"My championship can't be called accidental or unexpected."
Volodar Murzin's success at the Rapid World Cup in New York, where he became the sole winner in the company of almost all the strongest chess players in the world (only Gukesh and Fedoseev were absent), suggests that under certain circumstances the 18-year-old Russian will try to compete for a place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament. The Nizhny Tagil native's first goal for 2025 is to reach 2700 in the classical rankings. Also in conversation with Izvestia and Sport-Express we discussed Volodar's attitude to the two gold medals in the blitz tournament, Magnus Carlsen's desire to develop Fischer's chess and the reasons for the rise of young Indian grandmasters.
Anand congratulated on his championship in Russian
- Which game at the Rapid World Cup was the defining game for you? When did you feel that there would definitely be medals?
- I would call the game with Pragnanandha in the 12th round decisive. When I beat the Indian I realized that I had a real chance of winning. I would also single out a good start. After four wins in a row, I strived to maintain my position in the group of leaders.
- When you recorded a draw with Karen Grigoryan in the last game, how did you feel?
- To be honest, at that moment I didn't know what the result was in Alexander Grischuk's game (the Russian played a quick draw with Lener Dominguez and missed his chances of a tie-break. - Ed.). And when I was congratulated by Yan Nepomnyashchy, I was a bit confused. Because I didn't immediately understand what he was congratulating me on.
- What is the secret of your success at this tournament? Apart from the early arrival, which your mom told us about.
- Last year at the Rapid World Cup in Samarkand I shared third place. Then I managed to beat Nepomnyashchy, Levon Aronian and Pragnanandh. So this result cannot be called accidental or unexpected. Yes, the competition here was supreme. Even Magnus failed in the Rapid tournament, playing unsuccessfully on the first two days. I, on the other hand, played steadily and used all my chances. As for acclimatization, I started preparing for the trip to the USA in advance. I started to shift the time and lay down later and later. Therefore, when I arrived in New York, the time zone change was painless for me.
- Can I ask if Grischuk and Nepomnyashchy said anything to you at the award ceremony?
- Nothing unusual. They congratulated me on my victory. I also said nice words to my senior comrades.
- What was the most special congratulation on your championship?
- Perhaps the most pleasant and memorable was the congratulations from the 15th world champion, Vishy Anand, who congratulated me not only in English but also in Russian.
Two golds in blitz? There should be one champion, that's my opinion
- Have you already played in the blitz tournament for your own pleasure? Or did you set yourself the task of getting into the top-8?
- Of course, I wanted to get into the top 8. By the way, I played well at the World Blitz World Cup last year in Uzbekistan. Then an unfortunate defeat in the last round to Alexander Grischuk threw me off the top positions.
- The quarter-final with Nepomnyashchy. Did you feel that he was in top form and would be a contender for victory?
- Ian has a lot of experience of playing the knockout system. I still have much less. I think it affected me a lot. I was nervous. And Nepomnyashchy was in really good shape. It's not for nothing that nobody could cope with him that evening.
- Two champions in Rapid after Magnus's request - too much?
- There should be one champion. That's my opinion.
- What was your main surprise from the World Cup in New York, apart from the chess component and the strange division of the first prize in blitz?
- Judging by the number of spectators, even the expensive tickets didn't deter chess fans from attending the tournaments. There was a real excitement.
India has taken the Soviet system of chess with state support as a basis
- Let's discuss other topics. What do you think of the work being done by the 14th world champion Vladimir Kramnik to combat cheating?
- Cheating is not just a serious problem, but a global one. Everyone needs to understand this. And it's not just online, but offline as well. Vladimir Kramnik may not have the best methods, but he is one of the few who is trying to draw attention to it.
- What is your attitude to Fischer's chess? Was it interesting to play in the selection of Carlsen's new Freestyle tournament?
- I like Fischer's chess very much, so I would love to play in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.
- Is there not a feeling that Magnus wants or can make his own project similar to the PCA made by Garry Kasparov (listed by Rosfinmonitoring as a terrorist and extremist) and oppose FIDE?
- Yes, this is quite a possible scenario. He has the resources to do so.
- Another question about Magnus. Can his refusal to play world championship matches in the classics be considered equal to Robert Fischer's refusal to defend the title after his victory over Boris Spassky? In general, is the Norwegian not turning into Fischer?
- Such parallels come to mind. But so far Magnus is playing a lot of tournaments and is not leading a reclusive lifestyle. I hope that we will often cross paths with him in 2025 and beyond.
- What is the reason for the tremendous progress of Indian chess in the last 10 years?
- They have taken the Soviet system of chess with state support multiplied by the huge population and hard work of the nation. Any kid off the street can become a top chess player. This is cultivated in society, that's why so many parents give their children to chess. The number of people practicing there is huge.
First of all, my task is to overcome the 2700 mark in classics
- What has changed in the world of chess in the six years since we met New Year's Eve together on Gogolevsky Boulevard in 2018 and until you won the World Cup Rapid title?
- The most important thing is that I got a personal sponsor. But not thanks to the officials from Gogolevsky Boulevard. No matter how many times my mom tried to find funding for me, nothing worked. Until T-Bank itself came to me with its program to support young talents. For which I thank them very much.
- What's your opinion about the statement made by the head of the FSR Andrei Filatov that you should start working with Evgeny Tomashevsky?
- It's a very original statement, considering that Mikhail Robertovich [Kobalia] led me to the World Rapid title. Evgeny Tomashevsky is a strong grandmaster, but in recent years he has been working with the junior national team of Azerbaijan. So I'm only surprised by the words of the FSR president.
- Alexander Tkachev, the executive director of the FSHR, says that the federation constantly invites you to internal tournaments, but you ignore these requests. You answer neither "no" nor "yes".
- As an example of my "ignoring" the executive director names the Superfinal 2024 and the Russian Team Championship 2024. I can refute these words. There were no invitations from the FSHR to any of these tournaments. And they could not even be in principle. You have to qualify for the superfinal (the only wild card was given to Alexey Grebnev. - Ed.), and at the team World Cup the teams are formed by the regional federations.
- Vladimir Fedoseyev became vice-champion of the World Rapid in 2017, losing on a tie-break to Anand. Now his success rate is considerably lower. Are you not afraid of repeating this path?
- I wouldn't say Fedoseyev's results have gone downhill. Last year he came second for the second time at the Rapid World Championships. This year he won the European individual championships in Rapid and Blitz, and successfully played at the World Chess Olympiad on the first board for the Slovenian team. As for me, I just need to work even harder, not to relax in any case.
- What goals are you setting for yourself in 2025? To reach the Candidates Tournament?
- First of all, the goal is to break the 2700 mark in the classics (the current rating is 2657. - Ed.). But to do that, I need to take part in strong tournaments.
