"AZERBAIJAN WILL HAVE ITS OWN NEW CHAMPION"

The traditional President's Cup chess tournament, which commemorates national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, has ended in Baku.  Three players accumulated 5 points each - Azerbaijani grand master Sahriyar Mammadyarov, Russian 14th world champion Vladimir Kramnik and US player Gata Kamsky.  But additional statistics made Vladimir Kramnik the winner of the 3-day tournament.  We wanted to interview him during the tournament, but every time we contacted him, something prevented our meeting.  Finally, on the last day, we met at the hotel where he was staying, and Mr. Kramnik kindly answered our questions over a cup of coffee.

-Vladimir, let me first and foremost congratulate you on your victory in the President's Cup.  Do you not think that Baku inspires you?

-I was very pleased to visit Baku again and take part in the President's Cup.  Last year's tournament marked my return to professional chess and, I must admit, it gave a strong impetus to my career.  This year, I have won this tournament again.  Let me tell you right away that I accepted the invitation without a second thought.  Because I know that chess is very popular in Azerbaijan.  What is more, tournaments are always very well organized here.

-What is your impression of the Azerbaijani sportsmen with whom you played?

-You have quite strong players.  It was precisely thanks to these grand masters that the Azerbaijani national team won the European championship.  Three of them are among the top 20 international players.  This is an excellent result.  Not every country can boast such talent.

-Of course, you are talking about Sahriyar Mammadyarov, Teymur Racabov and Vuqar Hasimov.  Which of them is more difficult for you to play against?

-Overall, it is very difficult to play anyone who is among the top 10 best players in the world.  Everyone is very good in his own style.  There are no easy games.  Mammadyarov, Racabov, Hasimov - all three are very talented in their own way.

-Which of them do you think can be considered a realistic candidate for the title of world champion?

-(Smiles).  A scandalous question.  I would rather not pick out one name.  If Racabov, Mammadyarov and Hasimov are among the top 20 in the world rankings, this means that every one of them can become world champion.  To win the title, you have to work very hard, first and foremost.  Besides chess skills, you have to be psychologically prepared for the duel.  The chess player must have a special team - he needs all kinds of assistance.  Only after all this is in place, can a grand master start playing for the title of world champion.  Your players have great potential and they can achieve their goals.

-So it seems, you do not subscribe to Garry Kasparov's opinion about the Azerbaijani grand masters?

-To be frank, I would not like to comment on Kasparov's opinion.  He is a graduate of a Baku chess school and was an influential grand master.

-But Kasparov believes that Azerbaijani players lack the "spice" to become world champions.

-Kasparov says this because he is the coach of Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.  This is why I do not subscribe to his point of view.  Your players are still young.  They can keep playing for at least another 10-15 years.  If I were him, I would not talk about youth in this way.  Early in his career, Veselin Topalov was not considered a candidate for the title of world champion either.  But then he became the most realistic candidate.  Racabov, Mammadyarov and Hasimov are 22-23 years old.  The best is yet to come from them.  Kasparov speaks about them as if they were 40 year-olds.  It is understandable that he wants his player to win.  That is perhaps why he exerts psychological pressure.  At any rate, Azerbaijan will have its new champion.

-Whom does Vladimir Kramnik consider the strongest player in the world?

-It is difficult to answer these types of questions.  From among my generation, I can mention Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov and myself, of course.  Among the younger players, Carlsen, Karyakin and the Azerbaijani players have the greatest potential.

-Elections are to be held at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in September.  Which of the candidates will you support?

-I would rather not discuss this just yet, because I am not familiar with all the candidates.  I will make up my mind when I familiarize myself with their programmes.

-Together with the incumbent FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, world champion Anatoliy Karpov also intends to run.  Which of them would you prefer?

-Every candidate has his strengths and weaknesses.  The main thing is with whom the new president will work.  Most work at FIDE is done not by the president himself, but by his team.  The president only chooses the main directions of work.  However, I am ready to do my best to help promote the development of the game of chess.