Sport-Express, 27th January 2003
www.sport-express.ru/art.shtml?62162
A HAT TRICK BY PONOMARIOV
Interview by Yuri Vasiliev
The FIDE World Champion fell almost to the very bottom of the tournament table after completing two thirds of the event. But the guy has a miner's guts! He won three games in the row. It's all clear with Timman - only «the lazy» may not defeat him. However, Ruslan's successes in his games against Loek van Vely and the 12th chess champion, Anatoly Karpov, cost him!
Ruslan, how did you manage to forget the troubles caused by the FIDE ultimatum?
I just focused myself upon specific preparations for meeting specific opponents. That was the only option at my disposal.
How are relations with FIDE going to develop, with regard to the contract for the Kasparov match?
I was informed that my manager, Silvio Danailov, and Maria Bulatova, Chairman of the Sports Committee of Ukraine, and I were thought to be invited to the FIDE President's Board in New York. But FIDE recently changed their mind. It is said that the Board will meet in some other place.
Are you ready to accept FIDE's terms or are you going to stand firm?
First I would like to obtain the Congress documents that have made the basis for approving the terms that I am offered. Neither my representatives nor I have such documents in our possession.
However, Emmanuel Omuku, belonging to FIDE's management, asserts that he has handed them to you in person and that they have been mailed as well.
These were the short-hand notes of the FIDE General Assembly session but not the official documents.
Should such an indefinite situation continue until the Linares tournament, would you be able to play there successfully?
No doubt that any definiteness is better than uncertainty.
Are you going to maintain your firm attitude or are you ready to yield a bit?
My view is that a normal and legally bound contract for a match with Kasparov should be concluded. It ought to be signed by Kasparov, me, FIDE, and the match organizers. However, all of this is of minor importance. We should avoid situations where I say one thing and Kasparov says another. As to consolidation, I believe it would have been sensible for us four - meaning Kramnik, Kasparov, Leko, and myself - to sit down at a table and formulate the rules for the consolidation.
Are you ready to play a match with Kasparov?
Certainly, I am ready to defend my title against such an interesting and strong adversary. However, I do not want to be at a disadvantage. A standard legal document is required that will consider all trifles and possible occurrences. Suppose that somebody gets ill or refuses to participate in the next competition. Also, at present, we do not even know what title is at stake in my match with Kasparov. Another supposition: what happens if Grandmasters Kramnik and Leko don't play their consolidation match?
What is your forecast about Kasparov's play versus the computer?
If FIDE applied the same pressure upon Kasparov that I experienced at the beginning of the tournament, then he has very few chances. On the other hand, as Kramnik's match versus «Deep Fritz» indicated, the man can get the best of it.
Republished with permission from Sport-Express.ru
Translation: chess-sector.odessa.ua
Translated by: Nikolai Borodavkin, e-mail: aleshin@te.net.ua
P.S. Maria Bulatova was dismissed by Leonid Kuchma on February 5, 2003.
|
