Arkady Dvorkovich: This is the first event in the line of very important events
- The FIDE Candidates tournament has finally resumed. How do you feel about the first rounds played?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- I believe, it is a spectacular event, and the fact that we were able to resume it after 389 days of waiting, is quite amazing by itself. I am happy that all players came to Yekaterinburg safely and in a good mood. But results are not the same – somebody is winning, somebody is losing. But anyway, I believe, everyone here is in comfortable conditions and will fight with all the strenghts for the only spot in future World Championship Match.
- The first part of the FIDE Candidates is associated with a new era in chess and pandemic as well. What are you expecting from the second part of the tournament? What do you want it to be associated with?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- I think, everyone is quite tired of online chess, and this over-the-board event is a very nice opportunity just to fall back to good old ways, to feel nice about sitting and looking at your opponent eyes to eyes. I suppose, people just feel good about coming back to normal or almost normal life. This is the first event in the line of very important events this year, including the last stage of Women's Grand-Prix in Gibraltar in May, the World Cups in Sochi in July and the World Championship Match in Dubai this November.
- You are watching games so closely and with great interest. Have you ever imagined that, maybe if you had another life with more free time, you would be a professional chess player yourself?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- No, I do not think so. Anyway, I had this opportunity when I was a kid, but I decided that I want to be a bit more diverse in my activities. Still chess is a huge part of my life, but not the only part of it. That is probably a difference.
- The FIDE Council meeting took place here, what can you say about it, how was it going?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- We had a very good meeting with almost full attendance, mostly online, but some people were here in Yekaterinburg. We discussed some very important issues, including new regulations for arbiters and trainers, both Commissions worked hard to prepare those changes to improve the way how arbiters and trainers are being professionally developed and qualified for their activities. We talked over the calendar of major events, which will take place in 2021 and 2022. We discussed the budget situation and some of the national federations' issues. I am happy to announce that players from Isle of Man are going to be rated now and will be able to participate in FIDE major events, the individual events.
- FIDE entered the long-term partnership with Сhessable. What can you say about that? How will this reflect upon the chess world?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- Yes, we have spent a few months discussing our partnership with Chessable. They are a part of a bigger group - PlayMagnus. We decided to concentrate on the educational component and there are two major topics in the contract. The first one is: providing broadcasting rights for our major events, including the Candidates event here, to Chess24. So actually, Chessable is our partner already here in Yekaterinburg. For us, it is quite a substantial amount of money that will be received over a long period of time – six years. And the second one is a new chess talent development program, to which Chessable will contribute $150,000 annually. We plan to foster many new champions and attract many new young people to the game.
- There are many other partners and sponsors of the Candidates tournament. How FIDE managed to bring them all here?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- We have been working hard with our partners. FIDE has quite a strong marketing team. Of course, "The Queen's Gambit" helped a lot to increase a potential of the game for sponsors and partners. We rely both – on traditional partners, especially Russian ones: Gazprom, Russian railways, Norilsk Nickel. But also new partners like biggest chess platforms, chess.com, chess24 and now Chessable. We are also in close contacts with some major companies that were recently attracted by the popularity of chess, including those who supported the World Corporate Championship. And also there is a chess boom in India! And we hope to announce some very interesting contracts signed with our Indian partners soon.
- Looking forward to it and thank you so much for the interview!
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- Thank you.
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- I believe, it is a spectacular event, and the fact that we were able to resume it after 389 days of waiting, is quite amazing by itself. I am happy that all players came to Yekaterinburg safely and in a good mood. But results are not the same – somebody is winning, somebody is losing. But anyway, I believe, everyone here is in comfortable conditions and will fight with all the strenghts for the only spot in future World Championship Match.
- The first part of the FIDE Candidates is associated with a new era in chess and pandemic as well. What are you expecting from the second part of the tournament? What do you want it to be associated with?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- I think, everyone is quite tired of online chess, and this over-the-board event is a very nice opportunity just to fall back to good old ways, to feel nice about sitting and looking at your opponent eyes to eyes. I suppose, people just feel good about coming back to normal or almost normal life. This is the first event in the line of very important events this year, including the last stage of Women's Grand-Prix in Gibraltar in May, the World Cups in Sochi in July and the World Championship Match in Dubai this November.
- You are watching games so closely and with great interest. Have you ever imagined that, maybe if you had another life with more free time, you would be a professional chess player yourself?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- No, I do not think so. Anyway, I had this opportunity when I was a kid, but I decided that I want to be a bit more diverse in my activities. Still chess is a huge part of my life, but not the only part of it. That is probably a difference.
- The FIDE Council meeting took place here, what can you say about it, how was it going?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- We had a very good meeting with almost full attendance, mostly online, but some people were here in Yekaterinburg. We discussed some very important issues, including new regulations for arbiters and trainers, both Commissions worked hard to prepare those changes to improve the way how arbiters and trainers are being professionally developed and qualified for their activities. We talked over the calendar of major events, which will take place in 2021 and 2022. We discussed the budget situation and some of the national federations' issues. I am happy to announce that players from Isle of Man are going to be rated now and will be able to participate in FIDE major events, the individual events.
- FIDE entered the long-term partnership with Сhessable. What can you say about that? How will this reflect upon the chess world?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- Yes, we have spent a few months discussing our partnership with Chessable. They are a part of a bigger group - PlayMagnus. We decided to concentrate on the educational component and there are two major topics in the contract. The first one is: providing broadcasting rights for our major events, including the Candidates event here, to Chess24. So actually, Chessable is our partner already here in Yekaterinburg. For us, it is quite a substantial amount of money that will be received over a long period of time – six years. And the second one is a new chess talent development program, to which Chessable will contribute $150,000 annually. We plan to foster many new champions and attract many new young people to the game.
- There are many other partners and sponsors of the Candidates tournament. How FIDE managed to bring them all here?
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- We have been working hard with our partners. FIDE has quite a strong marketing team. Of course, "The Queen's Gambit" helped a lot to increase a potential of the game for sponsors and partners. We rely both – on traditional partners, especially Russian ones: Gazprom, Russian railways, Norilsk Nickel. But also new partners like biggest chess platforms, chess.com, chess24 and now Chessable. We are also in close contacts with some major companies that were recently attracted by the popularity of chess, including those who supported the World Corporate Championship. And also there is a chess boom in India! And we hope to announce some very interesting contracts signed with our Indian partners soon.
- Looking forward to it and thank you so much for the interview!
Arkady Dvorkovich:
- Thank you.
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