The interview was published on World Chess’ YouTube channel. Find below transcripts of three fragments, followed by the embedded video.
On his reasons for retirement:
After playing the Candidates Tournament in 2018, where I really gave a lot on the chessboard and played a lot of exciting games, it was quite a performance. Actually, that was a turning point. After this tournament, I felt I had nothing left to give to chess. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s a kind of feeling, that I felt empty after that. So I played a few more tournaments, and the feeling was still there and growing. [...] I stopped feeling that it was an important part of my life.
On playing against Kasparov, Anand and Carlsen:
I’m very happy that I was part of Kasparov’s generation, I played with Kasparov a lot. [...] And also, of course, Viswanathan Anand, who is also absolutely great — maybe a little bit underestimated, but I consider from the pure talent [point of view], the most talented player in the last fifty years. And, then, also such a great player like Magnus Carlsen, who is also completely unique.
[...] I’m not trying to be polite, but I don’t consider myself of the same level. I’m good, of course, very good, but I’m not Kasparov, not Carlsen, and also by talent not Vishy Anand.
On Magnus Carlsen:
I fully understand what a great player, if we are talking about Magnus, is here. Maybe after fifty years or a hundred years he will be a god, you know, a god of chess, like now Morphy. When you live in this era, when you see him every day, then maybe you don’t measure it. But I understand that this is a player which is born once in a century. [...] He just changed chess. Chess is him in the last ten to fifteen years. Chess is Magnus Carlsen.
