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Question and Answer at the Sigeman Chess
May 3, 2017
Pavel Eljanov, Nigel Short, Baadur Jobava, Nils Grandelius, Erik Blomqvist and Harika Dronavalli are the grandmasters that will fight for first prize in the new edition of the Sigeman Chess Tournament. As before, the 5-round tournament will be held at the Hipp Theater in central Malmo, Sweden 10-14th May.
A small tournament at an out-of-the-way place but not without its charm.
The participants answered a series of questions about where they live now, how they learned chess and what occupation they would have followed if they had not become chess professionals:
http://tepesigemanchess.com/en/participants
When you have Nigel Short answering then you get some very interesting replies. A few extracts from the bios:
Baadur Jobava
Lives:
-Tbilisi, Georgia.
How I learned to play chess:
-My father taught me chess.
If I hadn’t been a chess player I would be…
-An ice hockey player. It’s still not too late!
Nigel Short
Lives:
-Athens, Greece.
How I learned to play chess:
-My father taught me during a rainy weekend in England. You know, we have an expression in England: ”It always rains in Manchester”. We were nearby Manchester that weekend, so it´s almost true!
If I hadn´t been a chess player I would be…
-A lawyer, like my brother.
My personal hero in the history of chess:
-Almost too many to name. Of course I was influenced by Bobby Fischer in my childhood. I started to play chess during the ”Fischer boom.” But then he stopped playing. I never liked Bobby Fischer´s behaviour afterwards.
I also like Karpov, and I remember his book of his collected games. I am also a big fan of Paul Morphy and Alekhine.
Nimzowitsch is also a hero of mine, not because of his book ”My system” – it´s quite boring actually. But Raymond Keene introduced Nimzowitsch in an excellent book. Capablanca is another hero despite that he surprisingly lost his world champion title against Aljekhine. As they say: ”If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail”.
What I think of playing in Malmö:
-It´s good to be back. I have always liked the Sigeman Tournament. A friendly event with nice atmosphere.
My best achievement in my chess career:
-My highlight was beating Karpov in the candidate’s semifinals with 6 to 4 in 1992.
And I claim that I have a world record – to be the only player to have won chess tournaments on six continents. Only Antarctica is left...
Tell me about your experiences in the Sigeman Tournament?
-It’s a small tournament with only six players and five rounds. It’s a sprint. You have to be on your toes right from the start. I tend to be sluggish in the start. The good thing is that I will play two tournaments before Malmö. I should be in good shape.
During a lecture about your world championships match vs Garry Kasparov you told that it took nearly 20 years until you played through the games again. Is that really true?
-Yes, that´s true.
Why did it take so long?
-I have negative associations with the match. It was a difficult one and an important moment in my chess career.
How do you view your match against Kasparov today?
-I failed to take a number of opportunities in the match. So be it. I did not disgrace myself, and I am proud that I reached the final. The amount of pressure and tension was much higher than something else. You have to experience it to know the feeling. I still regret my preparation for the match, I thought that my real problem was that Garry Kasparov´s openings were far better than my mine. I tried to neutralize that advantage, and did a good job. I should have paid more attention to the practical way to play the match, like pacing my moves and handling the pressure. I was too nervous and I got in time trouble.
Did you relive your experiences when you followed the world championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergej Karjakin?
-Yes, that match brought a lot back to me. I watched the encounter with big interest. Magnus was not on his best. It was interesting to see how things went in a strange way. Karjakin did nothing in the openings, Magnus neutralized them and dictated the things. But Magnus got frustrated and lost a reckless game. He pushed too far in positions where I would have been happy with a draw. Magnus won in the end, but my prediction before the match was that Karjakin had a 33 percent of a chance to win.
Nowadays you still are a celebrity – also on twitter!
-Yes, twitter is indeed quite interesting! I joined twitter not that long ago, say about four years ago. Twitter gives you a huge opportunity to speak out about chess. I have 22 800 followers, and I am in the news much more thanks to Twitter. Everything can happen on the Internet. During my stay in South Africa I decided to visit Victoria Falls. Oddly enough I was the only passenger on the plane and I asked the staff to take a picture of me in the empty plane. That picture went all around the world.
You supported Kasparov in the FIDE president election in 2014. Kasparov lost badly. What have happened since then?
-Well, I have quit all this and I am now happier as a human being. The less I invest my emotions regarding FIDE the better I feel!
How many tweets do you write per week?
I tweet very often! But not as work. I write tweets when I feel like it. Twitter is a good way to put chess news in the limelight. I am not impressed with chess journalists. They can do better! My latest tweet as we speak was about the 30 000 dollars the host of women´s world championship in Iran spent on the (mostly absent) Appeals Committee, which did nothing.
Do you regret any tweet you have written?
-No, not really. I do delete a few of my tweets, but that´s because of spelling mistakes.
You have worked hard to change the world of chess. What does your Chess Utopia look like?
-We are so far from Utopia, more than you ever can imagine. But one thing is crucial. You have to find large corporate sponsorships for events. I am in all in favour of Grand Chess Tour, but I don’t like their new rating system. A complete mistake.
How much do you train and play chess nowadays?
-I don’t train at all. I work on chess during tournaments, I have become lazy. When you only work during tournaments, then you need to play more!
What is your main goal as a chess player – and a human being?
-Chesswise: I want to win a tournament in Antarctica! I still like to win chess events. I get a thrill from that. I also enjoy beating today´s chess stars. When I beat Caruana I reminded people that I am not dead! And as a human being... Well, enjoying myself. The big point of being a chess player, is that you realize that life is pretty pointless. It doesn’t have a purpose.
Nils Grandelius
Lives (city):
-Malmö, Sweden.
How I learned to play chess:
-My grandfather taught me at the age of six.
You were part of team Carlsen during the New York world championship games. What did a normal day look like during these weeks?
-Get up around 8-9 o’clock, analyze openings until the evening, then a couple of hours of free time, and then follow the games. Bed time somewhere after time trouble, and then same again, next day.
May 3, 2017
Pavel Eljanov, Nigel Short, Baadur Jobava, Nils Grandelius, Erik Blomqvist and Harika Dronavalli are the grandmasters that will fight for first prize in the new edition of the Sigeman Chess Tournament. As before, the 5-round tournament will be held at the Hipp Theater in central Malmo, Sweden 10-14th May.
A small tournament at an out-of-the-way place but not without its charm.
The participants answered a series of questions about where they live now, how they learned chess and what occupation they would have followed if they had not become chess professionals:
http://tepesigemanchess.com/en/participants
When you have Nigel Short answering then you get some very interesting replies. A few extracts from the bios:
Baadur Jobava
Lives:
-Tbilisi, Georgia.
How I learned to play chess:
-My father taught me chess.
If I hadn’t been a chess player I would be…
-An ice hockey player. It’s still not too late!
Nigel Short
Lives:
-Athens, Greece.
How I learned to play chess:
-My father taught me during a rainy weekend in England. You know, we have an expression in England: ”It always rains in Manchester”. We were nearby Manchester that weekend, so it´s almost true!
If I hadn´t been a chess player I would be…
-A lawyer, like my brother.
My personal hero in the history of chess:
-Almost too many to name. Of course I was influenced by Bobby Fischer in my childhood. I started to play chess during the ”Fischer boom.” But then he stopped playing. I never liked Bobby Fischer´s behaviour afterwards.
I also like Karpov, and I remember his book of his collected games. I am also a big fan of Paul Morphy and Alekhine.
Nimzowitsch is also a hero of mine, not because of his book ”My system” – it´s quite boring actually. But Raymond Keene introduced Nimzowitsch in an excellent book. Capablanca is another hero despite that he surprisingly lost his world champion title against Aljekhine. As they say: ”If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail”.
What I think of playing in Malmö:
-It´s good to be back. I have always liked the Sigeman Tournament. A friendly event with nice atmosphere.
My best achievement in my chess career:
-My highlight was beating Karpov in the candidate’s semifinals with 6 to 4 in 1992.
And I claim that I have a world record – to be the only player to have won chess tournaments on six continents. Only Antarctica is left...
Tell me about your experiences in the Sigeman Tournament?
-It’s a small tournament with only six players and five rounds. It’s a sprint. You have to be on your toes right from the start. I tend to be sluggish in the start. The good thing is that I will play two tournaments before Malmö. I should be in good shape.
During a lecture about your world championships match vs Garry Kasparov you told that it took nearly 20 years until you played through the games again. Is that really true?
-Yes, that´s true.
Why did it take so long?
-I have negative associations with the match. It was a difficult one and an important moment in my chess career.
How do you view your match against Kasparov today?
-I failed to take a number of opportunities in the match. So be it. I did not disgrace myself, and I am proud that I reached the final. The amount of pressure and tension was much higher than something else. You have to experience it to know the feeling. I still regret my preparation for the match, I thought that my real problem was that Garry Kasparov´s openings were far better than my mine. I tried to neutralize that advantage, and did a good job. I should have paid more attention to the practical way to play the match, like pacing my moves and handling the pressure. I was too nervous and I got in time trouble.
Did you relive your experiences when you followed the world championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergej Karjakin?
-Yes, that match brought a lot back to me. I watched the encounter with big interest. Magnus was not on his best. It was interesting to see how things went in a strange way. Karjakin did nothing in the openings, Magnus neutralized them and dictated the things. But Magnus got frustrated and lost a reckless game. He pushed too far in positions where I would have been happy with a draw. Magnus won in the end, but my prediction before the match was that Karjakin had a 33 percent of a chance to win.
Nowadays you still are a celebrity – also on twitter!
-Yes, twitter is indeed quite interesting! I joined twitter not that long ago, say about four years ago. Twitter gives you a huge opportunity to speak out about chess. I have 22 800 followers, and I am in the news much more thanks to Twitter. Everything can happen on the Internet. During my stay in South Africa I decided to visit Victoria Falls. Oddly enough I was the only passenger on the plane and I asked the staff to take a picture of me in the empty plane. That picture went all around the world.
You supported Kasparov in the FIDE president election in 2014. Kasparov lost badly. What have happened since then?
-Well, I have quit all this and I am now happier as a human being. The less I invest my emotions regarding FIDE the better I feel!
How many tweets do you write per week?
I tweet very often! But not as work. I write tweets when I feel like it. Twitter is a good way to put chess news in the limelight. I am not impressed with chess journalists. They can do better! My latest tweet as we speak was about the 30 000 dollars the host of women´s world championship in Iran spent on the (mostly absent) Appeals Committee, which did nothing.
Do you regret any tweet you have written?
-No, not really. I do delete a few of my tweets, but that´s because of spelling mistakes.
You have worked hard to change the world of chess. What does your Chess Utopia look like?
-We are so far from Utopia, more than you ever can imagine. But one thing is crucial. You have to find large corporate sponsorships for events. I am in all in favour of Grand Chess Tour, but I don’t like their new rating system. A complete mistake.
How much do you train and play chess nowadays?
-I don’t train at all. I work on chess during tournaments, I have become lazy. When you only work during tournaments, then you need to play more!
What is your main goal as a chess player – and a human being?
-Chesswise: I want to win a tournament in Antarctica! I still like to win chess events. I get a thrill from that. I also enjoy beating today´s chess stars. When I beat Caruana I reminded people that I am not dead! And as a human being... Well, enjoying myself. The big point of being a chess player, is that you realize that life is pretty pointless. It doesn’t have a purpose.
Nils Grandelius
Lives (city):
-Malmö, Sweden.
How I learned to play chess:
-My grandfather taught me at the age of six.
You were part of team Carlsen during the New York world championship games. What did a normal day look like during these weeks?
-Get up around 8-9 o’clock, analyze openings until the evening, then a couple of hours of free time, and then follow the games. Bed time somewhere after time trouble, and then same again, next day.
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