CHENNAI: Former world champion Vladmir Kramnik is in Switzerland where coronavirus has made its presence felt. Like his friend Viswanathan Anand, who is holed up in Germany, the Russian too goes for walks in the woods near his house. He says the situation is bad and there are no masks available. But he has managed to stay healthy. In a chat with this newspaper, he shared his thoughts on several things including Indian chess.
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How is Geneva coping with the outbreak?
It is similar to other places in Europe. The difference is, there is no food. You are allowed to go to the street, but not more than five at a time. There are lots of recommendations on social distancing. I am still able to have walks because the weather is fantastic. It’s such a coincidence that when we cannot enjoy it fully, the weather is at its best. Since I don’t live too far from country side, I try to avoid people during my walks. I get into the woods and just enjoy the sun and the weather.
How is the situation in Switzerland as such?
Switzerland doesn’t have as many cases as other countries but in percentage for population, unfortunately, Switzerland is among the leaders. In the top three if you consider countries with more than one million inhabitants. So it’s not that easy.
What are doing to keep yourself engaged?
Frankly, the situation is strange and unusual, but I am just trying to use the possibilities it provides. You have much more time than usual, so I spend more time with family. There is time for things which you somehow did not finish or did not have time for. I am reading a lot of things I am interested in, listening to YouTube lectures on educational programmes. I don’t feel bored or tired or depressed. I am trying to use this time to do something positive and learn things I didn’t have time for.
How do your wife and children spend their time?
All the same, just not going out. I am giving some lessons to my kids, some language lessons. My wife is giving some other lessons. Also, they have distant learning at school. My kids are quite busy with this. With children, it is very difficult to stay home, but so far we are very happy together. No problems at all.
Are you able to get regular supply of food and other essentials?
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to get some stuff. There are no medical masks for already a month. We would love to wear them, especially when going out. But it’s impossible to get it anywhere in Switzerland nowadays. Food delivery has not been functional for three weeks. We have certain reserves, but when we want fresh food from time to time we go to supermarkets which are still open. There is a queue, people are standing two metres apart. They are given a mask to enter the shop. They let only a few in at a time. We shop from time to time. So far, we don’t have symptoms (of the virus).
How has been life without chess after retirement?
I am having this programme with Indian talents and I also play a little bit of blitz. I have a brief look at what is going on in the world of chess. I also work with AlphaZero to try to invent new variations of chess. Actually, there is much more than just no-castle chess which I already presented to the public. But there is going to be a big study published in scientific magazines and I guess also in the chess sites and magazines. We are finalising this work and I guess it is going to happen very soon, within the coming months.
Your advice to chess players all over the world in these testing times...
I don’t think chess players are very different from other people. So I would rather make it more general. I would advise to old people, Indian people to be patient and take things as they are. There are good times and bad times in life. First of all, take things as they come. Life is not always rosy. Sometimes you have to receive some heat.
Which is the chess book which influenced you the most?
It was the Best games of Karpov. Not because it was better than any other book. But because it was my first book and for quite some time my only book because I was born in a providence of Russia where not many chess books were available. Since Karpov was the world champion at the time, it was the only book in our book shop. I have studied a lot of his games at the beginning of my career and that’s why it probably made the biggest influence on my chess.