Chess for everyone

(…) As a coach I divide chess players into six groups. The first is the “knockouters”, who I previously called “killers”. That’s Kasparov, Botvinnik, Fischer and Korchnoi. For them it’s important not only to beat their opponents, but to crush them. To knock them out.

V.T.: To break them?

Y.A.: Yes, of course. The second group are the fighters, who give everything they’ve got but don’t feel obliged to deliver a knockout. Those are Bronstein, Kasparov, I nevertheless put him in both those categories, and Lasker – a classic example. The third group are sportsmen for whom chess is simply like tennis. That’s Capablanca, Keres, Euwe and probably Kramnik.

V.T.: Karpov?

Y.A.: No. Karpov’s a pure player. The fourth group are players who play everything they can. Durak? Why not! That’s Karpov. Yanofsky also fits there.

V.T.: Tal?

Y.A.: Tal fits into two categories – a fighter and an artist. But apart from that there are also two other groups: investigators and artists. For an artist it matters not only that he wins, but how.

Investigators, meanwhile, are people for whom chess is food for thought.

That’s Tarrasch, that’s me, that’s Fine.

There are also plenty such people, though no-one from those last two groups has yet become World Champion.

V.T.: And can you give examples of artists?

Y.A.: Yanofsky, Rossolimo, Simagin.

V.T.: And maybe also Bronstein?

Y.A.: You know, things are more complicated with Bronstein. There are people who play a role all their lives, and if you’ve encountered the world of acting you’ll know some.

V.T.: He played the role of an artist?

Y.A.: Yes, he played that role. For instance, Spassky always plays the role of the Artist. I’ve had a lot of contact with the world of acting and I can see it – he’s acting! Even forgetting about it himself in the process.

V.T.: And that side is probably also strongly developed in Kasparov?

Y.A.: I don’t know. I haven’t studied him from that point of view. In any case, a lot of public figures… for example, both Tal and Spassky were transformed when they played on a stage. In 1962 at a banquet after the USSR Championship in Yerevan, Spassky, when it was his turn to speak, said: “And I want to raise a toast not only for great chess players but also for the management, and for my modest neighbour.” He noted that everyone was drinking wine while that man was drinking water. After that he paused before continuing: “…for my friend and his notebook!”

V.T.: So it was a guy from the KGB?

Y.A.: Well of course. At the time that was a bombshell! So that’s a typical display of acting for you.

V.T.: You say chess has survived for 15 centuries because it appeals to a great number of different types of people. The question arises: why does it appeal to them all?

Y.A.: Everyone can find something that interests them in chess.

V.T.: Due to the variety of moves and pieces?

Y.A.: Moves, pieces and situations on the board.

 <http://whychess.com/en/node/2546>