Join chess24 Play unlimited games Quick & Easy It's free! Register now

Latest comments

thomasr commented onEuro Teams 6: France setup Russia showdown

lunamel commented onEuro Teams 6: France setup Russia showdown

BAD_FREEMANcommented on Karjakinon Carlsen: “I think youcan beat him”

Colin commented on EuroTeams 5: Carlsen hitsfour-year low

Tennisboy commented onEuro Teams 5: Carlsenhits four-year low

Latest news

Interviews May 2, 2014 | 05:48 by Colin McGourty

Reports 0

Euro Teams 7: Russia close ontitle as rivals fall

2 hours ago

Reports 2

Euro Teams 6: France set upRussia showdown

1 day ago

Interviews 15

Karjakin on Carlsen: “I think youcan beat him”

2 days ago

Reports 12

Euro Teams 5: Carlsen hits four-year low

3 days ago

Reports 3

Euro Teams 4: Russia rampant inReykjavik

4 days ago

Grischuk: I’m not narcissistic about my play

Alexander Grischuk’s starperformance at the recent RussianTeam Championship saw him sneakalmost unnoticed up to world no. 3on the live ratings. In a recentinterview he talked about whatthat means (or doesn’t mean) tohim, why looking for the bestmove in a position has becomeoutdated, why Magnus Carlsen isdominating chess and much more.

30-year-old Grischuk has oftenplayed second fiddle to his fellowRussians, but his FIDE rating iscurrently above them all, includingthe four who played in the recentCandidates Tournament. That wasthe starting point for an interview Grischuk gave to Oleg Bogatov for R Sport . We bring you somehighlights:

On his rating

How significant is third place in the world to you?

Alexander Grischuk: I can’t say it’s very significant. Recently a lot of players have approached the 2800mark, but then slowed down. So for now there’s nothing to talk about.

But does it really not warm your soul that you’ve got the highest rating among Russian players?

I already had the best rating among Russians once before. Of course it’s better to be rich and healthythan poor and ill, so it’s better the way it is than otherwise, but it’s nothing special. I don’t see anyreason to give a detailed commentary.

On only being interested in playing when a lot’s at stake

Sometimes the starting fees of invited players are high and the prize fund much lower. Whatinterest is there in playing then?

That happens, but recently, by the way, the trend has actually been towards high prize funds, which I’mglad about. Everything depends on the particular tournament, though – for example, in Wijk aan Zeethere were always high starting fees and almost no prize fund. It’s the same situation in Dortmund. InLinares or in Stavanger, though, there are no starting fees and the prize fund is higher.

On the Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament recently finished in Khanty-Mansiysk. Do you think the outcome wasfair?

I think it was perfectly logical – especially as Viswanathan Anand won quite convincingly and ensuredhimself first place with a round to spare.

What, in your view, is behind the failure of your friend Peter Svidler and Vladimir Kramnik?

Kramnik unexpectedly encountered opening problems, although that’s always been his very strongestside. Moreover, towards the end of the tournament he was exhausted, although it’s all connected. Whenthings are going well for you in the opening you can rush through a large part of the game in your homeanalysis, without excessive effort, and you have more energy left. But Vladimir had to put a lot of effortinto positions in the opening and by the end he was tired. As for Svidler – I really liked the fighting spirit

Grischuk and his daughter Masha at the prize ceremony of the 2013 Aeroflot Open| photo: Russian Chess Federation

Share 0

he showed but it seems he was simply in bad form, hence a lot of mistakes.

Observing the games didyou catch yourselfthinking you should beplaying there?

Not at all. I had everypossibility to qualifythrough the World Cupand the Grand Prix seriesand no-one got in my way.I had to finish first orsecond but I came fourthor fifth. Therefore there’sno-one to blame butmyself – I didn’t play wellenough.

On perfectionismand time trouble

Many experts say, “Alexander wants to find the very best move in every position”. Does thatapproach work against you?

In some ways, perhaps, that method has become obsolete. When I learned to play chess it really wasthought that there’s a best move in every position and you can find it, but now with the appearance andspread of computers it’s become clear to everyone that in many positions there’s a certain number ofmoves that are equally strong. However much time you think at the board or analyse afterwards it’simpossible to fathom which move is best.

You quite often drive yourself into time trouble and chess beauty then goes out the window and theplay becomes ragged. Doesn’t it upset you that you spoil the integrity of many games you’vecreated?

I’ve got no regrets about the games themselves, as frankly I’ve never been narcissistic about my play. Asfor the result – yes, at times it’s annoying, but it’s very difficult to find the golden mean betweengetting into time trouble and just quickly “bashing out” moves. Sometimes players move quickly – bang-bang-bang, and then it turns out there’s a lot of time left, but it’s time to resign.

On chess and poker

In recent years many chess players have actively and successfully combined chess with poker.What’s behind that, in your view?

Chess and poker really do have a lot in common. To play both you need a lot of very similar qualities –perseverance, attention, the ability to concentrate and analyse possible options, logic and goodcalculating skills. On the other hand, for each game you need some kind of specific inborn talent. Forexample, after his wonderful basketball career Michael Jordan began to play baseball, but he didn’tgain any particular laurels. It would seem as though they both require similar skills, but in basketball hewas one of the greatest players in history, if not the greatest, while in baseball he turned out to bemediocre. Despite that, for some chess players poker absolutely could become a real profession.

Are there some qualities or habits in poker that can be useful in chess?

All those that I mentioned – they’re interconnected. And once, after all, it was quite widespread thatthe same people could play at a top level in both football and hockey, for example Vsevolod Bobrov.When I’d just started playing poker you still didn’t need such narrow specialisation in order to succeed.And back then it was undoubtedly easier for me as a chess player.

On World Championship ambitions

A few years ago you said that you’re not a contender for the World Championship title. Has youropinion changed in these four years?

I don’t entirely understand the point of the question. It’s not important whether you’re a contender ornot, but how you play. I also often fail to understand the question, “who do you consider thetournament favourite?” Particularly when that’s asked about an event in which someone is taking partthemselves. It’s not important who the favourite is but who wins the tournament. Here as well – it’s notimportant who’s contending but who becomes the World Champion.

Svidler and Grischuk at the recent Russian Team Championship | photo: Vladimir Barsky

Comments

But do you set yourself such a goal now?

Goal would be going too far.

I’ll put it another way – have you set yourself the target of qualifying for the next CandidatesTournament?

I don’t understand – if you set yourself such a goal does it make it easier for you? It seems to me itdoesn’t. Any person who plays undoubtedly somehow strives for that and tries to win. I neverunderstood the words, “I set myself such and such a goal”. It strikes me everything depends on aperson’s character. Someone, for example, sets himself the goal of quitting smoking, while I, forexample, know that it won’t work for me. I won’t give up until I want to myself. And if I’m not going towant it but set myself that goal I won’t quit smoking.

And have you been smoking for a long time?

I’ve been smoking for quite a long time, around 12 years.

On Magnus Carlsen

What qualities have allowed Carlsen to dominate chess and become World Champion?

The guy simply plays chess well. It seems to me that in such cases people are inclined to look for somesupernatural explanation, although the simplest explanation is also the most appropriate: the guy simplyplays chess well.

How big is the group of players who are capable of competing with him in the coming years?

It’s hard to say because his results recently are undoubtedly impressive, but history shows that it’s veryrare for any domination by one person to last for a very long period of time. The group of Magnus’competitors isn’t so small – eight to ten guys.

See also:

Full interview at R Sport (in Russian)Grischuk stars in Malakhit victoryCarlsen, Grischuk and co. on the Candidates

Sort by Date Descending Receive updates0

Guest

Grischuk-Carlsen in Round 11 of the 2013 London Candidates tournament, an event where time trouble thwarted the Russian'sambitions | photo: Anastasiya Karlovich

Be the first to comment!

Post

chess24

Press Premium Jobs

Languages

English Deutsch Español

Support

Chessglossary FAQs Contact

Subscribe

Follow

chess24 apps

© chess24.com | All rights reserved | Version: 2015-11-18.0

Terms of Website Use Cookie Policy∙ Privacy Policy∙ Disclaimer∙

Join chess24 Free, Quick & Easy Register /Login