FWCM Chennai 2013

Game Ten Press Conference, Part 2

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Magnus Carlsen took on questions after the tenth game. Here is the transcript:

Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Once again congratulations on your victory. Can you say about the last game?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I was trying to play solidly in the opening. And I am pretty happy with what I got. Very solid position. No weaknesses. As the game went on he started to drift a bit I thought as long as there is no risk I should try and win it.
At some point after the time control, the variations were simply getting too complicated. So I decided to shut it down and force a draw. I think it was a nice fight and a worthy end to the match.

Q: (FIDE Press Officer) One additional question about the game. On move 30, you took on d6. Could you play instead Nc3? Some spectators were asking that.
A: When I took on d6 I missed something simple. I thought I was just winning with that. If I knew this move wasn’t so good I would have taken some more time and perhaps found a better move and put even more pressure on him. That wasn’t terribly impressive. Anyway, it doesn’t feel very important now.

Q: (FIDE Press Officer) How do you feel to get this title?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) It feels good. It has been tough. Both here and in London. I have been treated very well here in India. I have been made to feel very comfortable and in general at some point I started to settle in and got the match into my strength towards the end. I think it has been a great event. I am really honoured and happy to have won it.

Q: (Paul Truong, USA) Fans are dying to know who are your seconds? Will we get them now?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) It is no secret that Norwegian Grand Master Ludvig Hammer has been working with me. For me he has done a great job as have the others who helped me. I am grateful to them for their hard work.

Q:
A: (Magnus Carlsen) He knew as he explained himself, he knew there were going to be fighting games. Basically game four gave me good feeling. I thought real good fighting game. Although I did not manage to win it I felt that I seized the initiative in the match and that he was as nervous and vulnerable as I was.

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Q: (V Kameswaran, United News of India) Young Carlsen, you are having your birthday party on November 30. Where do you wish to celebrate? India or Norway.
A: (Magnus Carlsen) It has not been much in my mind lately. We will see.

Q: (Pratiksha Ghildial, BBC TV) Chess is a very niche game. Probably 90% of the audience even don’t understand it. Do you think someone like you, who is young and dynamic can change that? Like broaden the appeal of the game.
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I think we see some signs of that in Norway. The match was shown on television. I know that a lot of people who don’t play chess found it very interesting to follow. I really hope that this can cause some positives for the chess buffs in Norway and worldwide.

Q: Which was the turning point in this match?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I think game three, game four. That’s the key. Game three was vulnerable moment for me. Really in game three and four I could sense that he was vulnerable as well. From that moment on I settled in and stopped worrying about the occasion and started playing chess as I usually do. That worked out pretty well.

Q: (T.N. Ragu, Deccan Chronicle) Magnus, you have a keen sense of history. Has the importance of your feat here sunk in yet?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I don’t think I should be answering that question. I am very very happy to have won and completed this match. Let’s write the history books later.

Q: (Kristian Madsen, Politiken) Your old coach (Simen) Agdestein said you radiated nervousness during the first few games. How is the spectacle of playing in the world championship affect your nerves contrary to ordinary tournaments?
A: Magnus Carlsen) As I said the first couple of games – the second game was a normal draw with black. But the first and third games I was little bit nervous and perhaps not quite ready for this big occasion. After game three and four I managed to settle in. I realised that I don’t have to do differently from what I usually do. And that was the turning point.

Q: (Ashok Venugopal, New Indian Express) Before the start of the event, how many matches (games) did you thought you will win? Did you ever think it will go to game number twelve?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I never thought about that to be honest. I thought any result that had me win more games than Anand would be fine.

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Q: (K Keerthivasan, The Hindu) Magnus, looking ahead, you are the world champion now. How important is the Chess Olympiad and it is happening in your own country (in 2014)?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I hope it is going to be a great event. I hope it will bring some attention to chess in the northern Norway and worldwide. As a team we don’t have too high ambitions. We want to do well. It is going to fun to play for my home country again. It has been a long time there.

Q: (T.N. Ragu, Deccan Chronicle) When you were here in Chennai in August we asked about your girlfriend. You said you mind was only on the world championship. Now you have won it. Can you reveal the name of the lady in your life?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) We will see.

Q: (Ebenezer Joseph, Shubsandesh TV) Generally the trend is to work on the openings. Here you have worked on the endgames and tactics in one particular game. Your comments on that.
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Really I work on the openings before the tournament. I think the endgame, middlegame, calculating stuff it comes mostly with the tournament practice. In that sense I didn’t do anything…

Q: Magnus, it seems that Vishy was not at his very best. He was nervous. He made one big blunder and some other mistakes. To what extend you think you were responsible for it depending upon the situation?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I would like to take some responsibility for his mistakes. That’s for sure. Its been like that for me for a long time. I just play and people crack under pressure. Even in world championship. That is what the history shows. We have to keep on pushing. Eventually, usually things go right. Obviously the blunders that he made, each of them are of course unusual, but really is when put under pressure. That is what I really wanted to do in this match. Make him sit at the board and play for long time.

Q: (Amit Karmarkar, The Times of India) How much of the battle was on the board and off the board?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I think most of the games were decided on the board. I did not feel too much of the psychological warfare. May be there was some. I did not notice it.

Q: (FIDE Press Officer) You are the world champion now. What is the first thing you want to do after becoming the champion?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) We will see. I don’t know.

Q: () You won the world championship in India. Lot of people are watching you. What is your comments for the Indian viewers from your side?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I have been so happy with the way I had been treated here. Everything has been top notch. My every wish has been attended to. For my team as well.
It has been beyond expectations that I have experienced in other places. Thank you very much. I am sorry (that Anand lost) that the match turned out the way it did.

Game Ten Press Conference, Part 1

All India Chess Federation Press Release November 22, 2013

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    FIDE World Championship Match (FWCM) 2013, Viswanathan Anand - Magnus Carlsen