Anand shouldn’t be proud of his K links: Veselin Topalov
Amit Karmarkar, TNN, May 26, 2010, 01.54am IST
Topalov, a former World champion and reigning Linares champion, shares his thoughts on Anand and world chess in an email interview. Excerpts:
How tough was the World Championship match against Anand?
Physically the match was not so difficult. Twelve games are not so many and there were many rest days. Knockout format is much tougher in this sense. Mentally of course, the tension was very high, but it is also true that top chess players are used to pressure.
According to some reports, it seems Anand was helped by Kasparov, Kramnik and Carlsen for the match. Your comments.
I do not think Anand should be very proud of this. Especially by the fact he accepted help from the first two. I have been among the chess elite for 15 years and perfectly remember how Kasparov treated Anand for years. And not long before the World Championship match in Bonn 2008, Anand had to stand the arrogant statements of his opponent in the press. I would never accept help from people who humiliated me for years even for free. But it seems Anand is different.
Do you think you have got enough recognition for your stance of not accepting draws and making the game uncompromising and more entertaining?
Yes, I think so. Since the Sofia rules (no quick and agreed draws) were invented by my manager Silvio Danailov back in 2005, the results are very positive. Sponsors liked them and new tournaments appeared. Media interest for chess has grown up and prizes increased. For winning the world title in 2005 I received $300,000 and five years later Anand got $1.5 million. This speaks for itself.
Do you think Anand is the most complete player?
Yes, that is something no one can deny. Also, he has been a Rapid World Champion, very strong in blitz play and one of the best blindfold players in the world.
What are your thoughts on Anand?
I think being a world champion is a great responsibility. He has to collaborate with FIDE and attract new sponsors to chess. But Anand does not have a professional team behind him and has failed to find sponsors. India could be a paradise for chess, but the fact that he has not played a single tournament in India since 2002 can only mean two things: either Anand does not like to play in India, or his team is not capable to stage a top level event.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Topalov is partially right.
Kramnik has always been a mild mannered genius who has been in awe of Anand’s chess genius.
BUT Kasparov is one of the most disliked players in the history of the game, his mannerisms and demeanors for a long time towards his opponents have been hardly gentlemanly.
Anand should have NOT excepted any help from obnoxious character like Kasparov.
Infact even Kramnik in one of the interviews in his website mentioned about Kasparov’s attitude and language against Anand.
I don’t know if I should by offended or charmed by Topa.
He raises several legitimate issues.
Maybe if he wasn’t tainted by Danailov, I would become a Topalov fan.
Topalov is right. Anand sold his soul to Kasparov and Kramnik.
It seems that Topalov is always able to take away my sympathy. I WANT to like the guy… a genius behind the board, playing great attacking chess, but off the board he seems to be lacking qua grace.
Why not just say that although you are very disappointed, and although you will come back (I’ll be back!!) the chess-world should be happy to have a great worldchampion like Anand?!
Instead Topalov chooses to make a lot of suggestions (Anand is not willing to raise money, etcetera) and that does not seem to be professional at all.
I mean: you are representing chess here… why not send out a message of optimism and grace? (like a certain Susan Polgar always does :P)
What did Kramnik say about Anand before Bonn 2008?
I also don’t know much about what Kasparov said about Anand.
Topalov can really be a bit of a idiot…
“either Anand does not like to play in India, or his team is not capable to stage a top level event”
or, possibly, he doesn’t want to go about the whole process of creating top level tournaments in India when there are others around the world. Topalov’s points aren’t the only two.
Topalov is one of those guys you used to really want to see play (maybe back in the mid-late 90’s) before he got his idiot of a manager, and seemed to completely be absorbed in himself.
Sorry, follow up to my previous post:
“Sponsors liked them and new tournaments appeared. Media interest for chess has grown up and prizes increased. For winning the world title in 2005 I received $300,000 and five years later Anand got $1.5 million. This speaks for itself.”
Possibly other factors might be involved. The prize funds of the 80/90’s were higher, without “Silvio Danailov rules”
Hmmm I wonder if Kasparov and Carlsen had offered to help Topalov instead of Anand..would he have refused?? Somehow I think he is lying about not accepting help. It is easy to say he would refuse since no one will ever offer him help.
Second Anand is a excellent champion and player not a chess sponsor or manager. Why the hell should he organize tournaments? Is Topalov going to quit chess and become Danailovs assistant now?
Too many contradictions in these statements. Just stick to good attacking chess and best of luck for the candidates tourney…
I agree that Topalov comes across as unlikeable, but he plays a great villian.
And I sure do love watching his matches!! He always makes them exciting. And if Danailov is behind some of these decisions, then props to him as well.
“Topalov is right. Anand sold his soul to Kasparov and Kramnik.”
Oh, for God’s sake. Too much is being made of the involvement of Kasparov, Kramnik, and Carlsen. According to Anand’s interview, Kasparov gave comments on opening variations and some insights on Topalov. Carlsen played blitz with Anand for two or three days.
Kramnik did more, with fairly extensive comments to Anand’s team for the last nine games of the match.
All in all, I would say their effecft was on the order of neutralizing Topalov’s home field advantage.
one interesting question to ask
would be this :-
will anand accept topalovs
offer to help if kramnik
emerged the winner of the
next candidatestournament?
Topalov should stop. He lost and that’s it. He had a chance to mate kramnik and he didn’t see it, and a chance to play tiebreaks against anand and refused (or missed)it. What exactly gives Topalov the right to judge Anand on any of his decisions?…none..he’s simply a bad loser. Note that almost every elite grandmaster considers kramnik a gentleman over the board and an honest man outside of it. Kasparov, on the other hand, has made everything in his power to improve chess in all aspects, regardless of his behavior. The bulgarian has no friends outside of his team, no one repects him as a man, he’s purely praised on his chess skills, which by the way are half cooked at home. As long as topalov lacks honesty and simplicity, he’ll never be world champion.
So many insinuations against Anand for each question?! The title of this article is misleading, he only says that when the interviewer asks him, otherwise for every answer he gives he subtly targets Anand. I know he is hurt by the loss added to it is the humiliation that everybody, KKC snubbed him and Kramnik had his moral victory. May be its a danilov thing but a little grace or positivity from Topalov would do a world of good even to him. Now the only thing I like about him is his attacking chess, nothing more period. Danilov’s interview has even funnier comments like “Chepinarov is way better and creative than Kasparov,Kramnik and Carlsen together”!! lol..these type of statements come from a natural huge ego their souls are made of, they have passed the point of realizing or looking at things rationally. They should learn from Anand who despite everyone knows how much hostility they faced in Bulgaria has laid everything to rest by saying that all was great with organizing, and Topalov goes round the world proclaiming that he will play with his own rules of chess while FIDE kept their mouth shut and allowed him to say/do whatever he wants and now these interviews say it all. It would have been even more distasteful to listen to them had they won! saved!
one interesting question to ask
would be this :-
will anand accept topalovs
offer to help if kramnik
emerged the winner of the
next candidatestournament?
—
No, he would politely say “Instead of you I want Chepiranov who is better than every human playing chess”
Anon (May 25, 2010 9:36:00 PM CDT), agree with you. Too much is being made of this help from Kasparov et al.
I’d think any real help had to have come from Anand’s team of seconds, and his manager/wife.
Of course, he still had to play chess as they say, over the board.
Remember the Catalan where Topalov sac-ed an exchange first, and then it was a piece for a pawn + a huge initiative? How can you not be thoroughly impressed by Anand’s ability to anull Topalov’s preparation over the board on that one? It was complicated! No Kasparov or Kramnik there!
Yes Anand is different… he has CLASS… and has proven that he is the legit world champion.
The only thing matters is that over the board at the time of the game who was better. People make many kinds of preparation and get help from anybody they want or any computer they want. As long as nothing illegal is done nobody should be bothered by it. Anand won fair and square. If Anand can win at 40 after many failures in his career, Topolov should try to do the same and try again and again. If he is good enough he will succeed. If he became champion in the future everybody will stop talking all this non sense and will accept him as they did Kasprove despite all his boorish behaviour. Champions need not only skill but nerves of steel and above all a little luck.
Viva Anand.
I read all of your comments, and I simply can’t stop laughing. Who the hell are you to judge Topalov??? I bet 70% of you, who posted those comments, don’t know how to play chess… And for the other 30%: You are nobody against Topalov… You can’t even step on his little finger. Let me see one of you to play against Anand and win 2 games against him, and then tell me he’s a disrespective person etc. I bet you will lose 12-0 and when the interwviewer asks you something you’re going to say: Anand was just lucky :|. Yes I understand that you don’t like Danailov but neither do I. We have to accept the fact that he’s Topalov’s manager and he’ll never dump him (he raised him and made him a good player so Topalov owns him much). And as for the help, I think Anand shouldn’t have accepted the help from neither, just becouse on of the helpers, Carlsen, in 2 years is going to challenge Anand and just wanted to have a look with his trainer, Kasparov, at Anands repertoare and preperation.
ivan4topa,
do’nt u make fun of president bush? don’t u call him an idiot? even though if they put you in his shoes on 9/11 u will be peeing every which way?
ivan4topa
so u say just because topa is a good chess player whatever he says nobody should find it offensive?
Off-topic, but did Susan post part 2 of her summary of the match? If not, is she going to, or is there a hitch?
“ivan4otopa said…
I read all of your comments, and I simply can’t stop laughing. Who the hell are you to judge Topalov??? I bet 70% of you, who posted those comments, don’t know how to play chess… And for the other 30%: You are nobody against Topalov… You can’t even step on his little finger.”
Agree with this. But doesn’t mean we can’t have an opinion of him as a human being (with his cowardly comments, it’d be difficult to call him a man!)
“I read all of your comments, and I simply can’t stop laughing. Who the hell are you to judge Topalov??? I bet 70% of you, who posted those comments, don’t know how to play chess…”
You suggest that we are commenting on Topalov’s chess skills… but most of the comments are not about that. They are about Topalov’s lack of grace off the board. So what you say is not quite relevant.
Perhaps it is wise to show even more respect for the great mind of Topalov and maybe my earlier comment is lacking in that respect. But on the other hand, I really do feel that Topa is not selling chess in the most graceful manner here and I actually do not see the reason why even though I am a weak player I should not point this out.
Alas, I think a mark of a person is also the ability to continue from difficult times. Prejudices overflow, yet one cannot allow oneself to be harmed by them. The ability to forgive even when not asked is a feature of a great person. I understand Topalov’s position, yet I feel the right philosophy has won as it should.
@ivan4oTopa,
sounds like you are drinking the same water as Topalov & his keeper!
Who are you to judge all of the posters and their comments? As for the response to losses against Anand, I would bet that almost all (all with exception of you) would show a lot more class in defeatthan is being shown in this interview by the WCC runner-up.
Cheparinov,Smeets etc =
Topalovs seconds
Kasparov,Kramnik,Carlsen =
Anands firsts
clearly topy makes tournaments more interesting but the Ashley rule wa already there you just went into a back room in Sophia and changed the name and came out pretending to be its inventor, so i just gave vishy the T-board horse via The Chessdrum and it caught up to you. Kasparov, Kramnik and lil Magasparov got nothing to do with it, Um usin tricks and i learned them from U.
Ok, I agree if all of you have an opinion. But why do you say bad things on Topalov’s adress, when only Danailov is “involved”? And i bet all of you wouldn’t feel very good if someone says such things to you when you have achieved so many things (being world No.1, being a world champ, play a big chess match in front of the whole world). I mean what does Topalov done to you? Did he punch in the stomach? Did he stole your car?
You say all these things becouse you see what Russians talk, isn’t that right? and you want to keep in touch with them, isn’t that right? And I bet noone knows why he’s saying these things, isn’t that right?
YOU ARE ALL JUST JEALOUS
Anonymous said…
@ivan4oTopa,
sounds like you are drinking the same water as Topalov & his keeper!
Who are you to judge all of the posters and their comments? As for the response to losses against Anand, I would bet that almost all (all with exception of you) would show a lot more class in defeatthan is being shown in this interview by the WCC runner-up.
You don’t know who I am to say who is going to show more class. I am a champ in my country in the 20-years-old group and I can say I am close to Cheparinov’s level. So if you please move out of my way!!!
So, you must be GM Ivan Salgado Lopez who won the Spanish U18 Chess Championship title?
You are the Junior Chess Champion of Spain?
Nice to meet you, but you must understand chess fans are passionate about the players as much as they are about the games.
It comes with the territory.
So, please allow the Toplov fans to say negative things about their hero. The Vishy fans are not calling Topa names. It is his fans! The harsh words will motivate Topa to do one of two things. Get better and get back the WC crown, or quit chess.
Either way, the chess fans get what they want: blood on the chessboard.
SCL
ivan4oTopa said…
You don’t know who I am to say who is going to show more class. I am a champ in my country in the 20-years-old group and I can say I am close to Cheparinov’s level. So if you please move out of my way!!!
Excuse me!
Looks like you are well on your way to following in your hero Topalov’s footsteps – being brash and arrogant – good luck!
No, I am not from Spain… I’m from a country that does not have enough funds to send me to a foreign tournament…
Anonymous said…
ivan4oTopa said…
You don’t know who I am to say who is going to show more class. I am a champ in my country in the 20-years-old group and I can say I am close to Cheparinov’s level. So if you please move out of my way!!!
Excuse me!
Looks like you are well on your way to following in your hero Topalov’s footsteps – being brash and arrogant – good luck!
I am not following his footsteps and he’s not my hero. I like all of the chessplayers and grandmasters and I never have said a bad word towards any of them.
Everyone, this isn’t about who’s the best/worst player. It’s simply that some people think that Topalov’s comments are completely out of order. In a way, if he’d retained his title, and could back it up on the board, it would be different. But as it is, he just comes across as a very bitter man (although a very very good chess player!)
Ivan4otopa, your position is ridiculous. If only better players than Topalov are allowed to comment on Topalov’s behavior, then comments on this site would be limited to Anand (and possibly Carlsen and Kramnik). Using your logic, no one else would be entitled to express a point of view. Is that also true for sports? No fan should be allowed to criticize an athlete, because the fan isn’t as good as the pro? You clearly have an ax to grind, but I’d suggest you bury it.
Topalov’s comments simply leave a bad taste in the mouth. A real champion has class (looking across all sports here). Topalov always seems to blame someone else, have an excuse ready (his manager), or simply doesn’t seem to accept reality.
I don’t think it matters how the K’s and Anand felt/feel about each other. All that matters is that Anand can say SCOREBOARD to any & all of the people who say “why would you accept their help?”. All that matters is that he won the World Championship.
Every world champion looks for an edge to help him get a leg up on the competition (be it Fischer/Spassky saying the playing conditions were tampered with by the KGB/CIA, or Kasparov bitching about FIDE helping Karpov, etc.
Much ado has been made over Topalov’s use of that super computer, but who cares, he was trying to win.
Those who can, do, and those who cant , talk… Anand did it and only that matters. Topalov can keep cryin fr a few more years..