One of the strongest Grandmasters of the world, the triumph participant of the Moscow Blitz Championship Alexander Morozevich answered the questions of the Moscow Chess Federation official site editor Eldar Muhametov.
Muhametov: Alexander, my congratulations with your victory. What impressions do you have after the Championship?
Morozevich: First of all this tournament is a holiday for me. Independently from the final result and ups and downs in some games. That is why the main task is to present a good mood to myself and to those who came to see the games of the masters despite the weather. I hope that we did our best to meet their expectations.
Alexander Morozevich
Muhametov: Did the organizers succeed to make a holiday atmosphere this time, to your mind? We cannot control the weather unfortunately…
Morozevich: Being an old timer I am not dependent on bad weather which could not spoil my holiday mood. Plus, the measures against cold and dampness which I took once in a while saved my during the whole tournament. Though I think we should not repeat such kind of experiments. I am not sure that all participants are in good health shape now. Moscow is not a south city, it has a changeable climate, that is why they should have another reserve venue for the tournament with all weather requirements.
Muhametov: All chess media, especially international ones report on the triumphal come back of Morozevich. After you were out of the Biel tournament and did not participate in the Chess Olympiad, everyone worries about your health… Can we say that everything is fine now?
Morozevich: If you read many different chess articles, you could have a strange picture: Morozevich leaves somewhere and then he comes back. Some “clot”. In fact all is much easier. In Biel I left due to my health problems. Coming back to Moscow I spent two weeks in one of the rehabilitation clinics and my shape came back to normal. The fact of leaving the tournament did not gladden me of course, but this might happen as well.
As for the Olympiad, we spoke with our coach Yuri Dohoyan and came to a conclusion that we should not take a risk for no one knows how long it would take to rehabilitate. We don’t speak about recovering and getting the optimal shape. We have a lot of deserved players so I hope that our guys will play their best and will get the gold medals.
Muhametov: I am sure you follow the performance of the Russians in Istanbul. Can you comment their games?
Morozevich: I looked at the games of the men’s team. They play well, if they will keep control and tense till the end and the fortune will be on our side everything will be fine.
Muhametov: A bit more about the tournament. Was it easy for you?
Morozevich: Well, what to say. Being a bit trained out, I had some one move blunders, but managed to reorganize myself and continue playing as if nothing had happened. Perhaps that was my main advantage this time.
Muhametov: Do you like blitz in general? Do you support that FIDE started to calculate ratings in blitz tournaments?
Morozevich: In general I support. It is difficult to say if it is right to use the old calculation methods but I think it is reasonable to put blitz, rapid and blind chess in the separate category of calculation.
Muhametov: Is it your sixth victory in a row? Only Mikhail Tal has more victories, ten. Are we correct?
Morozevich: I think you are right: 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012. I seem to become more dangerous in even years…
Muhametov: Did you manage to play against robot?
Morozevich: I was fully into my tournament and social communication. I got to know about robot existence from the report the next day.
Muhametov: Sergey Karjakin has a sponsor now, Carlsen has several even… As far as I understand this helps to have serious trainers team. Can one get the World Chess Championship title without this sort of financial support?
Morozevich: The title sponsor does not always guarantee the strong team.; But in general the time of individuals passed away. Every player has in mind to create a good team if he wants to gain a lot.
Muhametov: Do you still have ambitions to be the strongest chess player of the planet?
Morozevich: I have ambitions to play as better as possible and to develop myself in different life spheres. How much you think a title would cost if the health or happiness is affected? It is not easy to combine these tasks, but everyone is looking for difficult paths.
Muhametov: Will you please share your plans for the nearest future?
Morozevich: My next tournament is in October – the European Club Championship in Israel. Then if let’s pray the FIDE Grand Prix in Tashkent at the second half of November.
Muhametov: Thank you for your comments!
