On Jan 31 Alexander Grischuk added the Moscow Championship Superfinal Cup to his trophy collection. Alexander took the victory with the dignity and calmness characteristic of a grandmaster having a great number of titles. We congratulated the winner and asked him to answer several questions.
- Alexander, is it hard playing as the rating favorite?
- It’s not for the first time in my life, so it's nothing special for me. But it is always a pleasure to maintain my status.
- What does the victory in the Moscow Cup Superfinals mean for you?
- The meaning of this victory is quite symbolic for me. I have noticed a very amusing consistent pattern. Usually all people move from the bottom to the top. But with me, I became an Olympiad champion first, then a European champion, then a Russian champion and now for the first time in my life I have become a champion of Moscow. So the chain of victories is completed.
- Truly, quite interesting. So is this your first time at RSSU?
- I have come several times to support my chessplayer friends, but this is my first time playing in RSSU. The only disadvantage for me was a ban on smoking on the university campus as I’m a smoker. I had to run off campus during the short breaks between the rounds. As for the rest I have only positive emotions about the organization and holding of the tournament.
- Which of your Superfinals games do you like best?
- Two games: Grachev and Popov. I quickly got a big advantage in both games; they finished up quite nicely.
- Can you tell us about your plans for the future?
- I played too much last year, so now my main goal is to do nothing. I had enough in me for a two-day competition, but anything longer will have to wait.
Questions were asked by Anna Kaliaeva