"We don't have a galaxy of young grandmasters like in India"

Earlier this week, the fifth draw of the prestigious Chess Stars tournament ended in Moscow. Vladislav Artemyev of Russia won the rapid chess and blitz competition, Raunak Sadhwani of India became the second, and our star grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, who has not performed at major international tournaments since the spring of 2022 due to disagreement with the ban on Russian symbols, took the third place. In an interview with Izvestia, Karjakin assessed his results at the last competition, shared his impressions of working in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, where he has represented Crimea since September last year, and also told which competitions he still wants to compete in and talked about the crisis in Russian chess.

"If you had won these two games, that would have been my second place."

— Are you satisfied with your result at the last Chess Stars?

— In general, yes. I was fighting for second place until the last round. Okay, no luck in the end, although there were chances of success. If I may say so, I was in the lead before the last round in relation to the third place — I had half a point more. On the other hand, I had to play black pieces with Vlad Artemyev, who was going first. In turn, Raunak Sadhwani, who was following me, was playing white with Valentina Gunina. It was clear that he was the favorite, because I needed to play Vlad Chernykh to win, which is very difficult, because Artemyev is in great shape and deservedly took the final first place. So that's it. And I am glad that the tournament took place.

— Is it important for you to take part in it every time?

— Yes, because this is a real chess festival. It is good that it is held every year, when strong representatives of different countries can gather among grandmasters, and a tournament is held among children. Thanks to the organizers for this — everything was done at a very high level again. The mood after that is great. I could have had a little more luck in the competition itself, but that's the point. The strongest, as always, are on the podium.

It is very interesting to participate in this, as many of the strongest Russians and high-level foreigners perform. Therefore, it was interesting to compete for the second place with Sadhwani. And, again, it's all over for business.

— Can we call this third place a success, considering that you have had much less international practice in recent years?

— I think it has a global impact. And not because I want to turn my result in the tournament into some kind of advantage. It's just that, actually, if you look at my performance, at the last Chess Stars, I had absolutely winning positions in two games — black with Valentina Gunina in rapid chess and in blitz with Teymur Radjabov. Two completely advantageous positions. And I have no one to blame for giving it away and losing it out of the blue. Besides blaming myself for this, I also blame my own lack of acting. I didn't see the basic things, I missed them. If I had won these two games, that would have been my second place. But at the same time, I would like to note the amazing performance, the achievement of Vlad Artemyev, who took the first place absolutely without question. If I could really claim the second place somewhere, then in the case of winning the tournament, Vlad is simply out of competition.

"I try to make it wherever I can"

— Since September last year, when you started working as a senator of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation from the Republic of Crimea, have you started playing chess much less?

— I would say that yes, much less. To be honest, the last time I actively trained was before the last Chess Stars tournament, which took place last June in Moscow City. Roughly speaking, if you open chess every six months, it doesn't do anything good professionally. On the other hand, it's still nice that even in this mode I was able to compete for a place in the top three and was close to second place. This shows that there is a good foundation, but I still understand perfectly well that I need to practice a lot more if I want to continue to be at the top. To do this, you need to devote a lot of time to chess.

— How do you like working in the Federation Council for almost a year after your appointment as a senator?

— We have a big friendly team in the Federation Council. We are working well under the chairmanship of Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko. I can only express my gratitude for the support my colleagues have given me. Of course, I have less time for chess now. But I try to make it wherever possible. And combine chess and political activities as much as possible.

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Karjakin fought for second place until the last round, Hou Yifan had the best result among women.

— If in the foreseeable future, in a couple of years, FIDE starts allowing Russians to compete under the flag of our country and you get the opportunity to compete in all top tournaments, will you have to choose between chess and the Federation Council?

— I think that everything can be agreed. But globally, of course, I would really like to compete in the World Rapid Chess and Blitz Championships — this is my favorite tournament. And at the Knockout World Cup, I always enjoy playing there. But again, you're right to say that, if there's a chance. Then, of course, with pleasure.

— Do the candidates tournament and the match for the chess crown no longer evoke such emotions?

— It's clear that this is a great competition. It's just that it's very difficult to get there — a large multi-stage selection process. That's why I'm not thinking about it now. But about the World Blitz and Rapid World Championships and the World Cup, I can say right now that I will be happy to play there if I have the opportunity.

"I have said for a long time that we have a crisis in Russian chess"

— Recently, Yan Nepomnyashchy dropped out of the top 10 of the FIDE rating, now there is not a single Russian there, which has never happened during the existence of this rating. What does this mean?

— I have said for a long time that we have a crisis in Russian chess. Since I started saying this during the period when I participated in the elections for the post of president of the Russian Chess Federation (FSHR), many people decided that I was making these statements as part of that campaign. But now we see that there really is a crisis, at least as far as the participation of our chess players at the top level is concerned.

In addition to the FIDE rating, I would also like to note that so far none of the Russians have qualified for the next candidates tournament. And it is unknown whether it will be taken away. All this can be attributed to the general growth of competition in world chess. But we must also take into account the fact that a generation that has achieved great success in recent decades is gradually leaving Russia. We are talking about the generation of Vladimir Kramnik and a little later, to which Jan Nepomnyashchy and I belong. I don't see enough young guys to replace us yet. I hope it's a matter of time.

— Is there any hope for someone to enter the top 10?

— I hope that eventually at least Ivan Zemlyansky, the youngest grandmaster of Russia, will go there. But it will take a lot of time — his success will not happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

The big problem here is that we don't have the galaxy of young grandmasters that we had, for example, in India a few years ago. At that time, Arjun Erigaisi, Gukesh Dommaraju, Rameshbabu Pragnanadha and many others appeared simultaneously — Hindus who became grandmasters at the age of 12-13, at a maximum of 14. And, accordingly, one of them, Gukesh, has now become world champion at the age of 18. This is a fantastic achievement of the pleiades.

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Prestigious competitions with the participation of world grandmasters will start in Moscow.

We have Ivan Zemlyansky, who will be 15 this year, and Volodar Murzin, who is 18, a little older. But globally, we are inferior to India in this regard. God grant that this gap will be filled in the near future. For my part, in any case, I will continue to develop chess throughout Russia — there are many plans ahead, we are opening chess schools in the regions, and we see great prospects there. We will work on all this and hold tournaments. The higher the competition, the faster the development will be.

"Carlsen is still number one"

— How long will Gukesh last as the owner of the chess crown?

— You know, there's a lottery here. He can stay at the top for a super long time, or immediately fly off it. On the one hand, I don't see him having as much safety margin as Magnus Carlsen had when it was clear that he would be the favorite of any match. Gukesh is not such a favorite. But due to his youth and enthusiasm, he can win. And it can help him stay at the top for a long time. But globally, we all in the chess world believe that Carlsen is still number one.

— Is there a feeling that rapid chess and blitz are gradually replacing classical chess with the struggle for the crown in the background?

— Actually, there is a lot of conceptual choice here. You can perform at the highest level in rapid chess and blitz. Or you can try to compete in the classics and fight for the championship title, or at least qualify for the match for the crown through the candidates tournament.

— Can't it be combined anymore?

— You can combine them. But as far as I can see and feel it, even without a lot of classic training, I still have a chance of success in fast and blitz. They are there anyway — at least to compete for the second place on the same "Chess Stars". But if you take the "classics" specifically, then you just need to do that from morning to night. And this is incompatible with any other kind of activity, any other job. That's why I personally don't claim any achievements in the classics right now, but I think I can fight for the first places in the blitz.

— Is classic still as popular as blitz and rapid chess?

— I hope she stays the way she is. It's like in culture — there's a Big Theater, classical music. An analogue of this is classical chess, in which grandmasters show the highest level of what they are capable of. And fast and blitz are also great for their speed of reaction and thinking. But globally, the chess players there are still not performing at the same level. If we want people to perform to the limit of their abilities, then we need a "classic". And there should be fast and blitz games too, so that they can be shown on TV when there is a dynamic, and at the same time people can see how fast chess players can think.