Andrey Filatov: Сhess Results of 2019 are Inspiring
CFR President gave an interview to Sport-Express
- Mr Filatov, before we talk about current affairs, let’s summarise the results of 2019. How will chess players remember it?
- I think that this was a very good year for chess in our country. In team competitions, our men’s team won gold at European and world championships in the same year, for the first time in history. The women’s team also performed very well- they took gold at the European championship and gold at the world championship. The level of competition in modern chess is very high and this result is quite inspiring.
- I would remind our readers that you are not only the President of the Federation, but also the Head coach of our men’s team. How did the team come to achieve such a high result?
- I think that this is the result of our strategy, which we have been implementing in concert with other coaches. The two principal directions of this strategy are to create a younger team and increase competition within it. Our task is to motivate younger players to sign up for the national team and fight to represent our country. In 2019, our team welcomed several new players, and they all performed very respectably.
- At the world championship in Nur-Sultan, Vladislav Artemiev, a young grandmaster from Kazan, came first on his board and demonstrated an exceptional result. The European championship saw a young player from St Petersburg Kirill Alekseenko and a young Muscovite Daniil Dubov excel themselves. Nikita Vitiugov and Dmitry Andreikin also put in notable performances. These are experienced grandmasters, but they rarely played for the national team. But they took their chances. Some time ago, we decided that no Russian grandmaster would have a guaranteed place in the national team regardless of previous achievements. A player’s motivation is often more important than his rating. Right now, we are constantly updating teams and monitoring the condition of our grandmasters at the present time. So far, the strategy has brought the desired results.
Ahead of us is the World Chess Olympiad in Moscow, where three teams will represent our country. We have already begun preparation for them- we have assigned players to trainers and have composed a calendar of training camps and tournaments. Due to the increase in the number of teams, we have strengthened our team of coaches and we’ve added more individual and team sessions for our players. The first of these has already taken place on Lake Krugloe mid-January.
- What do you think about the individual results of Russian players in 2019?
- They also were very good. Aleksandra Goryachkina won the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Kazan and she is fighting for the title of world champion. That is an amazing achievement for a 21-year-old woman. I’m glad that we were able to help her with preparation. All our supporters are watching the match with anticipation- the first half has already taken place in Shanghai and the second is going on in Vladivostok.
With regards to men, this year saw Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi break into the Candidates Tournament after a difficult struggle against other players and each other. Alexander has already performed in several similar tournaments, while Ian has made it for the first time after winning the last leg of the FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem. It’s very difficult to win that tournament and his victory shows that Ian is psychologically ready for competitions at the highest level.
The third candidate is Kirill Alekseenko, who could end up playing the role of joker. He could count himself lucky to get into the tournament, but that is also an important factor which should not be underestimated. Kirill’s task is to take his chance and up his performances to compete against the planet’s strongest players. I personally enjoy watching the development of young players.
- Since we’ve touched on that topic, how are Russians performing in the youth competitions?
- In 2019, our junior players brought home 23 medals, including 10 gold ones. They came first in the informal medal count both at the European and world championships, which take place in every age category. It’s interesting to note that the youth and junior world championships were held in India last year, which is our constant competitor in junior tournaments. Chess is developing at rapid levels in that country and we have to make extensive efforts to keep fighting for leading positions…
An important role is played by the chess department of Sirius. Many of our young stars took courses there in 2015-2018. Some of them have already outgrown junior competitions and have started performing in World Cups and fighting for places in the national team. We have gathered the best trainers in Sochi, so that talented children in Russia have a chance of realising themselves in chess.
Unfortunately, 2019 saw a drop in the number of chess classes in Sirius. But I hope that 2020 will see us make up for this loss and that our juniors will have more opportunities to develop. It’s important for us not to lose momentum, especially given the competition that is facing our young players. The experience that they receive in Sirius cannot be made up for in any way!
- In 2019, there were several large FIDE competitions held in Russia. What do you think of this?
- I am happy that FIDE trusts Russia to host tournaments at the highest level. This is a good reflection of our work. This past year, our country hosted the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Kazan and two legs of the FIDE Grand Prix - both in Moscow. The year rounded off with the traditional King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Moscow. It was carried out without a spending a cent of government money, although it is the most dramatic and exciting tournament of the global chess calendar. Hosting it helps us achieve our main objective: to promote chess. I have to highlight the success of Kateryna Lagno, who became the world blitz champion for the second year running. Imagine, she is young woman and a mother of four, who celebrated her thirtieth birthday during the tournament. And two days later, she won her second title, while competing against the strongest players from 52 countries. I think that’s a beautiful achievement!
In men’s tournaments, no one can compete with Magnus Carlsen, who demonstrates phenomenal results. Watching him is a pure joy, and he has attained many fans in Russia. To round off on the blitz and rapid championship, I’d like to say how happy we all were with Vladimir Kramnik. At first, he disappointed us when he ended his professional career in early 2019. Last year, he only played in one official tournament, but he came third in the blitz championship and overtook all of our young grandmasters. Who knows, maybe we will see him at the chess board in 2020?
- Which important international tournaments will take place in Russia in 2020?
- In March, there will be the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg. This is the most spectacular and interesting tournament of all and its winner will play in the world championship match. I am grateful to the President of the Sverdlovsk regional Chess Federation Andrey Simanovskiy for his willingness to sponsor this tournament. Yekaterinburg has never held a chess competition of this level, and we are all awaiting its launch.
Meanwhile, in July and August 2020, Khanty-Manskiysk and Moscow will host the World Olympiad. This is the main team tournament of our sport and any country that is a member of FIDE can participate. Today, there are 190 of those. This will be the third Olympiad held in Russia, after the ones in 1994 and 2010.
- Do you think the 2020 Olympiad will be affected by WADA’s sanctions on Russia?
- The decision to hold the 2020 Olympiad in Russia was taken by FIDE in 2016, long before WADA’s decision. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has already declared that the Olympiad will be held according to the agreed schedule in Russia. If we are to judge by the examples of other sports, none of the upcoming tournaments are planning to be moved- not the European Championship in 2020 or the Ice Hockey World Cup in 2021. Chess will not become an exception, especially since WADA’s decision has little to do with us. Chess has never had any doping scandals, although players take tests at every international tournament.
All in all, I don’t expect there will be any problems with hosting the Olympiad and other international competitions. Russian chess players will compete under their flag alongside all the other sportsmen. The question is whether we will hear the Russian hymn during the closing ceremony. The answer fully depends on our results. If we win gold medals, we will!
I think that we’ll set a record in terms of number competitors this year. The popularity of chess is growing, as is the number of participant countries of FIDE. It’s important to note that we will host the first Olympiad that will be held in two cities- Khanty-Mansiysk and Moscow. Another interesting innovation is the first chess Paralympics, which will be the first in history. Khanty-Mansiysk will be the host city. Chess is popular among people with disabilities and I am happy that FIDE has decided to host this competition at a professional level.
