
Vladmir Kramnik: "I have lent Anand the crown"
The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik is currently in Moscow, preparing
for a series of tournaments in November and December, namely the Tal Memorial,
then the World Blitz Championship, and finally, a two-game mini-match of “advanced
chess” against Anand himself. Before leaving for Russia, he gave an exclusive
interview to the French correspondent of the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Yuri
Kovalenko. This contained a number of interesting comments.
Asked about his reaction to losing his title after seven years, Kramnik commented:
“OK, on paper Anand may be world champion. But from my point of view,
there is a difference in significance between a title won in a match, and in
a tournament. For me, the forthcoming match with Anand is more important. If
I lose that, I will accept completely the fact that I have lost the title, but
right now, I have no such feelings. At present, I take the view that I have
just lent Anand the title temporarily”.

Anand vs Kramnik at the 2007 World Championship in Mexico City
The World Clay Champion?
When it was put to him that Anand was surely the strongest player in Mexico,
Kramnik replied that the situation is like tennis: “Federer is better
than Nadal, but cannot compete with him on clay. Everyone has their strong
side. Mine is match-play, whereas Anand’s is tournaments. He is very even
and stable, and can draw with the top players and beat those lower down.”

Analysing after their round ten game (which was drawn)
Kramnik also rejected claims that he was just trying to comfort himself, saying
that his attitude to wins and defeats was nowadays a rather Buddist-like indifference.
“I accept responsibility only for the quality of my work, not its result”.
Asked when and where his return match against Anand will take place, he replied
that it was most likely to be in Germany in September 2008, adding that sponsors
and organisers are already in place, and contracts will be signed within a month.
Interestingly, in answer to the question of who his next opponent would be,
if he were to beat Anand and regain the title, he replied “FIDE has decided
that the winner of Anand-Kramnik will play against the winner of Topalov and
the World Cup victor”. Old-style Cold War Kremlin-watchers may have sought
to read some significance into his exact choice of words – not “I
will play…” but “FIDE have decided that …”! Could
there be a “but” lurking in there somewhere? Watch this space…
"I cannot see myself playing beyond 40”.
In reply to a question about Korchnoi’s longevity in chess, Kramnik replied
that he has not the same fanaticism for the game as Korchnoi, and that once
he feels he can no longer compete at his former level, he is likely to drift
away from chess. “I cannot see myself playing beyond the age of 40”,
he said.
For the present, though, Kramnik is fully devoted to chess in a thoroughly
professional way. “Chess is like body-building. If you train every day,
you stay in top shape. It is the same with your brain – chess is a matter
of daily training”. He admits that by character, he is something of an
Epicurean, but insists that he observes a fairly careful discipline, having
stopped smoking - “at least, for the time being” – and not
having consumed enough alcohol to get himself drunk for a long time. Gambling
is not one of his vices, he says, adding that he finds poker “…rather
one-dimensional and colourless compared with chess”.
“I want my children to speak Russian and have a Russian mentality”
His French wife, Marie-Laure, has retained her own surname, rather than becoming
Mrs Kramnik, but Vladimir said this was largely for professional reasons (she
is well-known in journalistic circles). “When we have children, they will
have my surname”, he said. He also added that he wants his children to
be Russian, rather than French. “I do not yet know where we will live,
in Russia, in France, or somewhere else. But I definitely want my children to
speak Russian and have the Russian mentality”. He also reveals that Marie-Laure
speaks excellent Russian: “Russian tourists in Paris often end up speaking
with her in Russian, and are always sure she is Russian herself, although she
actually has no Russian roots at all”.

“I do not have time for politics at the moment”
Finally, Kramnik revealed that he has been approached several times by Russian
political parties, hoping to enlist his public support, but that he has resisted:
“I do not want to get involved in party political games”. In another
phrase that might interest the Kremlin-watchers, he adds “ I do not have
time for politics at the moment ”. Hmmm – “at the moment”.
Could it be that Kramnik’s absence from Russian politics is just a temporary
thing – like his loaning of the world title to Anand….?