянуть реально на мои дебюты.

The world chess champion on analysing with the legendary American, being a new dad and his love of Monty Python

How does it feel to be back for the London Chess Classic? It's excellent. I enjoy this tournament immensely. It's a great showcase for chess in Britain and it has the worthy aim of building chess in schools too.

So when enthusiastic kids ask how they can become chess masters, what do you tell them? Just keep playing often. Concepts fall into place only when you get them on the board. It's a bit like learning a language; it's nice to read a book, but only when you speak to someone does it all start to fall into place.

When you are preparing for major tournaments like London how many hours a day do you devote to getting ready? As much as it takes – up to 10 hours if needed – plus another two or three hours during the tournament.

And how do you prepare physically? Mostly by running and doing weights. Mainly it's to relieve yourself of tension, and to sleep soundly.

It sounds a strange question to ask a world chess champion, but how much can you bench? I don't bench press but I use machines to work 10-12 muscle groups. Biceps, triceps, a few things for the back, calves, shoulders and so on — and then I'll go on the running machine, cross-trainer or mountain climber.

The Soviet world champion Mikhail Botvinnik used to get training partners to deliberately blow smoke in his face to prepare for opponents who may try to unsettle him. Is there anything you do to prepare for psychological tricks or gamesmanship? Not really, but when smoking was allowed I really hated it. Thankfully it's been banned for 20 years or so now.

Which opponent pushed those boundaries most? [Long pause] Well, I had very difficult matches with [Gata] Kamsky and Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. They were psychologically intense, probably because I was still inexperienced.

So what was it like facing a peak Kasparov glaring at you? Well, it's annoying – because first of all he makes good moves and on top of that there's all the other pressure he inflicts too. But what made Kasparov dangerous was his moves. If he was making faces and then played bad moves we would have just laughed at him. These days, I think you can over-estimate the psychological stuff.

How good are you at picking up on your opponents' 'tells'? It's not like I can read their minds completely but I can usually work out in which direction their thoughts are heading. Often their breathing is a tell-tale sign. Sometimes an opponent stops breathing and you realise something drastic has happened and they are trying not to let on. Or they go quiet, or they get fidgety. After a while you pick these things up and become more alert to them.

The BBC are currently showing the documentary Bobby Fischer, Genius and Madman. You met Fischer in 2006, a couple of years before he died. What was he like? I found him surprisingly normal. Well, at least not very tense. He seemed to be relieved to be in the company of chess players. He was calm in that sense. He was also a bit worried about people following him, so the paranoia never really went away. But I am really happy I got the chance to meet him before he died in 2008. It was weird as well because I kept having to remind myself that this was Bobby Fischer sitting in front of me!

Were you tempted to whip out a pocket chessboard and challenge him to a quick blitz game? No, because he whipped out his pocket chess set first and we started to analyse some recent games I'd played.

Really? Yes, I showed him some of my games from Wijk aan Zee and tried to share some interesting developments. He was sort of able to follow everything – he hadn't lost his sharpness for chess – but his methods were a bit dated. In that sense he had fallen behind.

How do you mean? Well, he had some suggestions, and he was sort of in the ball park … but when I would tell him that the computer says white is winning here, for me that was a sign to move on – but for him it was a starting point to argue with me! [Laughs]. I found it difficult to say to him 'No, no, no – these computers are really strong. You shouldn't be arguing with them!'

If you could go back in time, which world champion would you have most liked to have faced at their peak? Mikhail Tal or Bobby Fischer. How would I have got on? Well, it depends whether the time machine drops me back in 1960 or 1972 or it puts Tal and Fischer in 2011. It would make a big difference.

OK, on to the important questions. You're a Monty Python fan, right? Very much so.

Do you have a favourite sketch? I have a few. Of course there's the Parrot sketch, and Michelangelo and the Pope. And there's one where some Nazis are in an English hotel. That's quite funny as well.

And does your love of Python extend to Fawlty Towers and the Life of Brian? Absolutely. I've watched all of them. With Fawlty Towers I can pretty much tell you episodes off by heart …

Really? Yes, afraid so. I also watched the whole of the Yes Minister series, and last year I went to the theatre production, which was updated to take in the financial crisis, people trafficking and so on.

Are you a cricket fan? I'm not a big one. But in India you get to watch it every day anyway.

What's the last album you bought? Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto. I'm just about getting used to it. I like U2 as well.

And the last book you read? One on Steve Jobs that was published after his death.

Right, time for some crowdsourced questions via Twitter. Benonix asks whether it's inevitable that Grandmasters decline after 40 - and also how long do you reckon you have left at the top? Grandmasters decline with age. That's a given. There is nothing special about the age of 40, but age eventually takes its toll. That much is clear. Beyond that it's about how long you can put off the effects and compensate for them. Mistakes will crop in but you try to compensate for them with experience and hard work.

Figgmeister tweets: I'd love to know what you made of Carlsen doing the modelling gig. Is that OK for a chess master? Sure. I thought it was brilliant. And definitely it improved the image of chess.

Do you read chess books or do you just spend your time mining databases? I do. Right now I'm reading the best games of my next World Championship opponent, Boris Gelfand. He will be a very difficult opponent because he's so experienced.

You're a newish father. How is that experience? [With genuine emotion] It's amazing! For the first time I begin to understand my parents as well. It's an experience that really changes your life. I'm having a blast. He's eight months now and he's just started to stand up and babble a bit too.

Have there been times when you've been changing nappies in between sessions on Rybka? Yeah, I did my bit of waking up at 2am but generally my wife has been doing most of the hard work …

Bollywood or Hollywood? I'm more into Hollywood films.

Who or what would you put in Room 101? Excuse me? [Small Talk goes on a long, rambling explanation detailing the finer points of the concept]. Ah, OK. Let's say traffic. And corruption in India, which is a big problem.

Speaking of India, you were back there last year for a dinner with Barack Obama. How was that? Well, I wasn't sitting at his table so I spoke to him for only a few minutes.

Did you talk chess or US foreign policy? [Laughs] There wasn't time! We just made small talk …

Well, we know all about that Vishy. Thanks for your time, and good luck in London. Thanks Small Talk. It's been a pleasure.

Vishy Anand will be competing in the London Chess Classic at the Olympia Conference Centre from 3rd to 12th December. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.londonchessclassic.com.

So what was it like facing a peak Kasparov glaring at you?
Well, it's annoying – because first of all he makes good moves and on top of that there's all the other pressure he inflicts too. But what made Kasparov dangerous was his moves. If he was making faces and then played bad moves we would have just laughed at him. These days, I think you can over-estimate the psychological stuff.

Я действительно шахматист высокого уровня, и таких за всю историю шахмат было, может быть, человек сто. Без ложной скромности.

Действительно, скромности (ложной или нет) не видно.

D: We mentioned before that your games don’t seem to find their way in best games collections. You have published a book on the Chigorin Defence. Would you like to write again in the future ?

M: Yes, I did write a book on the Chigorin, but it was a joint effort with an International Master. In the future I would like to write a book on my best games, that will require time therefore I don’t know when I’ll be able to actually do it as I’m going to have to devote a great effort and attention, maybe in 10 years or so.

D: As a kid studying your first chess books, which champions were you fascinated by ?

M: I don’t have a favourite player of the past, and the reason for that is that when I studied chess books as a kid, my goal was not to emulate players but to understand the game in depth, extracting from those books the best ideas and concepts.