LatestChess :- How was your experience
working with Karpov and now with Ponomariov?
GM
Mikhail Golubev :-
My co-operation with Karpov (for the opportunity of
which I am grateful to Karpov’s main assistant Mikhail Podgaets) was limited by
two sessions in Montenegro in 1996 and in Moscow in 1997. It was an interesting
experience. Karpov is a great player as we all know. He is very different to
other giants like Tal, whose moves I understand better. Once a rare and atypical
opening line was discussed, Karpov quickly proposed a novelty, still unplayed
until now, which (what at my level only analysis may help to understand)
improves upon the play of the elite grandmaster. It made quite an impression.
Karpov just felt where to put a piece. The game Karpov-Yusupov (Open Ruy Lopez, 1-0), with notes by Yusupov from some of
Dvoretsky books is ultimately best what I have read about Karpov’s style.
Karpov is very different to other giants
like Tal...
I should add that in 1996 I lost a fairly
interesting game to Korchnoi, that was included by Korchnoi in the book of his
best games with Black. Probably, contacts with Karpov, Korchnoi, Ponomariov
helped me to make a right decision and become a more useful citizen. Speaking
more seriously, it is crucial for the average grandmaster to have a playing
possibilities in the place/country where he lives. In Ukraine, we basically have
more grandmasters than our country needs. I speak about normal grandmasters,
indeed. (We also have a several fake grandmasters but it is a separate problem).
At least for certain period, my priority became rather to live in my country and
in my town and to be able to make living without travelling abroad, than to
continue playing chess professionally.
In Ukraine, we
basically have more grandmasters than our country needs ...
I know Ruslan Ponomariov since 1995 when he was 11
years old, and he already could win a blitz match against me. In 1996 we played
a more serious training match and we are keeping contacts since then. At my old
site there was a Ruslan Ponomariov’s page that was a bit helpful for Ruslan and
his team at the early stages of his career to be contacted by organisers and get
invitations. We worked on the chess openings also. Several times I travelled
with him to the tournaments, including Russia versus the World match in 2002. In
terms of rating (2743) and achievements, 2002 was a peak of Ruslan’s career. His
coach and, practically, second father in whose house Ruslan lived for many
years, Mikhail Ponomariov, died in the Autumn of 2002. Before that, and even
more afterwards there was a permanent scandal, with public opinion generally
demanding from Ponomariov to play the match versus Kasparov on the Ilyumzhinov’s
& Kasparov’s conditions. Ruslan recently said in an interview that possibly he
became the world champion too early. Maybe! I believe that FIDE would never even
try to treat Anand, Kramnik or Ivanchuk in a way that they treated Ruslan from
the very beginning after he took a title. I am happy that Ruslan was able to
survive psychologically all the surroundings. Even if the rating shows that
until now he did not manage to recover fully as a player. What, in particular, I
personally learned from all this is that everything, including public sentiments
(and especially public sentiments) can go in a completely wrong direction
sometimes.
FIDE would never even
try to treat Anand, Kramnik or Ivanchuk in a way they treated Ruslan...
LatestChess :- Can you tell us about your
new column on KID section with
ChessPublishing.com?
GM
Mikhail Golubev :-
The King’s Indian is a complex opening, which
requires a permanent work from the black player, especially in modern chess,
when you should constantly prepare something new. In 2006 I authored the book
UNDERSTANDING THE KING’S INDIAN, and I worked
really much on it in 2005. But unless you keep working, then instead of learning
you begin to forget things, sometimes even lines from your own book. Meanwhile
people are usually prepared against lines that you have played in the past.
(Thus, my readers may benefit from my book more than I, even if I remember
everything from there).
By the beginning of 2009 the King’s Indian, where White has a really wide
choice, is probably the most vulnerable part of my reportoire, and, as I am
still playing in tournaments sometimes, I do not like to lose games because I
forgot or did not see something important. At least, the opponent should show
something new to get the advantage. So I hope that my monthly contributions for
ChessPublishing would help to me and to subscribers to remain up-to-date with a
main developments in this opening. (Indeed, in Chess Today the King’s Indian
games are analysed as well, but usually it is around 2 games per month, Chess
Today is the daily electronic newspaper, while ChessPublishing is a specific
opening project, unique in its own way).
I do not like to lose
games because I forgot or did not see something important ...
LatestChess :- Today, chess is one of the
world's most popular games, played by millions of people. Chess player can earn
good money with tournament prize money, coaching, organizing, writing etc. Do
you see children taking break in the education and concentrating fully on chess?
GM
Mikhail Golubev :-
The question is too general. Well, I would say that
after one reaches ELO 2650 the decision to take break in the education is more
than understandable. When the junior reaches 2600, concentrating on chess should
be a right decision in most cases. Otherwise, one should ask himself/herself
whether he or she really, really wants to sacrifice his or her life for chess -
and never to complain later. The professional chess player does not have a right
to complain. It is not self-evident that society will forever need results of
the chess-player’s work.
after one reaches ELO
2650 the decision to take break in the education is more than understandable...
LatestChess :- You were a member of the
Board of the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP), what role should this
type of bodies play? Do you plan to take lead role in any of these organizations
in future?
GM
Mikhail Golubev :-
My involvement in the work of the ACP board was
mainly related with a preparation of the first ACP Cup which took place in
Odessa, Ukraine in January 2007. I hope that it was useful for the organisation
of the event, as I was the ACP guy and Odessa guy in the organising team at the
same time. After the event was successfully held (Peter Leko outplayed Vasyl
Ivanchuk on the tiebreak in the final), I voluntarily resigned, because, first
of all, I am busy with my regular journalistic work. And also, being a member of
the ACP board, I would inevitably feel myself less free to express my opinions
as a journalist. I remain to be an ordinary member of the Association of Chess
Professionals, and still have enthusiasm about the bright future of the ACP.
being a member of the
ACP board, I would inevitably feel myself less free to express my opinions as a
journalist...
LatestChess :- What future lies ahead for
the chess world? What is required from the FIDE administration to deliver
results to its members?
GM
Mikhail Golubev :-
The picture is contradictory: chess is in rather
decent shape worldwide, but about Europe, which remains to be the main driving
force, it is hard to say the same with confidence. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov does not
have a good reputation on the West. Sponsors too often escape from FIDE even
after they already confirmed interest in sponsoring a specific event.
Ilyumzhinov does not have enough free time for chess, while people who are also
involved in the decision-making inside FIDE, have their own bizarre ideas.
Ilyumzhinov does not
have enough free time for chess...
Finally, Ilyumzhinov is simply a strange man who
claims that he was kidnapped by UFO guys and he is, generally, not known to tell
the truth all the time. Because of all this, the FIDE politics is terribly
inconsistent and chaotic. I do not expect anything special from the current FIDE
administration. Their Grand Prix turned into a complete PR catastrophe, and
their new women’s Grand Prix inevitably started with a scandal because the event
overlaps with the European Women’s Championship.
FIDE politics is
terribly inconsistent and chaotic ...
I do not expect
anything special from the current FIDE administration ...
