The Star E-dition

MARK RUBERY CHESS

Levon Aronian gave an interview where he fielded questions from the chess public thus giving us bit more insight into a super GM who has perhaps been less scrutinised than his peers.

Could you please indicate the 5 best chess books of the last couple of decades?

LA:

I read chess books regardless of the date they were published. Among contemporary authors I’m closely acquainted with the works of Dvoretsky, Rowson, Nunn, Timman and Marin. I like Marin’s books in particular.

He’s very scrupulous in what he does, his books convey personal experience from his career, and he has a good sense of humour.

Are there any chess books you cherish special feelings for?

LA:

I really love Kasparyan’s book “Secrets of a Study Composer” and sometimes I’ve even thought about working on it and trying to get it published in the West.

Which books helped you to improve?

LA: Alekhine’s games, ‘My System’ by Nimzowitsch, Dvoretsky’s books– the same, in general, as for 90% of players.

How many hours a day do you study chess and what does your training process look like?

LA:

It all depends on the day in question. During training camps I often spend 6 to 7 hours at the board, while on those days when I don’t have a great desire to do the thing I love, I sometimes don’t work at all. The training process can be imagined as a stage on which two or three people pretend to be working at the board, while in reality it’s nothing other than waiting for a fish (computer) to bite.

In teaching kids chess — is it best to have a proper chess trainer at the very beginning so that they learn it the right way or can this be introduced once the kid reaches a particular level?

LA:

It seems to me that a first teacher has a special influence on the future chess player, which is something that stays with that player. And if that specialist loves his work and has at least a minimum pedagogical talent, then his chess skills aren’t so important. My first coach was the International Master Melikset Khachian, who at the time was young and quite active as a player. By the way, coaches who continue to play themselves preserve their love of the game for longer.

People often talk about the great stresses and loads on top chess players during games. It’s not noticeable, for example, that leading chess players lose weight during tournaments

LA:

The stresses come because a strong player tries to find the very strongest move in a position. With amateurs the search usually comes down to the choice of the move that looks better, so it’s hard to compare the stresses. The fact that elite players don’t physically lose weight during tournaments can be explained by their bourgeois way of life.

Where do you draw the line between unethical behaviour and the will to win? For example, is playing out a 3 v 2 rook ending for three hours showing a will to win or not? And against Kramnik?

It’s a very fine line, but in any case there’s nothing wrong with testing out your opponent’s nerves.

The following problem was published in the Daily Independant, Kimberly, on the 9th December 1882. According to chess historian Leonard Reitstein it is the first original problem to be published in South Africa.

THE XFILES

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2021-10-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/282256668682448

African News Agency