The World Chess Cup in Baku is coming to an end. The second finalist of the tournament become known today after the match between Russian Sergey Karjakin and Ukrainian Pavel Elyanov. The first finalist of the tournament is representative of Russia Peter Svidler. In the semifinals he was stronger than the Dutch representative Anish Giri. Vestnik Kavkaza managed to interview the Russian finalist. He shared his opinions about the organization of the World Cup and about his opponents on his way to the main match of the tournament.
"Baku is a very comfortable city. Everything is organized extremely well. Chess players can just play chess without thinking about any extraneous things. Actually, I think that chess players are rather boring people. The main thing for them is to focus on their activity. Everything is organized perfectly in Baku. The hotel is wonderful, the food is good, the room is comfortable. Everything is clear and efficient," Peter Svidler said.
According to him, before the beginning of the tournament his goal was to win the tournament. ‘‘Frankly speaking, I really wanted to win it. Because it is one of the last chances for me to receive the world title. It is more and more difficult for me from year to year to compete with young chess players,’’ the grandmaster said.
"Sunday's game was very hard. The match was a real battle where it was necessary to control all the complications. This is easier for me. Moreover, it gives me more pleasure, since I am more a dynamic chess player than a positional one. But the sporting task is more important than the task of creative style," he explained.
Speaking of the most difficult match on the way to the finals, the chess player pointed out the match against Yi Wei from China.
At the same time, Peter Svidler underlined that he has no preference in respect of his opponent in the final game. "I will watch the match with great interest together with others," the grandmaster said.
He also shared his opinion about the performance of Azerbaijani Shahriyar Mamedyarov. "Shahriyar is a very interesting player. He is very creative, his style is always very attractive for onlookers. Some he begins to play badly due to circumstances. It was evident that Shahriyar was focused on the game. He played very well and interestingly. Another thing is that he was out of luck in time breaks with Sergey Karjakin. But I really liked his game," the player said.
Speaking about his participation in the World Chess Olympiad, which is to take place next year in Baku, the grandmaster said not everything depends on him. "The federation should be asked about this. Russia has a lot of strong players, so I am not always included in the team. But I will never refuse to play for Russia," Peter Svidler concluded.
