Andrey Filatov: Chess Coaches in Russia are Paid the Most
CFR President’s interview for Izvestia newspaper.
The Russian grandmaster Alexander Grischuk has won the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series in Hamburg and practically secured a spot in the 2020 FIDE Candidates Tournament. The Tournament’s winner will challenge the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) for the world chess crown. President of the Chess Federation of Russia comments on the success of a 36-year old Grischuk in the interview to Izvestia newspaper. Mr. Filatov also stated his opinion about Aleksandra Goryachkina’s chances in the women’s world championship match against Ju Wenjun (China) and spoke about a high demand for chess coaches.
— Alexander Grischuk is very close to qualifying for the FIDE Candidates Tournament, which will be held in Yekaterinburg in 2020. It will be his third attempt to make it to the world championship match. What can you say about this player’s consistency?
— Grischuk is a fine grandmaster, I am proud of his performance not only in the Fide Grand Prix events but also in all recent ones. It is too early to congratulate him officially on qualifying for the Candidates Tournament, but it is close to impossible that he won’t be in the Top 2 in the FIDE GP Series (Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is 7 GP points behind, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is 10 points behind, while Ian Nepomniachtchi is trailing by 11 points. A winner of each GP leg may earn maximum 12 points and a finalist 8 points - Izvestia). I hope that Ian Nepomniachtchi will win the Grand Prix leg in Jerusalem and both our grandmasters will qualify for the Candidates Tournament via FIDE Grand Prix Series. And one of our grandmasters got a wild card from the organizers.
— Daniil Dubov also showed a successful performance in Hamburg, where he made it to the semi-final. Do you believe that he overcame the crisis in which he’d been after winning the world rapid championship in 2018?
— If I hadn’t believed in him, he wouldn’t have played for the national team in the European championship. Daniil won many important and beautiful games. I think that he has big prospects to fight for the world chess crown in the future. He performed excellently in Hamburg and was close to qualifying for the final.
— The King Salman World Rapid and Blitz took place in Saint Petersburg in 2018, Women’s Candidates Tournament in Kazan in 2019, and FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk in 2019. In 2020, Yekaterinburg will host the FIDE Candidates Tournament, while Moscow will be the venue for the World Chess Olympiad. Don’t you think that it is too much for one country to hold so many top-level events?
— As CFR President, I am glad that so many high-status and interesting chess events are taking place in Russia. Thanks to each big tournament, chess is being highly promoted in the country. We are always ready to host an international event at the highest level.
— Do you think that the World Rapid & Blitz Championship 2019 will also take place in Russia? (The interview was taken before the FIDE announcement – ed.)
— I hope so. Yes, it will be held for the second year in a row. But why not?
— What do representatives of other countries think about it? Still, there are 191 national federations in FIDE…
— Let them follow and learn from the example of Russia.
— You said that there would be a cultural programme organized during the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg. Could you please tell more about it?
— It is too early to share the details, but it is a huge event for the city for sure. There will be a special programme in museums and many other interesting events. A rock concert, maybe. Still, Yekaterinburg is one of the capitals of Russian rock.
— Speaking about the current year, what can you say about the number of people who started to learn how to play chess?
— It is hard to tell a precise number. The major criterion to evaluate whether the chess federation works efficiently or not is an hourly pay of chess coaches. According to my figures, chess coaches in Russia earn more than others. On average, their pay is higher than that of the English, Math and other teachers. Chess coaches are in high demand and that’s what counts.
— Which regions stand out the most in this respect?
— There is a climatic factor. Children study chess more eagerly in regions with severe winters. That’s why the Russian chess capital today is Khanty-Mansiysk, and we are very proud of it. Chess is also popular in Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Moscow and Kazan… In general, chess sections are more demanded in the regions with economic growth.
— What about the Far East?
— There is a rather active development there. As you know, the Russian Championship Higher League took place in the Russky Island. The Women’s World Championship Match is planned to take place there. It is highly likely that one part of the Match will be held in the Russky island and the other in China.
— Aleksandra Goryachkina will challenge the reigning world champion Ju Wenjun in the crown match. How do you estimate the chances of the Russian player?
— We are rooting for Aleksandra and we believe in her talent. We hope that the women’s chess crown will return to Russia. In general, 2019 has been successful for the Russian chess. Our national teams showed a phenomenal result in the European championship in Batumi by having won a “golden double”. The Russian men won the World Team Championship in Nur-Sultan and women took the second place. The younger generation is showing a fine growth. We actively include the young into the national teams. Nobody did it before and my task of the head coach is to create as competitive environment as possible. We should provide the possibility for the young players to prove their best. For example, who heard about Kirill Alekseenko before this year?
— Only chess specialists did …
— And now he has a chance to qualify for the 2020 Candidates Tournament (he can get a wild card for the third place in the FIDE Grand Swiss — Izvestia). It is unbelievable. Or as we included Vladislav Artemiev into the national team and he won the WTCC in Nur-Sultan with the team. So we are closely watching the most promising players and we will for sure provide the possibility for the strongest ones to show their best.
— Three national teams will represent Russia in the 2020 World Chess Olympiad. How will you arrange the teams and players?
— There won’t be a division into the first and second national teams as there will be two equal teams which will be capable of fighting for the overall victory. Alexander Motylev will be the captain of one team and Yuri Dokhoian of the other. The third team will consist of young players only.
— Magnus Carlsen officially withdrew from the Norwegian Chess Federation. Now he won’t be able to play for Norway in the team events such as the World Chess Olympiad. The reason was a conflict over a betting company. What do you think about this situation?
— I don’t comment on the things related to other federation. I can only say that Magnus didn’t apply to us for getting the Russian passport (laughs).
