Boris Gelfand, a participant in the match for the title of world chess champion in 2012, shared his thoughts on title fight between Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and Chinese Ding Liren, spoke about the missed chance to take the world crown, assessed the chances of the return of Magnus Carlsen, and also compared Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
— Boris, What are your impressions of the duel between Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren in Astana?
— Any championship match is very good. Here you meet grandmasters who play well positions in which they have a certain advantage, but both defend much worse. This is the reason for the fact that in one of the segments the performance was very high. to title-level matches, as world champion Carlsen does not play in it. Is that so?“But it's Magnus' own choice. What claims can be made to Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren? Both have earned the right to this match, prepared for it and play to the maximum. They do their best at the board.
— What do you expect from the final matches?
— The games are interesting, it is clear that the game tension is only
— Ding Liren was lucky twice: first he got to the Candidates Tournament at the last moment, and then he took second place there, which, after Carlsen's refusal, gave him a chance to fight for the world crown. Will he be lucky the third time?
— Ding Liren may get lucky again. In this situation, we are already moving into the plane of divination. I don't have any premonition about who will become the world champion. match for the title of world champion in Moscow?
— Of course, I remember him. It was probably the pinnacle of my career.
— With sadness and regret?
— No, why not? I did everything I could. Somewhere fate did not work out, but I played with dignity. To reach such a match was a huge feat. I was close to the title of world champion, but it happened.
— Don't you have the feeling that if you won, your life and chess history would take a completely different path?<
“I don’t think history would have changed much. Yes, I would be world champion and my portrait would hang in many chess clubs. But there are also much more critical moments. I then continued to play in competitions and the next year after the match I played incredibly strong, took one tournament after another. victory, but you have chosen to move another. Do you dream of this situation?
— No. But it was an inexplicable mistake. Because I knew this position very well. Apparently, nervous tension had an effect.
— What is your life mainly connected with now, besides participation in tournaments? Do you work as a coach or a consultant?
— Yes, in the last year and a half I have been advising many strong chess players — both young and Not good. And now, oddly enough, received a lot of invitations to tournaments. And in the next three or four months I have to play several.
The first of them will start next week in Sweden, in Malmö, in classical chess. It will have a very decent composition, for example, Petr Svidler, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Kaimer and a number of other strong grandmasters will play.
— Some of them will definitely enter the Candidates Tournament. All of them have good chances. This is a very strong generation, such a bright one has not been seen for a long time.
— In your opinion, is the return of Magnus Carlsen to the fight for the world title real?
— I think not. Apparently, he lost motivation to do so. After all, he has already been world champion five times.
— You have been playing chess for many years, where do you find motivation?
— I'm interested in analyzing games and improving. After all, Carlsen also plays in his own tournaments, perhaps he is less interested in classical competitions. Everyone has their own preferences. But I do not believe that he will still take part in the World Championship.
Comparison of Messi and Ronaldo- It is impossible not to ask about your favorite Barcelona (Gelfand is a member of the Catalan fan club — ed.). How do you rate the team's game, how much do you like it?
— The next season will be important. Now is the first year of building a team, the youth is brilliant, but something is missing. It seems to me that the lack of depth of the composition affects. It seems to be there, but when the leaders fall out, another game is already underway. Due to competent actions in defense, it is possible to win the championship of Spain, but the leaders flew out for all the important matches of the European cups.
Naturally, the team's game also depends on the current refereeing scandal. Let's see if the club manages to somehow withstand this situation, I don't know if Lionel Messi will return to the team.
— The other day there was information that Messi flew to Barcelona.
— Yes, but I don't know if it's good or bad. From the point of view of football history, it will be brilliant, everything can turn out well. ?
— No, it hasn't worked for many years. I watch the game of the team on TV.
— Who did you root for at the World Championships?
— For the Dutch national team, as always. But I'm glad that Messi won the world title with Argentina.
— The age-old question — Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? — Ronaldo is an outstanding scorer and Messi is an outstanding footballer. These are different players, Ronaldo outside the penalty area is an average player. And Messi is great.