«Quite Another World»
- an interview with Alexei Kuzmin, the State of Qatar coach

By Dagobert Kohlmeyer

 
Grandmaster Alexei Kuzmin (do not confuse him with his homonym Gennadi Kuzmin, a second of Ponomariov) came to the attention of the international chess world in 1990 when he seconded Anatoly Karpov in his world chess championship duels with Garry Kasparov, in New York and Lyons. A year later, he left Russia. From the beginning of 1992, the 38-year old GM has been a national coach in the Qatar Emirate. Dagobert Kohlmeyer met Kuzmin during the championship in Tunisia and interviewed the chain-smoking GM.

You have been working as a chess coach in Qatar for almost 10 years. What are your impressions?
People live there in quite another world. They are not so attached to work because everybody is socially protected.
Can you give a specific example?
If a young man is married in Qatar, he gets a house from the government as a gift. Thus people are accustomed to be passive. The positive side is that a man does not have to compete at work or in other fields and, correspondingly, does not behave aggressively.
What are the other differences of the Arab way of life as compared to the European one?
They are many. A Qatar man may have four wives. This is permitted by the Koran. However, he should be wealthy enough to take care of them all. This means that each wife gets a house, a car with a driver, a cook, etc.
Why are such expenses necessary?
That's because several women may not live in one house.
Are men and women strictly separated?
Yes, that is true. It concerns all family holidays and even weddings. Once I was invited to a wedding and never saw the bride. It would have been unthinkable in Europe.
And what about public places?
Older women go out fully dressed, the younger women do not cover their faces. At schools and universities the lectures for men and women are conducted separately.
What can we learn from Arabs?
For instance, generosity and calmness. They endure losses, including death, in a calmer way than we do.
What could you not get accustomed to in Qatar?
People do not switch off anything day and night: electricity, TV sets and other appliances. They don't need to save energy, everything is working away. Their nervous system is surprisingly good.
Please, tell us about the chess life in Qatar.
The game is not yet so popular there. On the whole about 25 people play chess to a high level. Even so, there is a chess union that invited me to work as a coach. I work with the two best players. Altogether there are five chess coaches in Qatar. Considering the small number of players in the Emirate, such density of coaches is unique in the world.
Was your coach work fruitful?
Yes, at first, it was incredibly hard to train people to discipline. They did not know that it was necessary to regularly work at improvement of their chess play. Today Mohammed Al-Modiahki and Mohammed Al-Sayed are the most successful players of the Arab world in their age group. Last year Al-Modiahki won the Arab countries championship among adults.
What style of the play do your pupils prefer?
Like all Arab chess masters they are, above all, tactical. They play with pleasure, as was the habit in the 19th century. Strategic thinking is not quite their domain.
Will the match Kramnik versus Deep Fritz in Bahrain facilitate the development of chess in the Arab world?
I am not particularly euphoric about that and don't think so. It is really just the generous gesture of a single sponsor. If just a tenth of the prize money in question was channelled to coaching the young players, then it would undoubtedly contribute to the development of chess in the region.
What amount you are talking specifically?
USD 100,000 is enough to pay for two very good coaches for two years.
What is your monthly salary?
About USD 2,000. By the way, my players get the same. They are professionals and are, therefore, paid by their government. Indeed it provides financial support to all sports activities in the country. Both players have the official status of a coach. However, they do not train anybody, just play chess.
You have been Karpov's coach for several years. What memories do you still have?
Our common work began in 1986 and ended in 1990 after Karpov's last battle against Kasparov at the world championship. Karpov's team included six people at the time: Zaitsev, Portisch, Henley, Podgaets, Kharitonov and me. My task was to find something to combat Kasparov's King's Indian.
Who gained more out of this co-operation?
No doubt it was I. I have greatly improved my understanding of chess due to my work with Karpov; there can be no question about that. I am grateful for the chance to have this time.
Did Karpov pay you well?
No, and it is well known. He belonged to the Soviet system and got used to the fact that sports committees are responsible for everything. I do not blame him for that; quite probably I would have behaved in a similar way under the same circumstances.
Karpov will participate soon in the world championship in Moscow and not in the Botvinnik Memorial. What could be your comments on that?
I consider it to be a logical decision. He understands that he is not able any longer to play at the level of Kasparov and Kramnik. It is the same as if an aged football player wished to play football at the highest level. Just absurd.
(Note: the interview took place before the beginning of the 2001/2002 world championship).
Being a coach, what do you think makes a successful chess player?
50% is talent. The rest is a capacity for work and energy. Talent defines the scale of success. Capacity for work defines, not least, whether a chess player can become the world champion or not.
Great thanks for the interview.

Published on Chess-Sector.odessa.ua with the kind permission of the interviewer.
© Dagobert Kohlmeyer 2001-2003.
Translated by: Nikolai Borodavkin, e-mail: alyoshin@inbox.ru