Danailov about Magnus Carlsen, the match Topalov – Anand, Linares 2010, and the Canary islands
Interview for gong.bg
Presented by Chessdom.com
Silvio Danailov, the manager of the ex World Champion Veselin Topalov, gave an extensive interview for Radio Gong. Chessdom.com brings you exclusively the translation of the interview. Note that the English translation is of the audio version, as it includes more details and important nuances, that are omitted or wrongfully transcribed in the text version.
Mr. Danailov, is the calendar year over for Veselin Topalov?
Yes, the games in Novi Sad were the last of Topalov for this year, from now on we concentrate on Topalov’s preparation for the match with Anand.Topalov is first in the FIDE rating list.
This is our goal since the World Championship title in 2005, Topalov to be number one at the FIDE rating list and at the same time. The first is already achieved and now we have to aim at the WCC match in Sofia.
Magnus Carlsen is second only 9 points behind Topalov, Anand is third. Any surprises for you in top 3?
Since Carlsen started working with Kasparov, he is progressing as expected. At this moment he has to deal with the psychological pressure to be only 9 points from the top. He is young and talanted, it is expected for him to become number 1 at some point.
Regarding Anand, he is resting on his past success. He is almost not playing now. Let’s not forget he is 40 years old now and it is difficult for him to keep the pace of the younger players. At his age there is not much energy and he is reserving it. The main thing for him is to keep the title, as it gives him privileges.
There is more than half an year to the match, do you expect “blows below the waist”?
I suppose that in the next six months from Anand’s team will make everything possible to require unfulfillable conditions during the negotiations for the contract for the match, in order to make us nervous. They believe the match is more important to us, but in any case the match will take place and no matter what they do, they missed their chance. They could make a bid for India, which to be better than ours. For sure there will be caprises from their side. We have gone, however, through Elista, where it was much more difficult, so we are ready.
The dates for the match are 5th to 24th of April Sofia?
The dates are not sure yet, 5th to 24th of April is the desire of FIDE because Kirsan Ilymzhinov’s birthday is April 5th, and the the President of FIDE wouldlike his birthday to coincide with the start of the match. However, as far as I know, Anand has already requested a change of date for the end of April. FIDE will try to convince him for the initial dates, but anyhow it does not matter. If Anand is firm in his position and does not want to give in, the match can also start in the end of April.
Ilymzhinov likes Bulgaria, several times an year he visits Vanga’s grave and draws energy from there. I expect the final date to be announced during the coming visit of Kirsan Ilymzhinov in Bulgaria in December (the date is still to be confirmed), which is for the signing of the contract and a meeting with the Prime Minister Boiko Borisov.
What are the plans for Topalov’s preparation?
Currently we are selecting coaches and seconds for Topalov. After that we will have training sessions in Spain, they will be in November, December, and January. As he needs practice, for sure he will participate in the Linares 2010 tournament from 13th to 25th of February. There is a theoretical chance that he participates in Monte Carlo as well, but that depends on the dates of the match with Anand.
There will be new names in Topalov’s camp, for now I will keep them secret. It is always good to have motivated people and new ideas, We will have a doctor, psychologist, nutritionist, fitnes instructor. Of course there will be 7 to 10 days rest between the sessions, we will send him to the Canary Islands to regain energy.
What is the role of the nutritionist?
The nutritionist makes a special selection of food and a diet for Topalov. Some foods cannot be mixed, and so on. Such diet begins at least two months before the competition. This is in all sports, not just in chess. Before chess was considered to be only mental sport, but it turns out that without serrious physical preparation it is difficult to endure a whole game. In a match like the World championship every detailcounts.
Currently you are in Spain, how do you evaluate the performance of the team at the ETCC in Novi Sad?
It is a bad performance, the chess team resembles the soccer one, we have one or two good players, and we need at least five. I will rely on Kiprian Berbatov for the future, we had desire to include him in the team, but decided suchstep is premature.
Cheparinov is also not in good form, if Cheparinov, Topalov, and Beebatov play next year we have more chances, but unfortunatelly that is what we have for now, the people that participated do not have the needed class for something more serious.
Topalov has always played for Bulgaria, always with good scores. However, before we had chances for medals, now most teams gained speed, and when there are no chances for medals he is less motivated. In any case he always defends the honor of Bulgaria.
Oh Silvio…the Don King of the chess world!
Whoever this guy is, his comments on Anand are not acceptable at all. Resting on past laurels? Can he check with Kramnik? Past his prime? hope he is following Anand’s exploits at Tal 2009.
What kind of mind games are these? It will only get Anand fired up and crush Topolav. Anand has beaten Topolav 2 games to every one game lost. Tells you about Anand’s domination.
Susan make sure you interview this guy after the April 2010.
Topalov has a good to chance win the world champion crown in my opinion .
Anand is a great player , don’t get me wrong but unless the match is very short (like 12 games max ) , i don’t think he’s capable of beating Veselin Topalov who is more creative , has more stamina or energy , comes more often with novelties (good luck for outpreparing Topalov in the opening ) and will be more motivated as a challenger , especially if the match is in Bulgaria .
Kramnik lost to Anand when he played the weakest chess in his career , people often overlook this fact , he was in appalling form and badly prepared (openings) despite what he was saying before the tournament , we all saw this in the match .
On the other hand Kramnik was an extremely difficult player to the Topalov of 2006 because of his conservative playing style , but Anand is a different player than Kramnik and Topalov is much more experienced than in 2006 and stronger now .
I would definetely bet on Veselin , perhaps Anand is slightly better as a positional player , but in a world championship match , having as much energy and be a player who put so much pressure on his opponents as Veselin Topalov does , i doubt Anand will find the ressources to win the match , Vishy will have to be quickly on +2 like in his last match against Kramnik , cause if Topalov takes a lead and is in full confidence at home , then it will be extremely hard , perhaps too much for him , well we’ll see .
Nice analysis by @9:56 p.m. I especially like his descriptions of the head-to-head matchups of Anand v. Kramnik and Topalov v. Kramnik.
My opinion is that whoever is in better form will win. I believe that Anand is fully capable of defeating Topalov in a match. Anand is less impressive when off-form and being off-form can be expected a little more often after age 40.
When in good form, Topalov can steamroller just about anyone. But he can also be a slow starter, which would not be good for his chances if Anand is on his game.
I also think that in terms of playing styles of the opponents, Topalov v. Anand is much more interesting than either of the past two championship matches.
This is the pathetic match of the century. We are talking about Kasparov’s crown here and these two could not even flush Kasparov’s WC:
Garry Kasparov beat Veselin Topalov 15 to 6, with 17 draws.*
Garry Kasparov beat Viswanathan Anand 26 to 8, with 43 draws.*
But this is the anti-Kasparov FIDE dream to have these coffee house players become World Champion.
I am sorry but the both of them together could not equal Kramnik’s score against Kasparov.
Garry Kasparov beat Vladimir Kramnik 22 to 21, with 79 draws.*
Kramnik was never beaten as World Champion, instead forced to surrender the title.
Bwhahaahhaa. The comments about Anand are ludicrous! Pffffft. Anand is the world champion. End of story. You gotta beat the man to be the man. Anand is the man.
hehe, looks like fun!
@12:46 would have a point if Kasparov hadn’t retired from competition, but he has retired. The chess world had to move on, just as it had to when Fischer retired / quit. The world champion is the the best chess player, and Kasparov no longer plays.
While I agree that Kramnik was mistreated by having to play in the 2007 Mexico City World Championship Tournament rather than facing as champion and in a match, the winner of that tournament, he then did play Anand in a classical WC match in 2008 and lost convincingly. So I cannot be enthusiastic about the argument that Kramnik was never beaten as world champion.
Danailov is a thug. ‘Nough said. Anand is a class act, and Danailov’s attempt to smear his team is ludicrous and un-sportsmanlike, to say the least.
As for the match outcome, Topalov is a very, very strong player, but I don’t think he has realistic chances against Anand. Look at it this way: Carlsen has a very healthy score against Topalov at this point, but he still struggles against Anand. What does that tell you about Anand’s chances against Topalov…? I look forward to the match, and I will definitely be rooting for the current Champion.
“Regarding Anand…he is 40 years old now…At his age there is not much energy and he is reserving it.”
According to Danailov’s FIDE profile card Danailov is now 48. He should do the chess world (and Topalov) a favor and reserve his even smaller amount of energy by keeping his mouth shut.
Everyone, stop typing so many words. I am 38 and don’t have the energy to keep my eyes open for than a few seconds at a time. Also, I fall out of my chair a lot. It’s so exhausting. I can’t imagine being 40 and trying to play chess without total collapse of all my internal organs.
Very unfortunately that next year Mr. Danailov could be a manager of the World Champion. I hope that Anand could shut this mouth up. He is the only Man on Topalov’s road, do not forget that Kramnik is out of this cicle due to regulations and Gelfand, Leko and Morozevich (so 2, 3, 4 and 6 in Mexico City) boycotted this cicle due to protest against Topalov privilege to be seeded directly to the finals (against 2007 World Cup winner, unfortunately Carlsen was too young in 2007, so he lose to Gata in semifinal). So good job Mr. danailov just two matches in your home Sofia and you can get the whole bank.
LOL, 12:17 PM