David Navara: “I fear that nobody really needs me”

http://www.ugra-chess.com

The Olympiad Press Center journalist interviewed the leader of the Czech national team David Navara. They were talking everything but chess.

– Do you travel a lot?
– Yes, of course. I am not old, but I already visited many countries. At the same time, I prefer going to the places where I can speak their native language. I hate situations when I don’t understand people!

– How did you learn Russian so well?
– When I studied at school, Russian was one of my favorite subjects. I still really like your language.

– David, do you like cinema?
– Not much, to be honest. But sometimes I watch movies with my favorite actor Louis de Funes. I love his movies, and don’t even know why. Maybe that’s because he is unique – my mood improves every time I watch movies with him.

– As far as I know, you are a big literature fan. Do you have a favorite writer?
– Yes. My favorite writer is a Czech writer Karel Capek. At some point he got very interested in philosophy, which significantly affected his work. In 1920 he published a play called “R.U.R.”, where he invented the word “robot”. The novel “War with the salamanders” is considered to be his peak – this is a political anti-fascist satire, resembling Geogre Orwell.

– Do you like Russian literature?
– I like Dostoyevsky, especially his novel “Crime and punishment”. He is an outstanding writer.

– Are you also interested in philosophy?
– To be more precise, I am interested in logic. I study this science at the Karlov university in Prague. You can’t play chess without logic. I also like sociology.

– How often do you break the sporting schedule?
– Rarely. I don’t smoke, don’t drink, and don’t take illegal drugs. I only take the prescribed drugs, but that doesn’t count, right? (laughing)

– What is your greatest fear?
– Maybe it sounds funny, but I feel I am becoming stupid. I fear that with years I will become so stupid that I won’t be able to play chess at the high level. Also I always think that nobody really needs me. People know and respect me only because I achieved something in chess. I fear that one day I will wake up and no one will be noticing me. So I’ll try to make my supporters happy as long as I can!

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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