What is your earliest memory of playing chess?
What is your most memorable game?
Defeating Garry Kasparov in the
1986 Olympiad in Dubai. The Iran Contra scandal had just broken and Americans
weren’t exactly shining princes in the United Arab Emirates. The locals
embraced me as an Arabian son and followed my games voraciously. The moves of
our game were being put up on a giant 4 x 4 metre chess board so an audience of
several thousand could watch the game. Sure enough Garry and I got into a time
scramble in the second time control and the poor board boy was moves behind.
Finally, the time control was reached and the fellow could catch up. When it
became obvious that I was going to win a spontaneous roar of ‘La, la, la’
went throughout the hall. (Think of the Arabs attacking the Turkish trains in Lawrence
of Arabia.) The US won the match 2½-1½. The moment was sheer magic.
What was your worst defeat?
Well there are lots to choose
from! Kortchnoi in the 1987 Zagreb Interzonal. A game I was winning but lost
against Speelman in the 1988 Candidates in Saint John. Losing a king and pawn
endgame a pawn up to Boris Gelfand in Amsterdam 1996, were all very, very
painful and quickly come to mind. But the one that hurt the most was losing to
Kasparov in the 1988 Thessalonika Olympiad. His behaviour at the board was so
appalling that he affected not only my concentration but that of both teams. I
lost an equal ending, which only seems to have justified his antics. It is a
lifetime regret that I didn’t cold cock him across the jaw. It would have been
an international incident. FIDE would have barred me but my colleagues would
have carried me out upon their shoulders.
Who is your all-time chess hero?
I admire many but hero worship
none.
How do you relax?
Long baths, quiet walks and
reading books.
What is your greatest fear?
This question has many senses.
In life, I’m afraid of heights and I hate losing control on the ski slopes. In
chess, I’m afraid I won’t get further opportunities to play the best players
in the world. I want to have a challenging chess career.
Who is your favourite band/composer?
No single band/composer. My
favourites include: Michael Jackson, Meatloaf, George Michael, Ray Charles,
Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Whitney Houston, to name a few. I tend to like
solo artists over groups.
What is your favourite record?
Rumors by Fleetwood Mac, Purple
Rain by Prince, Breakfast in America
by Supertramp, Thriller by Michael
Jackson and Bat out of Hell by
Meatloaf. Each of these albums were absolutely brilliant and at the time very
moving.
What do you consider to be your greatest weakness as a chess player?
Poor opening preparation,
indecision in the middlegame and bad endgame technique.
What is your greatest strength?
A powerful desire to win. A
genuine joy while playing chess. An absolutely unbridled sense of optimism. When
I’ve equalized I’m sure I should be winning.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Being late. To the thousands
I’ve offended I’m genuinely sorry. You see, I feel like a 19th century
person built for a different era when time moved much more slowly. I love long
dinners and socializing at length with friends. Yet I’ve grown up in America,
the land of fast food, jet travel and the five-minute shower.
Which book would you take to a desert island?
The collected works of Isaac
Asimov. I wouldn’t be bored if I lived two lifetimes.
What are your five favourite chess books?
Two works by Tal, My
Life and Games and the 1960 World
Championship Match, David Bronstein’s Zurich
Candidates, Bobby Fischer’s My 60
Memorable Games (original version), Richard Réti’s Masters
of the Chessboard.
How would you characterize your chess-playing style?
Structural. I like gnawing on
the base of a pawn chain, occupying weak squares, while a break away passer that
scores a touchdown is poetry.
What is your favourite television programme?
Law and Order. The twists and turns in the show are brilliant.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Speculating on the stock
market. I’ve made and lost millions.
Against which player do you have the worst results?
Ulf Andersson. Little Ulf packs
a big punch. If he were to write a book of his best games I’d take up a good
chuck of the index.
What was your most embarrassing moment at the chessboard?
Only one that I can think of:
it was in Moscow at the 1990 GMA qualifier I was playing Josef Dorfman a very
tense and crucial game. Josef had just grabbed his queen, ground it into the
c4-square and very slowly withdrew his queen back to her original square –
without releasing her. Once the queen had settled back on the original square,
Josef released his queen. He eventually played a different queen move. I
protested to the arbiter. The arbiter who spoke only Russian spoke to Dorfman
and allowed the ‘new’ move. I protested again to the chief arbiter Geurt
Gyssen. Geurt listened very carefully to what I had to say and then said
Dorfman’s new move stood. I protested that I wanted to see the rule book
regarding touch move rules and Geurt found one. There I read nothing that could
prohibit Dorfman from his original move. I put down the rule book, turned to
Geurt and said, ‘I’m sorry. You are right, I am wrong.’ Geurt found my
discomfiture amusing and asked where I got such an idea. I again apologized and
explained that in USCF tournaments it wouldn’t be allowed to, say, play £d1-h5
and then switch the queen to the a4-square and snap the clock. Geurt was in
heaven and exclaimed, ‘Well! We certainly are not in the USCF, we are in FIDE
now!’ This really rankled me and I blurted, ‘No sh#4! I thought this was a
GMA tournament.’ It was the one time I lost my temper during a game and I’ve
apologized to Geurt many times since.
Which single thing would most improve the chess scene in the United
States?
An extraordinary amount of
energy is lost by the squabbling that takes place between organizers. If they
were to work together and combine their organizational efforts chess would soar.
This contagion affects the whole chess world and not just the US.
In which particular tournament do you most like to compete?
Wherever the organizers make
the players feel wanted. I’ve played in small out-of-the-way tournaments where
I’ve earned nothing and felt as an adopted son. These tournaments are truly
the best.
Who is the most irritating opponent you have faced?
Garry Kasparov. His behaviour
at the board should draw warning cards. In his defence I’ve seen him behave
badly against Deep Blue where such antics have no effect. Perhaps all the energy
and passion that he puts into his games bubbles to the surface and he is unaware
of the effect this has on his opponents. Is he not embarrassed when he seems
himself on video?
Who is the most courteous person you have played?
There are hundreds. The vast
majority of my colleagues are incredible sportsmen and women! Yusupov,
Beliavsky, Nunn, Short, Timman, Andersson, Nikolic, Portisch, Ribli are but a
few of the shining examples. The older, mature players understand that after a
lifetime of duels it is the moves that count. Amongst the younger crowd, the
Polgar(s), Anand, Kramnik and Almasi are wonderful.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Two critical lessons: Good manners are the key to life, and it is more important to get along than to be right.