The grandmaster from St. Petersburg Ildar Khairullin left the playing area immediately after the fourth round was over. We were afraid that the athlete having a 100% result would want to avoid the journalists. However, Ildar kindly agreed to meet at the hotel hall, preferring a lively talk to a skype chat. It turned out that there was a certain reason for that.
- Ildar, how many times have you played at the Moscow Open?
- That’s a tough question (laughing). It’s hard to say off the top of my head. I'm thinking it’s my fifth time.
- Have you always been playing in the A tournament?
- Yes, just the men’s open all these years.
- How is the current one coming along?
- I think that my results show that everything is going great.
- Was it easy to win four times in a row?
- No, it’s always hard to win, I've been very lucky. Besides, I haven’t played against the strongest players yet.
- Who were your opponents?
- There were three players in the “400s”. Today I was playing against the female grandmaster from India. She is very strong by the way. I was lucky that she made a mistake at a very important moment. I had equal positions with the opponents in all my games—could have been drawn. The games are not so long but the tension is increasing.
- How do you feel in Moscow this time?
- The games start a bit late for me, at 4 pm. I suppose it’s done especially for those who work. And it feels great in Moscow. I’m happy that it’s started to get warmer.
- Did you take good weather with you from St. Petersburg?
- No, it was also cold there.
- Ildar, are you reading the news at our website?
- (Laughing). The internet connection is awful in our hotel. The connection was great at the arrival day. Now the players are preparing for their opponents and studying the games online. That’s why I’m offline.
- So that’s the reason. So how are you preparing for tomorrow’s game with Boris Grachev?
- I have known Boris for a long time… His repertoire included.
- It looks like you don’t need the internet at all.
- Internet is not everything in the life…
- Keep on winning!
- Thank you.
Anna Kalyaeva asked the questions