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SUPER GM 1-ON-1: BAADUR JOBAVA: "THEY USUALLY TALK THAT WAY ABOUT KASPAROV"
Voice of Russia
March 7 2014
By Elina Kazaryan and David Kerans
YEREVAN (VR)-- While it is no secret that mercurial super GM Baadur
Jobava is among the favorites to win the European Individual Chess
Championship (EICC) that got underway Monday in Yerevan, Armenia,
defining the keys to his prowess is not easy even for experienced
observers of elite chess.
0Jobava represents Georgia, but is Mingrelian himself, originally from
Abkhazia (Mingrelian language is not very close to Georgian). His
family fled the civil war in Abkhazia in 1994, when he was 9 years
old, and he grew up from then in Kharkov. He was not a world-famous
wunderkind, but it was obvious to those who saw him before he reached
master strength that he had extraordinary talent. As Tbilisi-raised GM
Zviad Izoria told VR at last year's World Open, "I remember him when
he was young, and it was amazing what he was doing. He's definitely
the most talented player I have ever been around."
0Beyond raw talent, however, Jobava has created sensational opening
novelties, and managed at least two entirely home-scripted victories
over top GMs--his 2005 demolition of then-4th ranked Evgeny Bareev
was certainly one of the most famous games of the decade. Moreover,
as some specialists have noticed, Jobava has often refined our
understanding of the positional resources available in opening lines
long considered tame.
0Jobava is definitely not a computer-loaded theory drone, nor does
he rely on tactical fireworks to compensate for relative weaknesses
in his armor elsewhere. It takes a complete player--and more--to
build a positive score against Magnus Carlsen, after all. A thorough
treatment of the many dimensions of Jobava's chess (and off-board)
persona would require much more space than we can devote here. We can,
however, bring chess fans closer to Jobava's place in elite chess via
discussion with his peers and with Baadur himself. Radio VR's Elina
Kazaryan is on the scene at the EICC in Yerevan, where she secured
an animated interview with Jobava, plus some extra impressions from
fellow super GM Anton Korobov, who knows Jobava well.
0Kazaryan spoke to Korobov while Jobava was taking charge of his
3rd round game with GM Michael Roiz, a game he would win. {complete
game here}
0Kazaryan: Have you had a look at Jobava's current game?
0Korobov: Yes.
0Kazaryan: What is your analysis, how is it playing out?
0Korobov: Well, he has a position from which one could torture one's
opponent for a long time. We should bear in mind the mental energy
Jobava has. People start to break up under that sort of pressure,
they want to bring the game to an end, it's like a horror film,
and they defend imperfectly and lose. So I'd bet on Jobava.
0
0Photo credit: (c) Elina Kazaryan, VR
0Kazaryan: Do you know his opponent, from Israel?
0Korobov: Mike? Yes, I know him.
0Kazaryan: What's his style?
0Korobov: I can't say I know his style, but I know he's a pretty
strong player, for sure, a positional player. But Baadur has managed
to get something going, even though the position was fairly dry, the
defender couldn't clinch it down. And now Roiz is confined just to
defending himself against concrete threats, very unpleasant ones. It
seems to me Baadur has a big advantage here.
0Roiz
0Jobava
0After move 31; White's space advantage is apparent
0Kazaryan: If I ask you to make a prediction concerning the whole
tournament now, whom would you single out?
0Korobov: It's hard to predict here, the tournament is chaotic and
you can't say for sure how it will turn out. Quite possibly one of the
Armenian players will rise to the occasion here in their own country.
I don't know, which of them are among the leaders? Zaven Andriesan
has two points out of two. Or one of the young Russian players maybe,
there are some really strong and promising ones. (Vladislav) Artemiev
has two out of two, and it looks like he'll have three out of three...
0Kazaryan: And what about you? Do you have your sights set on placing
in the top 23, to ensure yourself a spot in the World Cup?
0Korobov: Right now I'm not setting that goal for myself, no {at this
moment Korobov had just 1-1/2 points from the first three rounds}.
I'll have to just enjoy the process of playing my games.
0Kazaryan: Thanks Anton.
0Korobov: You're welcome.
0Jobava duly dispatched Roiz, and then joined Elina for a substantial
chat.
0Super GM 1-on-1: Baadur Jobava
0Kazaryan: I take it you are in a good mood? You won, my
congratulations.
0Jobava: Thank you.
0Kazaryan: How would you assess your play?
0Jobava: Today's game, you mean? The opening {Giuoco Piano} was a
success for me, because I've had a few games in that line before
this one, so I had a good sense of how to play the position. Michael
wasn't catching all of the nuances of that opening, and that allowed
me to do what I wanted to do, and at one point he ended up short on
space. It was a position that is difficult to defend in practice, and
then at one point he made a pretty big error, which gave up a pawn,
and he lost, yeah. I think it was an interesting game. We'll have to
analyze it to understand all the details. But let me just say it was
an interesting game.
0The error he made was a logical outcome, actually. If you're
pressuring your opponent all game, and he gets into time trouble,
at some point errors are likely. We aren't computers that see the
best move every time. Some weaker moves creep in, and you have to
see that and take advantage. This time I managed to do that. I'm
satisfied with the result.
0Kazaryan: And how about the first two games?
0Jobava: In the first round I played a pretty interesting player
{Vilka Sipila}, from Finland. He was a very resolute guy. At one
moment I got an advantage with White out of the opening, and then
when we went to an ending I sacrificed a pawn which I thought led to a
forced win. But he started to find best moves, and at one point late
he was in time trouble and I had a trick he fell into, and I won. If
he had navigated it just right I might have lost. Fortune was on my
side. Fortune favors the brave, as we say!
0Yesterday, with Black against Iordachescu, we played a complex
opening line in the Caro-Kann defense {advance variation; Nigel Short
system}. Coming out of it Black couldn't really look to win, but it
would be difficult to lose, too. We both figured that out, traded down,
and agreed to a draw. Not the most interesting game. But the tournament
is still just beginning, it's too early to say how it is going.
0
0Photo credit: (c) Elina Kazaryan, VR
0Kazaryan: Since the top 23 here advance to the World Cup, have you
set yourself a goal of finishing in the top 23?
0Jobava: I want to qualify for the World Cup at a minimum. But beyond
that, we'll see how it unfolds. I feel like I am in good form. Before
coming here I played in an open tournament in Minsk {the Bronstein
Memorial, which he won}, and I came into form there. I don't know what
would have to happen for me to miss the top 23. I don't know {laughing}
it would be a nightmare! I'll try, yeah. The top 23 is my minimum goal.
0Kazaryan: By the way, some of your opponents, and people who know
you, sense an unusual mental energy which sometimes affects them
adversely. Do you know about that, and do you have any comment on it?
0Jobava: I've never heard that, no one has ever told me so, to be
honest, that I have some strong mental energy field. Usually they said
that sort of thing about Kasparov. {laughing} I don't know. Maybe
it's not any mental energy field, it's just that I'm trying to play
strongly and at some moments it gets hard for them when their opponent
is playing strongly, when he is in top form--their mental energy
field shrinks! {laughing} I don't know. Of course it's pleasant to
hear that about yourself, but I can't really believe it.
0Kazaryan: Is this your first time in Armenia?
0Jobava: Oh no, not at all. I've been here many times, have lots of
friends. My first time here was in year 2000, if not earlier, if my
memory isn't playing tricks on me. I have plenty of connections with
Armenia, friends and colleagues. No relatives, unfortunately. It's
always a pleasure to come to Yerevan, especially, to Armenia. And I
should add that Armenia has been good for me. However many times I've
come to play here, I've always done very well. This time too, I hope.
{chuckling} We'll see!
0Kazaryan: And what about this current trip to Armenia? Have you had
any new impressions apart from the chess?
0Jobava: Well, yeah, it's too early. So far I've only seen the hotel
and the tournament hall. But the off day {March 9} will give me a
chance. Of course I know Yerevan like the back of my hand, so it
won't be as new to me as it will be to others.
0Kazaryan: There was a time when you served as a second to Grandmaster
Topalov...
0Jobava: Whoa! You're remembering that from eight years ago...
0Kazaryan: Topalov will be taking part in the upcoming Candidates
Tournament {from March 13} in Khanty-Mansiisk. If it's not a
secret, have you had any proposals from Topalov or any of the other
participants to help out as a second?
0Jobava: No, I haven't. It's not a secret, I can say straight out that
no one has asked me. I worked with Topalov once, it was in 2006, when
there was a super tournament in Sofia. At that moment GM Cheparinov
was working with Topalov, but he had to be away for a few days to
play in a league match in Holland, if I remember right. His friend
Silvio Danailov recommended me. It was just before the Chess Olympiad
in Torino that year, by the way, in 2006. He said "Go there, do some
work, get some experience, and then head to the Olympiad." And I said
to myself "Yeah, why not?" {chuckling}. It was always nice--how old was
I then, eight years ago, 22 or 21? It was an interesting experience,
to spend time with such a strong person, and all the more so to work
with him. Thank God I didn't cast a bad aura. He took first place in
the tournament. So I was satisfied. My first time as a second and I
didn't jinx him! {laughing}
0Kazaryan: Is there any opponent with whom you'd really want to
play here?
0Jobava: {laughing} I don't think much about whom I'll face. Each day
depends on how you've prepared, if you've slept well. Of course there
are some players whom I find uncomfortable to face, and the opposite.
Some of them are here in Yerevan. {smiling}
0Kazaryan: But I understand you won't say who they are...
0Jobava: No, it wouldn't be right.
0Kazaryan: Especially before you play.
0Jobava: Exactly.
0Kazaryan: Thanks for joining us.
0Jobava: Oh sure, you're welcome.
http://voiceofrussia.com/us/2014_03_07/Super-GM-1-on-1-Baadur-Jobava-they-usually-talk-that-way-about-Kasparov-7594/
Voice of Russia
March 7 2014
By Elina Kazaryan and David Kerans
YEREVAN (VR)-- While it is no secret that mercurial super GM Baadur
Jobava is among the favorites to win the European Individual Chess
Championship (EICC) that got underway Monday in Yerevan, Armenia,
defining the keys to his prowess is not easy even for experienced
observers of elite chess.
0Jobava represents Georgia, but is Mingrelian himself, originally from
Abkhazia (Mingrelian language is not very close to Georgian). His
family fled the civil war in Abkhazia in 1994, when he was 9 years
old, and he grew up from then in Kharkov. He was not a world-famous
wunderkind, but it was obvious to those who saw him before he reached
master strength that he had extraordinary talent. As Tbilisi-raised GM
Zviad Izoria told VR at last year's World Open, "I remember him when
he was young, and it was amazing what he was doing. He's definitely
the most talented player I have ever been around."
0Beyond raw talent, however, Jobava has created sensational opening
novelties, and managed at least two entirely home-scripted victories
over top GMs--his 2005 demolition of then-4th ranked Evgeny Bareev
was certainly one of the most famous games of the decade. Moreover,
as some specialists have noticed, Jobava has often refined our
understanding of the positional resources available in opening lines
long considered tame.
0Jobava is definitely not a computer-loaded theory drone, nor does
he rely on tactical fireworks to compensate for relative weaknesses
in his armor elsewhere. It takes a complete player--and more--to
build a positive score against Magnus Carlsen, after all. A thorough
treatment of the many dimensions of Jobava's chess (and off-board)
persona would require much more space than we can devote here. We can,
however, bring chess fans closer to Jobava's place in elite chess via
discussion with his peers and with Baadur himself. Radio VR's Elina
Kazaryan is on the scene at the EICC in Yerevan, where she secured
an animated interview with Jobava, plus some extra impressions from
fellow super GM Anton Korobov, who knows Jobava well.
0Kazaryan spoke to Korobov while Jobava was taking charge of his
3rd round game with GM Michael Roiz, a game he would win. {complete
game here}
0Kazaryan: Have you had a look at Jobava's current game?
0Korobov: Yes.
0Kazaryan: What is your analysis, how is it playing out?
0Korobov: Well, he has a position from which one could torture one's
opponent for a long time. We should bear in mind the mental energy
Jobava has. People start to break up under that sort of pressure,
they want to bring the game to an end, it's like a horror film,
and they defend imperfectly and lose. So I'd bet on Jobava.
0
0Photo credit: (c) Elina Kazaryan, VR
0Kazaryan: Do you know his opponent, from Israel?
0Korobov: Mike? Yes, I know him.
0Kazaryan: What's his style?
0Korobov: I can't say I know his style, but I know he's a pretty
strong player, for sure, a positional player. But Baadur has managed
to get something going, even though the position was fairly dry, the
defender couldn't clinch it down. And now Roiz is confined just to
defending himself against concrete threats, very unpleasant ones. It
seems to me Baadur has a big advantage here.
0Roiz
0Jobava
0After move 31; White's space advantage is apparent
0Kazaryan: If I ask you to make a prediction concerning the whole
tournament now, whom would you single out?
0Korobov: It's hard to predict here, the tournament is chaotic and
you can't say for sure how it will turn out. Quite possibly one of the
Armenian players will rise to the occasion here in their own country.
I don't know, which of them are among the leaders? Zaven Andriesan
has two points out of two. Or one of the young Russian players maybe,
there are some really strong and promising ones. (Vladislav) Artemiev
has two out of two, and it looks like he'll have three out of three...
0Kazaryan: And what about you? Do you have your sights set on placing
in the top 23, to ensure yourself a spot in the World Cup?
0Korobov: Right now I'm not setting that goal for myself, no {at this
moment Korobov had just 1-1/2 points from the first three rounds}.
I'll have to just enjoy the process of playing my games.
0Kazaryan: Thanks Anton.
0Korobov: You're welcome.
0Jobava duly dispatched Roiz, and then joined Elina for a substantial
chat.
0Super GM 1-on-1: Baadur Jobava
0Kazaryan: I take it you are in a good mood? You won, my
congratulations.
0Jobava: Thank you.
0Kazaryan: How would you assess your play?
0Jobava: Today's game, you mean? The opening {Giuoco Piano} was a
success for me, because I've had a few games in that line before
this one, so I had a good sense of how to play the position. Michael
wasn't catching all of the nuances of that opening, and that allowed
me to do what I wanted to do, and at one point he ended up short on
space. It was a position that is difficult to defend in practice, and
then at one point he made a pretty big error, which gave up a pawn,
and he lost, yeah. I think it was an interesting game. We'll have to
analyze it to understand all the details. But let me just say it was
an interesting game.
0The error he made was a logical outcome, actually. If you're
pressuring your opponent all game, and he gets into time trouble,
at some point errors are likely. We aren't computers that see the
best move every time. Some weaker moves creep in, and you have to
see that and take advantage. This time I managed to do that. I'm
satisfied with the result.
0Kazaryan: And how about the first two games?
0Jobava: In the first round I played a pretty interesting player
{Vilka Sipila}, from Finland. He was a very resolute guy. At one
moment I got an advantage with White out of the opening, and then
when we went to an ending I sacrificed a pawn which I thought led to a
forced win. But he started to find best moves, and at one point late
he was in time trouble and I had a trick he fell into, and I won. If
he had navigated it just right I might have lost. Fortune was on my
side. Fortune favors the brave, as we say!
0Yesterday, with Black against Iordachescu, we played a complex
opening line in the Caro-Kann defense {advance variation; Nigel Short
system}. Coming out of it Black couldn't really look to win, but it
would be difficult to lose, too. We both figured that out, traded down,
and agreed to a draw. Not the most interesting game. But the tournament
is still just beginning, it's too early to say how it is going.
0
0Photo credit: (c) Elina Kazaryan, VR
0Kazaryan: Since the top 23 here advance to the World Cup, have you
set yourself a goal of finishing in the top 23?
0Jobava: I want to qualify for the World Cup at a minimum. But beyond
that, we'll see how it unfolds. I feel like I am in good form. Before
coming here I played in an open tournament in Minsk {the Bronstein
Memorial, which he won}, and I came into form there. I don't know what
would have to happen for me to miss the top 23. I don't know {laughing}
it would be a nightmare! I'll try, yeah. The top 23 is my minimum goal.
0Kazaryan: By the way, some of your opponents, and people who know
you, sense an unusual mental energy which sometimes affects them
adversely. Do you know about that, and do you have any comment on it?
0Jobava: I've never heard that, no one has ever told me so, to be
honest, that I have some strong mental energy field. Usually they said
that sort of thing about Kasparov. {laughing} I don't know. Maybe
it's not any mental energy field, it's just that I'm trying to play
strongly and at some moments it gets hard for them when their opponent
is playing strongly, when he is in top form--their mental energy
field shrinks! {laughing} I don't know. Of course it's pleasant to
hear that about yourself, but I can't really believe it.
0Kazaryan: Is this your first time in Armenia?
0Jobava: Oh no, not at all. I've been here many times, have lots of
friends. My first time here was in year 2000, if not earlier, if my
memory isn't playing tricks on me. I have plenty of connections with
Armenia, friends and colleagues. No relatives, unfortunately. It's
always a pleasure to come to Yerevan, especially, to Armenia. And I
should add that Armenia has been good for me. However many times I've
come to play here, I've always done very well. This time too, I hope.
{chuckling} We'll see!
0Kazaryan: And what about this current trip to Armenia? Have you had
any new impressions apart from the chess?
0Jobava: Well, yeah, it's too early. So far I've only seen the hotel
and the tournament hall. But the off day {March 9} will give me a
chance. Of course I know Yerevan like the back of my hand, so it
won't be as new to me as it will be to others.
0Kazaryan: There was a time when you served as a second to Grandmaster
Topalov...
0Jobava: Whoa! You're remembering that from eight years ago...
0Kazaryan: Topalov will be taking part in the upcoming Candidates
Tournament {from March 13} in Khanty-Mansiisk. If it's not a
secret, have you had any proposals from Topalov or any of the other
participants to help out as a second?
0Jobava: No, I haven't. It's not a secret, I can say straight out that
no one has asked me. I worked with Topalov once, it was in 2006, when
there was a super tournament in Sofia. At that moment GM Cheparinov
was working with Topalov, but he had to be away for a few days to
play in a league match in Holland, if I remember right. His friend
Silvio Danailov recommended me. It was just before the Chess Olympiad
in Torino that year, by the way, in 2006. He said "Go there, do some
work, get some experience, and then head to the Olympiad." And I said
to myself "Yeah, why not?" {chuckling}. It was always nice--how old was
I then, eight years ago, 22 or 21? It was an interesting experience,
to spend time with such a strong person, and all the more so to work
with him. Thank God I didn't cast a bad aura. He took first place in
the tournament. So I was satisfied. My first time as a second and I
didn't jinx him! {laughing}
0Kazaryan: Is there any opponent with whom you'd really want to
play here?
0Jobava: {laughing} I don't think much about whom I'll face. Each day
depends on how you've prepared, if you've slept well. Of course there
are some players whom I find uncomfortable to face, and the opposite.
Some of them are here in Yerevan. {smiling}
0Kazaryan: But I understand you won't say who they are...
0Jobava: No, it wouldn't be right.
0Kazaryan: Especially before you play.
0Jobava: Exactly.
0Kazaryan: Thanks for joining us.
0Jobava: Oh sure, you're welcome.
http://voiceofrussia.com/us/2014_03_07/Super-GM-1-on-1-Baadur-Jobava-they-usually-talk-that-way-about-Kasparov-7594/