Before the resumption of the FIDE Candidates Tournament a reporter of "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" had a talk with its participant Alexander Grischuk. The conversation was about chess, still it became obvious that the game is not the only thing that interests the grandmaster.

Alexander, comparing chess to tennis, even a five-minute medical time-out can change the course of a match. You had a year-long break. How can this affect the outcome?

Alexander Grischuk: In tennis, even rain can affect the game. Sometimes you can wait a whole day to start a match. As for chess, such a strange situation is really for the first time. But it is the same for all eight participants. I think the break may have an impact, but you can't say in advance what impact it will be. I'm just glad that the tournament will resume after all. At some point, I began to think that it will never be finished at all. You see what is happening in the world. Second wave of the pandemic, third wave. The very fact that the tournament will resume is already good news.

A limited amount of visitors will be allowed on the venue for the first 5 minutes of the game. Is it important in chess to have audience which supports you?

Alexander Grischuk: Chess is not like football with stadiums for 40K fans. Usually we have like 5 people watching the games in the playing hall. So it is not a big difference if it is five or zero.

I amused to it. I understand that chess is not a popular sport. It was different in the Soviet Union, but I was not playing at that time. So it doesn't make me sad. There are no illusions. I even began to understand why it is so after one incident. In general, I love sports - football, hockey, handball, basketball, tennis - and various games, for example, card games. At some moment I had free time and decided to watch the final of the World Championship in the computer game Dota.

I even downloaded the video instructions for this game. Talked to Ian Nepomniachtchi for half an hour, at that time he was playing Dota almost professionally. I switched on the broadcast for dummies and... During three hours of watching the finals I didn't get anything. But I realized how people are watching chess. Of course, computer can help you whose position is better. But it is actually interesting only for a few thousands of people who have a certain level of knowledge and skills.

By the way, speaking about computers... Did online chess become popular during the pandemic? You even suggested finishing the Candidates Tournament online.

Alexander Grischuk: This is a wonderful format. Sitting at the board in front of an opponent or at a computer monitor – for me there's no big difference. However, my results were unsatisfactory. Many interesting tournaments took place, including those hosted by Mangus Carlsen. But I have not performed successfully in any of them. It was bad.

In general, there is one huge problem that is difficult to fix. In online chess, we all play with each other on trust. If someone wants to cheat, then it is impossible to catch or stop him. There is control, but insufficient. It is like trying to catch a mosquito with a net for a fish.

Other opposites: blitz and classics. You are a three-time world blitz champion. Why do you play better with a short time control?

Alexander Grischuk: Usually, when you like something, you are more likely to succeed in it. I've always liked blitz. But in general, for blitz, rapid or classical chess, similar qualities are needed. The difference between classic and blitz is less than in tennis between clay and grass. I remember there was an Austrian named Thomas Muster. Once he won 50 matches in a row on clay, and at Wimbledon, the grass "Grand Slam", he could not get through the first round. In chess, in all time controls, the best players are the same. Now it's Carlsen. The best blitz players are also world champions in classics. It just happened that I have more success in blitz.

You are also a very successful commentator. Your best remarks can be found in Internet...

Alexander Grischuk: I am not the one to judge, of course, but the main compliment to me as a commentator was given a long time ago in Paris. There was a tournament, and several broadcasts were simultaneously conducted in different languages. I commented in English. Then three Frenchmen came up to me and said that they had listened to the English version because of me. But you understand that getting the French to speak or listen to English, if there is an opportunity to do the same in their native language, is an almost impossible task.

What was the most exciting game you were ever commenting?

Alexander Grischuk: I can tell you what the biggest chess intrigue I've seen personally was. It was the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London. In the last round, Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik fought for the first place. By that time, I was a non-aspiring tournament participant, dangling somewhere in the middle. But I had the opportunity to watch the entire round from the inside. Carlsen and Kramnik played two meters away from me. I made my move, and then I came to one board, then to another. There was a hair-raising ending. They both ended up losing their matches, but Magnus took first place on the second tiebreak. Later he beat Viswanathan Anand and became the world champion.

You were very close to winning the Candidates tournament 2011 in Kazan. It was a knock-out tournament at that time.

Alexander Grischuk: Yes, remember these games very well. Especially the quarterfinals against Levon Aronian. He was considered a huge favorite against me. And I managed to win. Moreover, on May 9, the Victory Day. We finished the game, and half an hour later the fireworks began. It was a match system then, which I like better: you play one on one; there is no chance that an outsider will beat you in the end and this will affect the results of the tournament. I prefer playoffs in all sports. In the Continental Hockey League (KHL), I have not watched a single regular match for the entire season. The Champions League - even if "Barcelona" meets "Real Madrid" – it is absolutely not interesting to me until the playoffs, with the exception of our clubs.

What is the most important victory for you?

Alexander Grischuk: The World Blitz Chess Championships 2015 in Berlin.

And what about the global goal? In Olympic sports they have a gold medal of the Games, and the grandmasters have the chess crown?

Alexander Grischuk: I've never had any global goals. When I play a tournament, I try to perform as well as possible. That's all. Olympic medal, chess crown... I understand what you are talking about. But in my case it is different. I can't imagine how to think for several years ahead and prepare for an event that takes place only once every four years.

In 2016 Karjakin won, this time Nepomniachtchi took the lead after the first half. You career is stable and smooth. Do you want your hour of triumph?

Alexander Grischuk: Have you ever watched "In Bruges"? There's a quote from it, which suits me: "You weren't really s**t, but you weren't all that great either. Like Tottenham".

Have you ever felt tired of chess? Apparently, you seem to have many other interests, including sports.

Alexander Grischuk: Recently, with great surprise, I watched the video interview of Anish Giri. He was asked why he writes so much on social media, does it distract him from chess? He said: "This is the only thing that distracts. Otherwise, I study and think about chess all the time." How is this possible? I've never had such a problem.

When you beat the reigning World Champion Magnus Carslen for the first time, you became a member of a symbolic Chigorin club. Is there really any symbolism in this for you?

Alexander Grischuk: I remember that I was glad to beat him in classic, because I won games with other time control many times. But there was nothing supernatural. The game went well, in the end he could have defend himself, but I was lucky.