Interview with Peter swidler from NM Goran Urosevic

Goran Urosevic January 30, 2006




Peter Svidler is ranked 4th on the latest FIDE list with a rating of 2765. He was FIDE World Chess Championship Semifinalist in Moscow 2001, and he tied for the 2nd place at the recently ended World Chess Championship in San Luis. Peter is current Fischer Random Chess World Champion (Mainz 2003, 04 & 05) and he was Russian champion on four occasions: 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2003.



Q: Greetings Mr.Svidler. Year 2005 was very successful for you. You have tied 2nd place at the World Chess Championship and got the highest rating ever of 2765. Can you tell us something about your preparations?

A: I only prepared seriously for San Luis, and I think it has paid off. A lot of credit must go to my friend Alex Motylev, who has helped me a lot during the event. But in general I spend most of my spare time with my wife and kids, so my relative success in 2005 was a pleasant surprise.



Q: Playing at the highest level is very demanding. How do you keep good physical shape?

A: Not very well, as anyone who has ever seen me can confirm. I've been planning to start working on that for the last 5 years, and it is still in my plans.



Q: Your next tournament will be Linares in February. What are your expectations?

A: Linares is very strong this year, as usual - and it is also split between Mexico and Spain, which will put even more pressure on the players. Still, I hope to do well there.



Q: You have won "Fischer Random" World Championship three years in a row. Is there anyone to give you serious challenge?

A: Of the three matches I played, I only had one that was relatively easy - last year against Almasi. The 1st World Champion, Peter Leko, is a very good player - but he obviously does not want to go thru the Open to qualify for the matches. This year I will again play Levon Aronian - we played in 2004 - and he is a formidable opponent in all kinds of chess. Our previous match was very tense, and I only won by winning the last game.



Q: Do you think it would be possible to play real tournaments with long time control over the internet? Would you participate in one?

A: Internet tournaments are becoming more and more popular, but I think in the near future Internet events will be limited to blitz and maybe fast rapid. For me, the idea of a serious tournament from home is not very appealing - I would miss the camaraderie, and playing a game without seeing your opponent's face would be strange.



Q: Russia lost gold medal on two of three most important competitions. Can you reclaim the throne at the next Olympiad?

A: We've had two bad events - Calvia 04 and Gothenburg 2005 - but I don't think there is a feeling of crisis. Of course Turin will not be easy, but the Russian team in form is still a favorite to win the Olympiad. I am not sure I am in favour of reducing the number of players from 6 to 5 however - for a 14-round event you might need more than one player on the bench.



Q: You have played for Serbian club Partisan for several years. What are your impressions about players from Serbia and Montenegro?

A: Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro after that, has always been one of the most knowledgeable chess countries in the world. What has always impressed me is that the spectators understand the game as well as the players, and the questions they ask after the game are always the most critical ones. There are a lot of promising youngsters around, and I am sure the chess future in your country must be bright.



Thank you for your time Mr.Svidler




Peter Svidler-Peter Leko
World Chess Championship
San Luis, Argentina
Comments by IM Miodrag Perunovic

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6

Svidler was a little surprise on the tournament in Argentina. Of course, he was very popular and strong player all these years and his results were very good especially in 2002/2003 season , but no one could expect such a good result of him! On the other hand, we have Leko one of the strongest player nowadays , but on this tourney he was big disappointment! With poor start, unrecognized style of playing during the entire tournament and unsatisfactory result at the end , we must admit this wasn't his tournament!

3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3

With 8.h3 white avoids Marshall attack where black has sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn. Another attempt would be c3 which was seen in few games on this tourney as well mainly played by Adams


8... Bb7 9. d3 Re8


Re8 is just one of the possibilities here. Black wants to strengthen up e5 pawn by playing Re8 and also wants to play Bf8 or Bc5 in the right moment.

10. a4 h6

An important intermediate move which prevents Ng5 or Bg5 in some moments. For example if ... (10... d6 11. Ng5 Rf8 12. f4 Nd4 13. Ba2 Qd7 14. c3 Ne6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Qb3 Bc8 17. f5 Strong initiative could arise from this order of moves, with a pretty odd position)

11. Nc3 b4 12. Nd5 Na5 13. Ba2 Bc5 14. Bd2

Very strong move which attacks pawn on b4 and in the same time prepares easily c3.

14... Bxd5

14... Nxd5 Quite logical attempt to keep the pair of bishops on the board wouldn't be such a good continuation 15. exd5 bishop on b7 would be very limited 15... Qf6 16. Re4

15. Bxd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Qf6 17. c3 bxc3 18. Bxc3 Qb6 19. Rxe5 Bxf2+ 20. Kh1

Up to this move Leko played very nice. All of a sudden with few suspicious moves he led his position to easily lost game! Definitely he wasn't in good shape in Argentina! Pity for a player who has such an enormous talent!






20... d6

20... f6 21. Re4 Nb7 (Aiming for Nd6) 22. a5 Qb5 23. Nd2 Nc5 24. Qg4 Kf8

21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. b4 Nb7 23. Ra2

Nice manoeuvre! Idea is Re2 and Nd4 with Qg4 later...Will he manage that....

23... Bg3 24. Re2 Rd8 25. Nd4

With only few strong moves Svidler easily transposed game to a winning one. Nd4 is just one of them in a row. Idea is a5, Nc6 , Re7 and Qg7

25... a5 26. Nc6 Rf8 27. Bd4 Qa6 28. b5 Qa8 29. Re7

Poor position for Leko who was one of the top seeds for WC title on this tournament.

29... Be5 30. Nxe5 dxe5 31. Bxe5 1-0