Interview Vladimir Kramnik

After the blitz exhibition in Dortmund today (of which we did have shot some nice video material, which will be published soon) I got a chance to speak briefly with world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who today celebrates his 32nd birthday. Of course I asked him about Mexico and especially about the news that was brought yesterday.

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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.

Okay, and what does the rest of your birthday look like?

Unfortunately pretty boring. I think I’ll have to prepare for my next game and maybe I will go to celebrate a little bit with a couple of friends so that’s all. But I think that the main celebration I will make after the tournament because actually it will also be very soon the birthday of my wife so I think she will come and we will celebrate the birthdays together.

Okay, very nice. Thank you very much.

Thank you.