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Igor Botvinnik is a nephew of sixth World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. He had the pleasure to spend the last eleven years of his uncle’s life with him. Now Igor Botvinnik is a trainer and international arbiter, but his main activity is connected with “Mikhail Botvinnik” Center and the public foundation that carries the same name. The foundation was established in 1995 with the idea to preserve chess and scientific heritage of the five-time world champion, famous electrical scientist, the man who started the development of computer chess. Igor Yulevich who is an arbiter in the Championship kindly accepted our interview request, which we highly appreciate.
Igor Yulevich, what exactly is the “Mikhail Botvinnik” Center?
The Center is situated is Moscow and is actually youth sports school, in which I work as a trainer with a few groups of children in different ages. In the meanwhile I am moving the activity of “Mikhail Botvinnik” Foundation, which is connected mainly with publishing of the chess heritage of the great champion.
I know that you academic paper in High Chess School that you graduated was on the theme: “System for Preparation for Competitions”. Do you use your system in your work at the “Center’?
Yes. Although I graduated in the middle eighties of the past century my work is still topical enough to be used in the preparation in my trainer’s work. The main problem of our current chess generation is that the players do not only train unmethodically, but participate as well unbalanced in tournaments. I know that this is caused by the new living standards in which the incomes from price-funds are important. But on the other side by playing from tournament to tournament the chess player does not have enough time to rest, to recover from the competition, to analyze his performance and to prepare for the next event. These people call themselves professionals but my opinion is that professional is someone who puts on first place creativity. And everything else-preparation, planning, faineances should be a subject to this aim. Otherwise we have something like travelling circus.
Have you been chess professional yourself?
I am professional in sense that I am involved in chess for all my life. As a chess player I have comparatively short career since I started to practice very late-at the age of 17- too late for high achievements. At 19 I was already working as a trainer.
When did you become an arbiter?
Almost simultaneously, at the begging of my trainer’s activity started my arbiter’s career. In 1969 I was an arbiter for the first time for the friendly school match between Minsk and Mogilev states. On international tournaments I started about 25 years ago when I moved to Moscow.
What do you prefer-to be an arbiter, or to compete?
When I was an active player, I was definitely enjoying the playing process. I was particularly satisfied by well conducted and won games. And contrary-the well conducted, but missed in the end game (due to time-trouble or some other reason) was making me nervous, distracted my sleep- made me feel uncomfortable. But the professions of arbiter and chess player are two totally different activities, I it is very difficult for me to determine which one I prefer-earlier I liked when I was playing, and now I am an arbiter with a pleasure, too. I would like to add that I have some exceptionally pleasant impressions from the Bulgarian arbiters; I am very familiar with Rumen Angelov and Zdravko Nedev from the Turin Olympiad. The organization of the EICC is also excellent, and even the small details are well deliberated. If we exclude the problem with the men’ hall air-condition in the first day (that was solved quick enough) the organization is exceptional. Very successful “novelty” is the e-bulletin which is of high quality and contents.
Who do you think will become European men and women champion in Plovdiv?
It is hard to say at this stage of the competition. It is quite possible that none of the leading players can win it, but some player who is currently in the middle of the crosstable and makes good final sprint. Everything will be decided in the final rounds.
Interview by Lejla Dimitrova