09.03.2005
Questioning about major problems: Viktor Korchnoi
Should ACP support classical chess, or promoting rapid and blitz chess would be more beneficial in your opinion?
Unfortunately, degradation process started long ago, and we are forced to degrade with the process. Therefore, you need to support any events related to chess – classical, rapid, blitz... We’ve lost so much time...
How should we deal with short draws?
There was a story. Our Chairman wanted a stern statement: “The ACP prohibits offering draw before move 40”, and some guy from Ukraine, Timoshenko, I think, responded: “What is this? Time control is reduced, you can’t leave the tournament area, it is no time even for visiting a bathroom, and you want to prohibit draw offers?!” Personally I am against short draws, but prohibition... It goes too far. Better is to publish recommendations. For example, the ACP recommends chess players to do or not to do this and that, in order to preserve their influence in the world, recommends to play and not to make short draws. No matter how powerful is the regulation, it can’t stop short draw virus. It is pointless, because the situation is such that people just have to make short draws from time to time. I would prefer a gentle way, like recommendation made by the ACP Board.
Is it possible to conquer draws by adopting a different scoring system, for example, to give 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw?
No, it can’t be done in principle! Maybe it makes sense only in some show events, like “Living Chess”.
Should the present rating system be changed? Do you think that winning as Black should bring a player more rating points that winning with White?
As for the rating... There is an idea to bring together classical chess with rapid and blitz in order to compute one unified rating. I like the idea. At present, classical chess tournaments become rare. Also, certain high-rated grandmasters tend to avoid them and play mostly rapid. Not showing great results, by the way, but keeping afloat because only classical results count. Do you know who I am talking about? One of the world champions... As for some special award for Black, I don’t think it’s important.
Do you think there should be a special control against various electronic equipment used by players? What is your opinion about doping tests?
I am against doping control in chess, it’s just ridiculous. Controlling the electronic aid is inevitable, and it must be done. It is difficult, but absolutely necessary.
What is your favorite system of determining world’s strongest player?
Despite my position with ratings, I think that world’s strongest player could be determined only in classical chess. Blitz must be ruled out completely. Rapid chess? – well, it is XXI century, and I have to admit that in certain cases (when there is a need to obtain a quick result) rapid could be useful, but blitz must have been ruled out since Anand and Karpov decided the fate of champion’s title in a blitz game.
Maybe you could suggest a system, like former zonal-interzonal-candidates tournament cycle ending with a championship match? Do you think it is possible to reconstruct it, or maybe FIDE knock-out formula...
I can’t think of something new that wasn’t tried in last 50 years... But I am against the knock-out. More important competitions should last longer. The tendency of shorting them is visible already for decades. Quarterfinal was played for a maximum of 10 games, then until 3 wins with maximum of 12 games, then, not quite sure, think it was 8 games, and finally in Las Vegas under Ilyumzhinov it became just 2 games! I repeat, this tendency exists for decades, and I would like to exterminate it. More important competitions should last longer.
What in your opinion could make chess more spectacular, generally more popular?
Some alternative kinds of creating a show, like “Living Chess” I played with Tal at the Lenin Stadium in Leningrad. Usually such games are prearranged, but in 1962 we indeed played 3 games, and ballet artists worked for us. Hundreds and thousands of people could attend, observe and enjoy such performances, and this surely generated public interest to chess. There are many ways, not necessarily “Living Chess”. Recently I took a train, first-class, and there were Roshal’s chess magazines for free... When I was a young master, I gave simuls at “Molodezhny” cinema in Leningrad, filling gaps between film sessions. We all should think of promoting chess: every national chess federation, or regional federation must and can find their own ideas of advertising chess.
Questions were asked by Christina Ivanenko
Translated by Misha Savinov.
This article is published with permission of Association of Chess Professionals
