Veselin Topalov: “No perfect move exists”

Veselin Topalov won gold for Bulgaria on Board 1 in both the latest Olympiad and European Team Chess Championships, but turmoil in the Bulgarian Chess Federation means neither he nor his team will be playing in Reykjavik. Instead he’s attending an event popularising chess in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he gave an interview to the local newspaper Página/12. Topics included the effect of computers, Magnus Carlsen’s domination and why it’s better to forget rather than analyse both your wins and losses.

Veselin Topalov at the 2015 Sinquefield Cup | photo: Nacho Soto

Veselin Topalov will be appearing this Friday in a Chess Festival taking place in the Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires. In an interview with Pablo Mocca for Página/12, Topalov explained that Argentina is special for him – “the 2005 World Championship is the greatest success I’ve had in chess”. Below we’ve translated a large part of a fascinating conversation with the former World Champion:

Pablo Mocca: Is it difficult to explain that chess is a job?

Veselin Topalov: For the outside world being a chess player can perhaps be a job but not a profession, while we know that it clearly is. It’s a question that some 20 years ago in the Soviet Union no-one would have asked. If you said you were a chess player people knew that you could live with dignity, gain respect and even get paid above average. Note that in Spain, given the current crisis, many young players look at chess as a good chance to earn a living. As with science, though, you have to work every day, and more each time, since the information is growing very quickly and that trend is never going to stop.

On Friday there’s going to be a massive event in the CCK (Centro Cultural Kirchner) with the aim of bringing the public closer to chess. How important do you think such initiatives are?

The CCK is an impressive combination of the old and the new | photo: official website

It’s important to explain to people that chess isn’t as complicated as it seems and that you don’t have to be afraid to try. You don’t need to be a prodigy to understand the rules and play. I think it should be taught to children and then, if they like it, they can go to a club, take classes and improve. The European Union and its parliament recently approved a law to introduce chess into schools in 28 countries. I’d wager on expanding the fan base rather than trying to create elite players. The generation of Fischer and Spassky was the height of popularity for chess, but many years have since passed. In order to create a new generation of chess fans you have to educate kids.

Has computerisation had a negative effect?

There was a moment at the beginning when the machines were a positive, but lately we’ve being passing to the other extreme. Now it seems that a move isn’t good unless the machine says so. Previously there was a lot of respect for the thinking and creativity of a grandmaster. Now you see spectators saying that the machine took three seconds to come up with a move but the player took half an hour, negating all their creative effort.

What do you think about the widespread fear of the advance of the chess engines?

Chess as a game isn’t going to come to an end, but the machines are putting an end to creativity and making all of us equal players. For an elite player it’s now more difficult to beat a player in the Top 50 or 100 than it was 15 or 20 years ago. On each occasion it takes more effort to get better results since the machines are ever more powerful. There’s less room to improvise and take risks, and I think that mistakes are the most beautiful thing in chess - unless we’re proposing reducing the concept of the game to a succession of perfect moves where all the games end up drawn.

Great minds think alike, with Vassily Ivanchuk once having commented: "Have I played flawless games? Of course. But flawed games are usually the most beautiful and are dearer to me" | photo: Gregor Anthes, Berlin World Rapid and Blitz website

But you’ve still found room for creativity in your play.

For me personally the most beautiful thing is to find an interesting idea and develop it in a game. Everyone has to create their own destiny in order to stand out and get better than average results; otherwise we’ll all be the same. I think the solution is to shorten the time control in order to provide more margin for error, since memory would then be less of a factor than now and it would be more important to calculate faster. The way we play now machines are gradually taking away our creativity. Even Carlsen, who has a different style from the rest, is struggling constantly to play variations that are unknown. I think little by little he’s going to have to adapt to theoretical trends. Even he has to study with the machines.

How do you come to terms with errors?

Previously people said you should analyse after a game. However, I think the correct approach in order to play well the next day is to “erase” everything you’ve played, the whole past. Whether you won or lost, in order to play well the next day you need to forget the game. I improved a lot with the idea of my manager Silvio Danailov, “Sofia Rules”, which prohibits draw offers. If you don’t have that right to offer or accept a draw then you concentrate solely on the game - that, and not thinking about the result but about the following move. That’s a difficult state to achieve, but my best games have come when I’ve attained that, when I’ve managed to be above the result. The clearest example was Fischer, who would fight each game in a match heading for 6-0. When he won it was because he wasn’t thinking about the result but his next move. That makes you immune to stress and nerves, but we know it isn’t easy. I recall the case of Peter Leko, who was on the point of becoming World Champion but missed out in the final game. It was a little unjust, because he didn’t lose the match, but I feel it affected him. I remember he had problems during various tournaments, always losing the last game.

Do you look to provoke a mistake by your opponent or do you always look for the perfect move?

No perfect move exists, just one indicated by the position when you analyse all the factors: time trouble, your opponent’s tournament situation, if he looks tired, who’s younger, the result that each player needs. All of that creates a mental connection between the players. If you’ve won a lot of times against a player then of course you play in a different fashion.

Do elite players have customs that can astonish fans?

People think that at home I have a chessboard that’s different from that of a simple fan (laughs). But no: we offer draws and resign in the same way as the rest of the world. It’s also rare nowadays to analyse extensively after a game. That custom has been dying out because we all know that the computer sees everything in a minute.

You’ve been a grandmaster since you were 17 years old. When did you realise that you could become World Champion?

At first I was so in love with the game that I didn’t think about winning. I started as a child and when my dad got back from work I’d ask him to play; if a new chess book came out in the bookshop I’d run to get it. When I won the U14 Championship I knew that I was the best in my age group and that I had options, but I didn’t think along those lines. I went to play Opens in Spain with the aim of having a good time, gaining Elo points and earning money. I saw Kasparov in a godlike limbo, even at 19 when I was already playing elite tournaments. At 25 I began to take it seriously and to make plans for the World Championship title, but for four or five years my attempts ended in failure.

Veselin Topalov had the best surprised face ever after a draw with Magnus Carlsen in the 2014 Sinquefield Cup

How can you explain the current supremacy of Carlsen?

I consider him a pretty solid World Champion. It’s no accident. He has weaknesses, as everyone does, but far fewer than those around him. I don’t think his domination is comparable to what Kasparov achieved in his day, but it perhaps does him more credit, since he’s standing out in an epoch when the machines have levelled the playing field. Garry had a very spectacular style and produced many works of art. Carlsen’s games are very efficient – a different style. For me the best was Fischer. While players like Kasparov gave their all, he quit at 29 years old. I somehow feel nostalgia for all the games he didn’t play.

Who can dethrone Carlsen?

I think whoever’s going to beat a champion like Carlsen will inevitably be younger than he is. For now I don’t know who that will be - there are a lot of guys. I was impressed with Wei Yi, who I drew with in January. With the black pieces he didn’t give me any chance to unbalance the position. And, it seems to me, it’s no accident that top class players are arising in China. I’ve been there several times and I know his federation. I know they have a system of very hard work and are extremely disciplined.

Topalov and Wei Yi drew in Round 9 of the 2015 Gibraltar Masters | photo: John Saunders, Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival

Almost 10 years have passed since the match against Kramnik. Is that all in the past?

It’s a problem that should be very easy to resolve: there were cameras and everything was filmed, but I know that the recordings are never going to be released and things are going to stay the same. My rival is the favourite of the current politicians, but I think in 5 or 10 years, when he’s no longer aspiring to the world title, his privileges are going to disappear. We’re talking about a player who has received various matches but never made it through a complete cycle. Always gifts, since the Russian Federation has a lot of weight in FIDE.

Kramnik won another game with White against Topalov in the recent European Club Cup, but Veselin's ability to quickly put such mishaps behind him never fails to amaze | photo: Evgeny Surov, chess-news

In the next World Championship Candidates Tournament there’s going to be one invitee as well as the qualifiers.

It wouldn’t surprise me if it was the same player in question. I think Russia has players with a lot of talent who could be given a chance, but they don’t do that. Professional sport isn’t perfect.

Full interview at Página/12 (in Spanish)

We now know that Levon Aronian was the chosen one, although Veselin and his manager Silvio Danailov were unhappy that the venue for the 2016 Candidates Tournament is Moscow:

Topalov has said he’s still considering whether to take part, though since he played both in the 2011 and 2014 Candidates in Russia a betting man would expect him to compete once again. It would be foolish to rule out the winning chances of the current world no. 2.