Vassily IVANCHUK: “I was thrown out of a saddle”
Interview provided by the organizers
After the loss in the Round 2, Vassily Ivanchuk looked like a broken-hearted man. It was obvious: he is genius; it is just difficult to stand up the loss to the young and unknown So Wesley from the Philippines . Undoubtedly these were emotions when he declared that he would stop the professional chess player career.
• I committed chess suicide, – starts Ivanchuk. – In the first game all went ok, I was about to win. I was almost sure that I am winning! And then… Then I just went crazy. At one point I could make a stalemate, but my position seemed to me perspective and I decided to continue playing. Perhaps the decision was right, if it were not a time trouble. Having two minutes against ten, you are doomed to failure. So, the result is obvious: an inadequate situation estimation which led to a tragedy. In the second game I was trying to make a balance, but I missed something. My opponent, by the way, played very badly.
• Have you every followed the games of So Wesley? How can you define him?
• Of course I have seen some games. I could give him characteristics, but I see no sense in it. I am not objective now.
• You previous visits to Khanty Mansiysk could not be called successful as well. They think that the main reason is that you play a lot during a year.
• It has nothing to do with the number of games! Unlucky days started when I could not win Vladimir Kramnik in the finals of Memorial Tal. But I could. The real tragedy started then. I was so much unlucky at the Moscow blitz, as I have never been unlucky in my life. I blundered all possible pieces: queen, rooks, and pawns. At that blitz tournament I was as if I was thrown out of a saddle. And plus, I was losing.
To my mind I should leave the professional chess now. Chess becomes hobby for me from now on. As for the signed contracts, yes, I will play in all tournaments where I have to. Perhaps I will even participate in a tournament before the New Year. I should win SOMETHING! And that will be the end. No serious plans, no professional goals.
• It is just one mini match. You should not lose hope.
• It was not just a match, it was a crucial match. I am sure, from now on I should forget about any serious aims in chess. I don’t need anything from chess anymore. I start new life with new goals. Chess… I will become just a chess fan now. I will follow chess; will follow the games of my ex-colleagues.
• It is well known – chess and Ivanchuk cannot exist separately.
• This is right but in the past. And now chess is killing me. Chess is playing against me! Chess is destroying me! I would take it easy if my opponent would be much stronger than me, or he will be better prepared. But my loss was so stupid, it is a destiny sign, which screams: “Vasya, leave it, it is not your business”.
• There is an impression that you put all stakes on this tournament?
Maybe. But now I only feel that the world crashed down around me. Everyone is against me and I don’t see the way out…
Source: http://ugra-chess.ru/eng/interv_10.htm
someone please tell me this is a joke and Ivanchuck is not leaving serious chess. it reminds me of when Kasparov retiring after his loss to Topalov, hopefully its just an emotional reaction and not his finale choice
Ivanchuck, don’t give up!!!
I strongly support you and believe me you will be a World Chess Champion!!!
Unfortunately, Ivanchuk´s comments obviously made him appear a sore loser, one who could not accept being trounced by a young phenom from the Philippines. GM Wesley So deserved the win, and Ivanchuk has no right to take that away from him by unfairly attacking the way GM So played the game!
This interview shows the tragic underpinnings of professional chess. He is only showing the emotional toil of a loss and all of the idiosyncrasies that encompasses defeat.
I hope that this is a knee jerk reaction, but I have a funny feeling that it is not.
Don’t leave us chucky!
I mean that, too. What the young So did is what verybody dreams off: To win over one of the legends of chess, at least in todays period.
As a decent sportsman Ivanchuk should congratulate and give his respect to Wesley So. What has Wesley to do with the cheap draw Ivanchuk gave to Kramnik in Moscow?
No, that’s not the style we like; Anand and Aronian and many others are much more polite and sporty. Why are there so much fans of this ukrainian chess monster?
sincerely yours,
okay from germany
Ivanchuk is not a sore loser! He deeply loves chess and is emotionally invested in the game to an extent few can comprehend. He is naturally upset about what he considers poor play on his part which, he noted, started before the World Cup. I do not take his comments as a diss of Wesley So but a matter of difficult translation into English from his native language. Emotional nuances are often lost when words are not combined with expressions to connote one’s total meaning while speaking, gesturing and facial expressions. That is why it is said one picture is worth a thousand words, and I think the photograph that accompanies the interview that Susan posted clearly shows Ivanchuk’s emotional agony and disappointment over his performance.
I hope that when some time has passed he will reconsider his retirement announcement. I cannot imagine a world without Ivanchuk playing chess!
Jan Newton
Goddesschess
So didn’t play really well against Ivanchuk… In the first game Chucky refused perpetual and in the second he got a chance to win.
Haha typical Chucky, what a prima donna 😛
He’ll forget about this in a week.
“Everyone is against me and I don’t see the way out…”
Welcome to our world of regular people.
Ivanchuk: “My opponent Wesley So played very badly.”
This is really a nice complement from Ivanchuk. Because if Wesley was playing good, then the score would be:
Wesley So- 2.0 Vassily Ivanchuk – 00
No big deal.
So “deserves” the win? What does that mean? He sat across the board while Ivanchuk self-destructed.
I trust Ivanchuk’s judgment about the games.
He’s crazy though—-mentally unfit. When he was a teenager he banged his head against walls when he lost, and went into the streets yelling like a gorilla—I remember read that in Inside Chess ages ago.
One could argue that chess ruined Ivanchuk. Alternatively, maybe he would just be a drunken bum if it weren’t for chess.
Ivanchuk is only being Human. Not that I’m a good player …when I played I was about 2070 CFC rated…but during the first year of my playing I couldn’t wina game against anyone!!..(Well cept my mom)
I remember feeling like that every Sunday and every Thursday night. Perhaps it IS his time to do something else. I for one would love to see him start to write. I’ll always love this guy. He’s not gone….just a little pissed off. Congrats to Wesly too. Big step for him.
Mike Magnan
Jan said…
Ivanchuk is not a sore loser! He deeply loves chess and is emotionally invested in the game to an extent few can comprehend. He is naturally upset about what he considers poor play on his part which, he noted, started before the World Cup. I do not take his comments as a diss of Wesley So but a matter of difficult translation into English from his native language. Emotional nuances are often lost when words are not combined with expressions to connote one’s total meaning while speaking, gesturing and facial expressions. That is why it is said one picture is worth a thousand words, and I think the photograph that accompanies the interview that Susan posted clearly shows Ivanchuk’s emotional agony and disappointment over his performance.
I hope that when some time has passed he will reconsider his retirement announcement. I cannot imagine a world without Ivanchuk playing chess!
Jan Newton
Goddesschess
+1
“One could argue that chess ruined Ivanchuk. Alternatively, maybe he would just be a drunken bum if it weren’t for chess.”
Huh?
He IS a drunken bum ho plays chess!
Chucky will be OK after a few stiff ones…and for you sausage swallowers, I mean stiff drinks.
Why would the organizers of this event call him the “unknown So Wesley”? Most of us non-professional chess players know who he is and I’m certain everyone on the list of 128 knows him also. To call him “unknown” is just touting their own ignorance.
This is just chuck being chuck nothing new. He self destruct often enough. Often he does not use logic when evaluating the situation, often get into extreme time trouble and then blunder all the while trying for a win. He is very unpractical often times, that is why he could never become the champ even though he might be strong enough.
If it’s true that Ivanchuk is an alcoholic, that’s nothing to laugh about, and is certainly a factor in his performance.
Remember that funny drunk Wojo?
Died at 42, right?
Thank you, Jan, for your rational comment.
Ivanchuk is a sore loser.
Have you ever heard Topalov or Anand complaining for a loss?
They are real champions.
But Ivanchuk is just a brat.
I think that if Ivanchuck leaves the professional chess-world it would be a terrible loss.
Chucky is a character – we need people like him to make chess more interesting. He gives the game colour. And so what if he is a sore looser? Chess is also about feelings. Feelings about winning, about loosing. It’s more than pure calculation, variations etc. It’s a game. And if you win you get happy. And if you loose… Most of us manage to keep it in, but in reality we all want to throw the chess-set out the window some times. I think it’s refreshing that a professional also can show theese feelings. I’m not saying that we all should have a big fit after every loss, just that it’s ok to be human.
I really hope Chucky reconsiders and continues to amaze us amatures with both his chess-skills and lovable personality for years to come!!
Chuchy for president!
Ivanchuck has done something to chess. He put milestone to Wesley So. Chess are many things, time control, fitness, pieces play,etc. You can not say I won in strategy but lost in tactics, or I won so many pieces but lost on time, or I just miss mate in one but I lost the game. Chess is wholistic. Lost is a lost and Win is a win, whatever…..
Whatever the sport, there are many players who can claim they can’t be beaten when they’re at their best. But the mark of a great player is precisely to be close to his best as often as possible. That’s why Tiger Woods is great. If your game fluctuates from spectacular to stupid without your control, then you are nowhere near great and you deserve to lose.
“This is really a nice complement from Ivanchuk. Because if Wesley was playing good, then the score would be:
Wesley So- 2.0 Vassily Ivanchuk – 00″
If Wesley was indeed playing very badly then the score would be something like:
Wesley So- 1.0 Vassily Ivanchuk – 1.0
wouldn’t it? I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that something was lost in translation to English from the actual interview or that he was very emotional after the loss while doing the interview but to say that Wesley didn’t deserve to win because his opponent wasn’t fit mentally for the match is pure bull…. Mental toughness IS a must to become a good chess player and if Ivanchuk just wasn’t tough enough for Wesley for their match then it sucks for him, but it doesn’t give him any excuses. Besides, it’s not like his opponent’s pieces were moving on their own, there was a hand guiding them. Ivanchuk didn’t beat himself… he just got GOT BEATEN. To his fans, I hope you accept the fact that he just lost fair to another player and I’m with you in wishing he’s not done with playing competitive chess yet.
-Donnie
In any sport, there are many players who can claim they can’t be beaten when they’re at their best. But the mark of a great player is precisely to be close to his best as often as possible. That’s why Tiger Woods is great. If your game fluctuates from spectacular to stupid without your control, then you’re nowhere near great and you deserve to lose.
Disrespecting your opponent after a loss is just further proof of your mediocrity.
“someone please tell me this is a joke”
It is a joke.
Goodbye Vasya. You had your time. You are 40 years old.
Like Kasparov it is time to retire, as chess is a young man’s game.
Chess is not against you, nor are you unlucky. It is just the other younger players now are better than you.
You need to accept that or else you will go psycho.
The more you play and lose, the
more you will lose your sanity, whatever is left of it.
Make sure you write a book. The money will be good, guaranteed. Better than playing and trying to win a tournament, which is not really a sure thing.
Trust your fans, like me.
Dr. Kildare
40? The man looks 60!
Damn!
Basically, chess teaches us sportsmanship. Ivanchuk should accept the result. There’s no invincible thing in chess. Even chess world champions lose. There’s no such thing as indespensable.
“Every sunrise, there’s a sunset.”
But there’s still a dawn waiting for him.
I believe Chucky won’t end his passion for chess this way. He doesn’t need to prove anything, because he’s a chess legend! His name will be in chess literature, till chess ends!