After a quick draw in Round 6 of the Veterans’ Tournament, RSSU Cup, the famous grandmaster and theorist came to the press-center and shared his impressions of the tournament and told us about chess life in Latvia and the forthcoming game with Anatoly Karpov.
- Evgeny Ellinovich, you are one of the leaders of the tournament. How have these six rounds been for you?
- They were ok. The World Champion Galina Strutinskaia didn’t come to play our game, and this was a luck out (laughing). So far I have managed to out prepare my colleagues because finally I have a coach – my son! I raised a coach for myself. I thought I would train him, but he says I’m a bad coach. So he decided to be engaged with this process himself.
- In this case, can we expect the appearance of a second Sveshnikov variation?
- Now there is confusion with the naming: one minute they call the variation Chelyabinsk, then Sveshnikov, then Lasker, and then some people confuse it with La Bourdonnais. I think only one system by Sveshnikov exists – these are eight opening principles* in a fixed sequence. In other words, it’s a system for searching for the best moves in the opening, an algorithm for finding the best move.
- How will you evaluate the organization of the Moscow Open?
- I have played in ten of the eleven editions of the Moscow Open, starting with the first. Surely, you won't find another such geezer (laughing). At the early beginning, I said the festival would be long-lived as it’s both democratic and very important for chess development.
This time I experienced the whole hospitality package from the organizers. Usually I always came to visit my mom and mixed business with pleasure. Every year I stayed at my mom’s, but now she is very old, she’s 89 and it would be hard for her if I always stayed with her. That’s why the organizer of the festival, Alexander Kostiev, accomodated my needs and provided me with the kind of full hospitality package that's for young guys with high ratings, for which I am most grateful.
- You play quite a lot, including the tournaments in Latvia, which you represent. Tell us about the Latvian chess scene, please.
- For four years already I have been unable to transfer from the rating list of Latvia to the rating list of Russia: They just put the Latvian flag by my name. I’m a Russian citizen, and I would like to represent this country but I am unable to do so. For some reason, I would need to pay 5,000 Euro for the transfer, though I’m a member of both federations. And no one can solve this problem. I have to tell about it to those who are interviewing me as there is no one else to tell.
As for my professional chess life, there is not much to tell about. There are many amateurs’ tournaments, but most of them are rapid chess. The Championship of Latvia is held in nine rounds with the classical time-control. In last two years we also have the qualification tournament to the World Championship – the Baltic tournament for the Kirsan Iluymzhinov Cup. That’s about it for classical chess in Latvia.
- There will be a big tournament in Yurmala…
- It will be the fourth Vladimir Petrov Memorial, organized by Alexei Shirov. One Russian citizen who would prefer to remain anonymous provides financial support. The Chess Federation of Latvia takes active part in the organization of these tournaments.
- Has the chess scene become more active since Alexey Shirov appeared?
- Yes, the chess scene in Latvia became more vivid with the return of Lyosha Shirov. Igor Kovalenko, who transferred from Ukraine, has also been playing for Latvia for a few years.
- Before the interview you mentioned the match with Anatoly Karpov. Where will it take place?
- I have to start with the backstory. When I lost the match with Shirov, I felt I still had some strength left. On the final day we played four games in one day, and I literally lost my mind, I would lose any position. I realized I should play less intense matches. Above all I’m interested in the theoretical part, and I found an opponent – Anatoly Evgenievich Karpov.
I had the idea to organize this match in different cities of the South Ural: to start with the Karpov’s native city – Zlatoust, then to move to Satka, then – to Magnitogorsk, and to play the last game in Chelyabinsk. The most interesting thing is that Anatoly Evgenievich understood and supported the idea. But due to various reasons this plan was not implemented. One of them was that we didn’t find support in the region.
It’s a great pity, as this game is necessary to popularize chess in the Ural. It’s clear, I’m not a rival to Karpov from a sports point of view, but I can give him some serious problems in the opening phase. Still now, Anatoly Evgenievich is busy with some other activities, and I keep my professional approach. In order to make our chances equal, I asked for odds: I will have a coach, and he won’t (laughing).
Though our match is friendly, it will have a competitive meaning to me as well. Why? Because I have played 45 games against the World Champions, and my record is behind by only “-1.” That’s why I have a certain competitive interest (laughing). It sounds like a joke, but all the same.
In general, I told this story about the game to one fan of mine: he’s quite a well-to-do person. He says: “I will sponsor the match, but you’ll have to play in Riga.” The Riga Duma also supported the idea, the local chess federation has showed its interest – obviously since a World Champion will come. 20 years ago Kasparov played there, and since then none of the World Champions have come. Therefore, there is a lot of interest for the match in Latvia.
- Evgeny Ellinovich, thank you for the interview and good luck in the tournament.
- Thank you.