Teimour Radjabov: Every year the competition becomes stronger
October 27, 2008
Chessdom.com
Immediately after the European Club Cup, Teimour Radjabov, the first board of the winning team URAL, gave an interview for internet portal Day.az
Q: This is the third European Club Cup trophy in your career. What is particularly significant in this achievement?
Teimour Radjabov: I played for the Russian team “Ural” earlier this year when we became champions of Russia, which is also a privilege, because the Russian league with its composition of Grandmasters is considered to be the strongest in the world. Now we have won the European Club Cup. This is my third team gold medal from this competition, the previous two were taken with Bosna Sarajevo and NAO Chess Club. I also have two team silver medals, with Russian “Kazan” and the one with “Ural” from last year.
Q: This is not the first time that you are playing on the first board for famous clubs. Do you feel any psychological pressure?
Teimour Radjabov: Not at all. On the contrary, I think it is a great honor to play on the first board for such super-teams.
Q: Did you expect to win the tournament before the last round? It turned all good for your team: the competition drew and “Ural” won.
Teimour Radjabov: Well, in the last round we had to win, which we did, to secure at least second place. Our main competitors were paired to play against each other and we needed “Bosna” to win or draw against the German team “Baden Baden”. It ended in a best possible way and we won the Cup. Frankly, before the last round I believed that we had a good chance to take gold, and so it happened.
Q: In your opinion, has the level of the competition increased?
Teimour Radjabov: Every year the competition becomes stronger, this time it featured virtually all the world’s best players.
Q: What do you personally get from such competition?
Teimour Radjabov: Acknowledgment of the importance of cohesion between the players, the captain’s correct strategy and team’s determination to achieve success.
Read the full interview (Russian language)
Nice player.