Mr. Kramnik, hello, congratulations with your birthday!
Thank you.
Did you fully recover from the little illness you had before the tournament?
I’m on the way to recover fully, I still have little problems but basically I’m quite okay already and for the moment I manage to play chess on decent level so everything seems to be fine.
Did you have a chance to study the new FIDE idea, the news that was brought yesterday?
Not yet really, I saw, I checked on internet yesterday but it seems to be pretty complicated, I didn’t get into the point yet so I think after the tournament I will study it more carefully. I think there are more people who doesn’t understand the system than who understand. I don’t know if the people who have invented it fully understand the system but it seems to be very complicated. I will check it more carefully after the tournament.
But what is your first impression, when you saw it?
I don’t know, I didn’t get really into it seriously, I mean okay, whaterever is the decision is a decision of FIDE but I find it a bit complicated all these things but okay, again, I cannot really tell more for the moment. First I need to understand who is playing whom and why, you know.
Allright, actually, Dortmund, is that your last tournament before Mexico?
Yes. So okay, it’s a good training for me and of course I also would like to win this tournament once again but first of all I consider it as a good training for Mexico so I’ll try to play long games, I will try to fight and to get into good shape.
Okay. People know that you’re at the moment probably the strongest match player in the world, how do you feel you have your chance in such a tournament for the world championship?
I don’t think it’s such a big difference between tournament and match, especially since this tournament is going to be really really tough. I mean there is not a single player who is clearly inferior to the others. I mean the field is so level that it’s almost like a match you know. I cannot actually name one single person who clearly will manage on the bottom of the table. I really don’t know, I mean all are very strong, all are very very solid players, it’s difficult to beat all of the players so I think it’s going to be a very very tough tournament so in this sence it’s not so different to a match. Anway I think it’s… how to say… it’s a primitive to divide clearly a match and a tournament, it depends what match, it depends what tournament, you know, and if top players are playing it doesn’t make such a difference. So I’m very motivated, I think I definitely have chances to win this tournament and I’ll try to do my best, I already started to prepare seriously for it and I really want to win it, just for the record. After all, you know, okay I won already three world championship matches and I would like to win a world championship tournament so I’m very motivated.
Here is the full interview by our friends at Chess Vibes.
It is the last piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle which allowed Kramnik to be the un-deserving World Champion. With Mexico, Iwould consider the World Champion to be the truly deserving World Champion of the World. Subsequent challenges between current/past Champions are just sad caveats to allow Kramnik to remain a World Champion and Topalov to have the rightful steak to be a World Champion.
Topalov lost to Kramnik fair and square. It’s time for the Bulgarian eunuch and his feverish fans to grow a pair and accept their earned loss.
“It is the last piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle which allowed Kramnik to be the un-deserving World Champion. With Mexico, Iwould consider the World Champion to be the truly deserving World Champion of the World.”
Most people wouldn’t. It’s as simple as that. For people who know chess, the tradition of crowning the champion in a match goes back over a century, and it seems silly to toss it aside just to get rid of one guy that a few anonymous internet kooks don’t like.
Sorry, but it’s really that simple. If he’s not deserving, then beat him in a match and have done with it. Don’t try to randomize the whole process and REALLY create an undeserving champion, just to increase your odds of screwing one guy. That’s just stupid. And childish.
Why complex? Very simple and that is why I like it.
Two scenarios are possible:
1.) Kramnik wins Mexico.
Fall 07 – Kramnik wins Mexico
Fall 07 – Ivanchuk wins World Cup
Spring 08 – Kramnik vs Topalov, say, Topalov wins
Fall 08 – Topalov vs Ivanchuk
2.) Kramnik does not win Mexico.
Fall 07 – Svidler wins Mexico
Fall 07 – Ivanchuk wins World Cup
Spring 08 – Kramnik vs Svidler, say, Svidler wins
Spring 08 – Topalov vs Ivanchuk, say, Chucky wins
Fall 08 – Svidler vs Ivanchuk
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After all, you know, okay I won already three world championship matches and I would like to win a world championship tournament…
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Correction, he’s won TWO world championship matches, and drawn a third.
I find it hard to believe that elite chess players are calling this system complex.
Surely someone who can calculate long tactical variations can workout a couple of simple flowcharts. It took me less than 30 seconds to understand what is
going on.
That doesn’t mean they have to agree with the decision, but they are insulting their own intelligence by calling it complex.
I believe the title holder gets draw odds in those matches, so a tied match is in every sense a “win” for the holder.