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First some news about you-how was the tournament in Maalot-Tarshiha (Israel)?
I got sick just before that tournament. Fortunately, after strong medicaments, my temperature soon came back to normal level, so even before the middle of the tournament I was full of energy. However, my final result was very bad, mostly due to heavy time troubles increased by difficult to explain and not typical for me tiredness in the final phase of almost every game, causing unbelievable number of blunders.
Do you plan to play in Plovdiv?
Yes, I do. I have missed only one European Individual Championship till now. I didn't play last year in Dresden, as I had qualified to the World Cup already from Kusadasi'2006.
What is your tournament schedule till then?
Moscow Open, Polish Championship, Gausdal and some … table tennis tournaments, including league matches.
Do you have some special preparation before important events?
In the 20th century I used to prepare much more seriously before important events. For instance, I dedicated a month to prepare well for the World Championship in Las Vegas. Nowadays it varies a lot. Sometimes I just go for a tournament even without any preparation. I prefer to be fresh; moreover there are periods when I don't have enough motivation to work or to play chess. However, the last World Cup was one of the exceptions. I was very well prepared and motivated. It significantly helped me defeating Viktor Laznicka and Teimour Radjabov.
You were already European Champion? Was it hard to win the title? Can you tell us something more about the tournament in Batumi?
Just before that championship I had passed my last two and at the same time very difficult exams at the University of Warsaw. I had had no time to prepare, for 2 weeks I had slept for 3-4 hours a day, had been exhausted. When I arrived to Batumi, the first night I slept 14 hours! The tournament started very bad for me, as I lost the first round. Fortunately, later it was only better. I won 7 out of remaining 12 games. I consider the crucial moment my victory with black over Dmitry Jakovenko in the 7th round. At that point my opponent had an impressive result of 6.5/7. Since that moment I was in a group of leaders. After a successful 12th round, I was solely in a lead. A draw after struggle in the last round against Vadim Milov appeared to be sufficient for me to become the champion.
How would you explain the fact that in the history of EIC the elo-favorite never won the tournament?
That's not true. In 2004, Vasyl Ivanchuk, being the event's top seed, won the championship.
Do you find it fair that the quotas for World Championship will be shared equally between the European Championships?
In an official letter of the 10th of March 2006 addressed to the ECU Board Members, the Board of the Association of Chess Professionals proposed to establish a mathematical relation between the number of qualification spots and the prize fund. The number of qualification places for each European Championship of a two-year cycle would be determined on percentage by the size of the prize fund of each championship. I can see some technical problems with the above mentioned proposal, but I consider them minor and easy to be eliminated.
Have you ever been in Plovdiv or Bulgaria? If yes-what do you think about our people, culture, kitchen?
I have played in the European Team Championship 2003 in Plovdiv on the first board for Poland. I was sick during the whole event; nevertheless I won a silver medal for individual rating performance (2762).
I think Bulgaria is not much different from Poland. We are Slav, after World War II we were under influence of Soviet Union; almost 2 decades ago regained independence. I have good friends among Bulgarian players. As I speak fluently Polish and Russian, I can even understand quite a lot of Bulgarian. Obviously, I cannot speak it.
What are your expectations about the event?
Well, recently I have been sick again, the tournament is to be held in Plovdiv. Good signs to show a nice performance.
Thank you for your kindness and good luck in the coming tournaments!
An Interview by Dejan Bojkov