His mission is to produce champions

THE MOST demanding task in chess is to be a `second' to the king of the 64-squares - Garry Kasparov. And, when someone like GM Evegeny Vladimirov (Kazhakstan) handled it for five successful years, he should be something special as a trainer if not necessarily a champion player himself.

The 43-year-old Vladimirov, winner of the Wipro Grandmasters tournament in Hyderabad, gives an impression of being lost in some thoughts by the way he moves around in the lobby but he can be lured into talking, which reveals that he is not only articulate but an authority on the game.

He minces no words when he says that the standard of the game is not as high as it should be though there is a spurt in Grandmasters. ``The common problem is lack of fundamental preparations, not on openings but on classical variations. Some do demonstrate good, deep positional understanding but tend to falter when they shouldn't,'' he says. ``There is a yawning gap between Garry Kasparov and the rest of the contenders in the world,'' he says emphatically. He should know it better for he was trainer to the champion working for more than 18 hours a day for five years during which Kasparov won so many tournaments. ``No doubt, Anand, who is a delight is a real challenger but he still has a long way to go,'' he says.

The bespectacled Grandmaster, who qualified for the FIDE world championship in Delhi later this year, is more of a coach than a player now touring various countries to conduct orientation courses. He runs an Academy for a dedicated band of 30 trainees spotted by a team of experts in Kazhakstan and is actively involved in the preparations of the national team.

Going back to his stint with Kasparov, Vladimirov felt it was a big challenge and a great experience for he shared the job with three other seconds - Timmo Shchaekno, Nikitin, Shakarov. ``From 1981-86 it was hectic and not an easy task. My task was confined to studying the games of former World champion Anatoly Karpov and give the necessary feedback,'' he explains. He admits that there were quite a few occasions when he was at the receiving end of Kasparov's temperamental behaviour. ``But that was all because of his intense desire to be the best in the word,'' he remarked. ``Kasparov's chess is something different compared to the original lines of the game. His remarkable ability to evaluate the positions in lightning time is incomparable. It is very subtle and he visualises so many possibilities which are beyond imagination for the ordinary. It is strange that even if he loses the game he controls what is happening,'' admires the Kazhak star. Vladimirov points to the fact that Kasparov keeps rotating his team of seconds quite frequently to keep the rivals guessing about his preparations. This is what separates his strongest challengers Vladimir Kramnik and V. Anand from him. ``I feel that Kasparov's opening preparations are fabulous. Though Anand is a classical player and close to a fine example of an ideal player, he needs more luck and psychological strength,'' he explained.

For one who studied Karpov exhaustively, Vladimirov rates him as a totally different player. ``His style of chess in his best years created an illusion that he was an alien - impossible to beat. Strangely, he never seems to make himself look so special. Now, he is getting older and is not the same player,'' is the comparison he makes.

Referring to the disintegration of Soviet Union and its impact on chess world, Vladimirov admits that it has a negative effect on the sport in many countries except in Ukraine, Kazhakstan and Armenia. ``Definitely, the Soviet School of Chess is gone now. That was very competitive and the cream of the entire Continent used to be products of it. This was the biggest blow. But on the other hand, the emergence of so many Republics does give freedom to some of the Grandmasters to tour abroad and get more exposure,'' he explained.

The Grandmaster, who also dabbles in journalism, now feels that the concept of World Cup is a fascinating one. ``It should be very tough and will also determine who is the best in that format,'' he remarked. Interestingly, he feels that for a chess player the best age is between 30 and 40 years. He crossed it three years ago. How does he rate himself? ``Well, I never tried to be a champion. Though I would be happy to be one,'' he quipped. Obviously, he is on a mission to produce champions as he is not averse to giving guest lectures in the Koya Academy to be set up in Hyderabad as part of his endeavour. Referring to his training sessions for Pendyala Harikrishna and Aarthie Ramaswamy, he feels they are gifted and talented and hold lot of promise. ``But a lot of hard work has to be done. Great amount of dedication and determination are required. These have to be complemented with high degree of preparations. That is the reason why there is only one Kasparov'' he concluded.

V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Hyderabad

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