We have to go all the way back to Karpov and Kasparov on the top two boards to find something like India’s dominance: Peter Svidler

Peter Svidler won the Chess World Cup in 2011, was a part of five Russian Olympiad-winning teams, coached R. Praggnanandhaa ahead of the Candidates tournament in Toronto this year, is a former World No. 4 and a commentator when he is not playing. But he is not your usual top Russian Grandmaster; he is an ardent cricket fan. Excerpts from Svidler’s interview with The Hindu during the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in London earlier this month:

Your thoughts on the Global Chess League?

I experienced the other side of it. Last year I was doing the commentary, and this year I got drafted into play. I understand what the league is based on, being a cricket fan. I don’t know if it is going to be as big a hit as the IPL, but if that happens, it will be fantastic for chess.

The calendar is quite busy, but this will be a very prominent part of the calendar. It has a carnival feel to it, while also being incredibly strong. And this is a combination of things that has proven to work in other sports. I welcome every new project, because I think the more chess, the better.

How do you view the league’s time control with no increment?

I am old enough to have started playing with analogue clocks, so it is not exactly an alien concept, but obviously we have moved away from it. I understand the decision-making behind it. Because of television, you want to have a much clearer idea of how long a match takes, and you also want excitement and things happening at the end of it.

The last major tournament before the Global Chess League was the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Were you surprised by India’s twin gold and the men’s team’s dominance?

They were clearly going to be one of the two, three main favourites. I was doing commentary on the Olympiad, and I think by round four, we were definitely saying between ourselves, maybe even on air — who is going to take points off these kids? Like, it just didn’t seem like they could be stopped. The double is very historic. The women were not as dominant as the men.

No, it is not a surprise anymore. I think a team with this line-up, knowing what we know about these guys, and the moment you realise the United States is not playing as well as maybe you would have expected that they would, become the obvious favourites for the title because there are no weaknesses; just five very strong boards.

It was one of the most dominant performances in the history of the Olympiad…

Definitely. We probably will have to go all the way back to the Olympiads where the Soviet Union played [Anatoly] Karpov and [Garry] Kasparov on the top two boards to find something like that.

You were part of five Russian teams that won the Olympiad gold.

I began playing at the Olympiad in 1994. In 1996 at Yerevan, we played kind of similar to what India did at Budapest. It didn’t seem like we were likely to drop points.

You worked as a coach with R. Praggnanandhaa ahead of the Candidates. How did you find the experience?

It was something new for me, as I hadn’t really coached until I started working with Pragg. But it has been a joy because he is a very strong chess player, and he is also extremely pleasant to be around. It kind of mattered for me because I think there needs to be a human connection, like working for somebody you don’t particularly like is not advisable. He is just such a sunny kid, cheerful, kind and just a joy.

You have played the Candidates three times and finished third in 2013.

In the generation I was part of, the people who did get a shot at the World title are probably sort of slightly above me in the pecking order. So, I think I am okay with my career.

One of the highlights of which was winning the World Cup in 2011?

Yes, of course. I tend to enjoy those [knockout] tournaments.

You must be the only top chess player from a non-cricketing country that follows cricket. How did it all begin?

Nigel Short introduced me to cricket. I was in Greece where we were working on chess, and then at some point he told me, ‘No, enough of this, yeah, let’s go watch something you’ve never watched before.’

And you liked what you saw?

I was kind of instantly hooked.

What did you first like about cricket?

It is hard to describe. The first match I watched, along with Short on TV, was India versus Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup.

You could not have got something bigger than that.

Yes, I think this is why I love the game, because of my first experience of it. I didn’t know the rules, I didn’t know anything, but the feeling of spectacle was just so obvious.

Do you enjoy all formats of cricket?

Yes, I have grown to enjoy the T20s as well. I mean, it took me a long time to convince myself I am supposed to take T20s seriously, but I do enjoy them as well now. But still if I have a choice, I would watch a good Test match over anything else. I love the drama, the technique. The sense of the build-up of narrative over five days is really… I don’t know if anything compares to it. It is very, very special because, yeah, you get to see samples of life within a Test match. Of course it needs to be a good match.

Have you watched a Test from the ground?

Yes, the final Test of the 2005 Ashes. It rained for most of the day, so we didn’t get to watch much cricket, but as occasions go, it was pretty decent.

The cricketers you like to watch in particular…

I love spinners. I have watched Shane Warne bowl a couple of times [in international cricket]. I also watched him play for Hampshire in the final of the one-day competition here. I have also enjoyed watching Muttiah Muralitharan bowl.

As for the batters?

It is kind of weird because I always liked Michael Atherton, maybe because of his writing, because I haven’t actually watched him live very much. And because of how much I enjoyed his writing and his commentary, I was kind of drawn to this idea of like a proper opener who digs in. I have watched his videos, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him bat live. These days, your favourites bat in different styles, like Yashasvi Jaiswal.