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May 2, 2014 | 05:48 by Colin McGourty

Interviews

Latest comments

Grischuk: Im not narcissistic about my play

thomasr commented on
Euro Teams 6: France set
up Russia showdown

Alexander Grischuks star

performance at the recent Russian
Team Championship saw him sneak
almost unnoticed up to world no. 3
on the live ratings. In a recent
interview he talked about what
that means (or doesnt mean) to
him, why looking for the best
move in a position has become
outdated, why Magnus Carlsen is
dominating chess and much more.

lunamel commented on
Euro Teams 6: France set
up Russia showdown
BAD_FREEMAN
commented on Karjakin
on Carlsen: I think you
can beat him

30-year-old Grischuk has often

played second fiddle to his fellow
Russians, but his FIDE rating is
currently above them all, including Grischuk and his daughter Masha at the prize ceremony of the 2013 Aeroflot Open
| photo: Russian Chess Federation
the four who played in the recent
Candidates Tournament. That was
the starting point for an interview Grischuk gave to Oleg Bogatov for R Sport . We bring you some
highlights:

Colin commented on Euro

Teams 5: Carlsen hits
four-year low
Tennisboy commented on
Euro Teams 5: Carlsen
hits four-year low

Latest news

Reports

On his rating
How significant is third place in the world to you?

2 hours ago

Alexander Grischuk: I cant say its very significant. Recently a lot of players have approached the 2800
mark, but then slowed down. So for now theres nothing to talk about.

Reports

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

1 day ago

I already had the best rating among Russians once before. Of course its better to be rich and healthy
than poor and ill, so its better the way it is than otherwise, but its nothing special. I dont see any
reason to give a detailed commentary.

On only being interested in playing when a lots at stake

Sometimes the starting fees of invited players are high and the prize fund much lower. What
interest is there in playing then?
That happens, but recently, by the way, the trend has actually been towards high prize funds, which Im
glad about. Everything depends on the particular tournament, though for example, in Wijk aan Zee
there were always high starting fees and almost no prize fund. Its the same situation in Dortmund. In
Linares 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 was
fair?
I think it was perfectly logical especially as Viswanathan Anand won quite convincingly and ensured
himself 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 thats always been his very strongest
side. Moreover, towards the end of the tournament he was exhausted, although its all connected. When
things are going well for you in the opening you can rush through a large part of the game in your home
analysis, without excessive effort, and you have more energy left. But Vladimir had to put a lot of effort
into positions in the opening and by the end he was tired. As for Svidler I really liked the fighting spirit

Euro Teams 7: Russia close on

title as rivals fall

Euro Teams 6: France set up

Russia showdown

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can beat him
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3 days ago
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4 days ago

he showed but it seems he was simply in bad form, hence a lot of mistakes.
Observing the games did
you catch yourself
thinking you should be
playing there?

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

Not at all. I had every

possibility to qualify
through the World Cup
and the Grand Prix series
and no-one got in my way.
I had to finish first or
second but I came fourth
or fifth. Therefore theres
no-one to blame but
myself I didnt play well
enough.

On perfectionism
and time trouble
Many experts say, Alexander wants to find the very best move in every position. Does that
approach work against you?
In some ways, perhaps, that method has become obsolete. When I learned to play chess it really was
thought that theres a best move in every position and you can find it, but now with the appearance and
spread of computers its become clear to everyone that in many positions theres a certain number of
moves that are equally strong. However much time you think at the board or analyse afterwards its
impossible to fathom which move is best.
You quite often drive yourself into time trouble and chess beauty then goes out the window and the
play becomes ragged. Doesnt it upset you that you spoil the integrity of many games youve
created?
Ive got no regrets about the games themselves, as frankly Ive never been narcissistic about my play. As
for the result yes, at times its annoying, but its very difficult to find the golden mean between
getting into time trouble and just quickly bashing out moves. Sometimes players move quickly bangbang-bang, and then it turns out theres a lot of time left, but its time to resign.

On chess and poker

In recent years many chess players have actively and successfully combined chess with poker.
Whats 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 good
calculating skills. On the other hand, for each game you need some kind of specific inborn talent. For
example, after his wonderful basketball career Michael Jordan began to play baseball, but he didnt
gain any particular laurels. It would seem as though they both require similar skills, but in basketball he
was one of the greatest players in history, if not the greatest, while in baseball he turned out to be
mediocre. 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 theyre interconnected. And once, after all, it was quite widespread that
the same people could play at a top level in both football and hockey, for example Vsevolod Bobrov.
When Id just started playing poker you still didnt 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 youre not a contender for the World Championship title. Has your
opinion changed in these four years?
I dont entirely understand the point of the question. Its not important whether youre a contender or
not, but how you play. I also often fail to understand the question, who do you consider the
tournament favourite? Particularly when thats asked about an event in which someone is taking part
themselves. Its not important who the favourite is but who wins the tournament. Here as well its not
important whos contending but who becomes the World Champion.

But do you set yourself such a goal now?

Goal would be going too far.

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

Ill put it another way have you set yourself the target of qualifying for the next Candidates
Tournament?
I dont understand if you set yourself such a goal does it make it easier for you? It seems to me it
doesnt. Any person who plays undoubtedly somehow strives for that and tries to win. I never
understood the words, I set myself such and such a goal. It strikes me everything depends on a
persons character. Someone, for example, sets himself the goal of quitting smoking, while I, for
example, know that it wont work for me. I wont give up until I want to myself. And if Im not going to
want it but set myself that goal I wont quit smoking.
And have you been smoking for a long time?
Ive 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 some
supernatural explanation, although the simplest explanation is also the most appropriate: the guy simply
plays chess well.
How big is the group of players who are capable of competing with him in the coming years?
Its hard to say because his results recently are undoubtedly impressive, but history shows that its very
rare for any domination by one person to last for a very long period of time. The group of Magnus
competitors isnt so small eight to ten guys.
See also:
Full interview at R Sport (in Russian)
Grischuk stars in Malakhit victory
Carlsen, Grischuk and co. on the Candidates

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