Sujatha Srinivasan reports from the venue (Hyatt Regency, New Delhi)

08 Dec 2000 New Delhi

Khalifman grateful for a small edge

Khalifman plays black against Anand in the first game of the quarterfinals in the men’s section. The draw of colours for tomorrows games was made by the last winner of the day, Veselin Topalov and he chose black. Khalifman said, "finally" when asked about his free day today. He looked visibly happy about the draw of colors and was happily moving around in the playing hall today. Khalifman looks very purposeful at the moment. Though everybody wants Anand to win still they are not discounting Khalifman’s chances for he seemed to be possessed with some kind of special preparations for these championships.

Lautier said, its "tough for Khalifman, if he manages to hold himself together tomorrow then he has good chances" when asked about the outcome of the match between Anand and Khalifman.

Adams and Svidler seem relaxed before their playoff.

Michael Adams as expected made the last eight stages. Adams who is here with his girl friend Tira appears very calm and cool. He plays with absolute confidence and shows no reaction in his face. Svidler took the loss easily and was seen discussing the game with his opponent for quite some time after it had finished. Adams plays Topalov in the next round and that match will be one of the toughest in the quarterfinals.

Dreev and Topalov. Traded wins with white before the Bulgarian went through after winning both of the second set of playoff games.

Veselin Topalov was indeed lucky to make the last eight. He actually had a difficult position against Alexei Dreev in the 15 minutes first tiebreak game. For some time Dreev seemed to be in charge but then he got into time trouble and lost the game and after one further game a place in the Quarterfinals.

Alexander Grischuk showed strong nerves in defeating experienced Ehlvest. In their first game Ehlvest seemed to be pressing in an endgame where perhaps he was slightly better. However both players became short of time and Grischuk tackled the time trouble difficulties better and emerged victorious. The visibly upset Ehlvest tried hard to win the second playoff game and force a 15 minutes tiebreak game. After he failed to do so he got up from the board and that signaled the draw and the match in favor of Grischuk.

Grischuk plays another youngster Vladislav Tkachiev in the next round. The 27 year old from Kazakhstan has been around for a number of years now emerging at the same time as Alexander Morozevich in the early 1990s. He changed to French Nationality when he was removed from the rating list temporarily along with all other players from Kazakhstan after they got behind in paying their FIDE fees. Grischuk had a wonderful Olympiad playing in the winning Russian team and Tkachiev is in fine form at the moment. The match should be a very interesting and unpredictable one.

Shirov defeated Gelfand in one of the most crucial games of the pre-quarterfinals. Both dubbed as contenders for the title, Shirov emerged victorious. Shirov seems to be peaking up at the right time and he will be a difficult opponent for Evgeny Bareev in the next round.

Gulko was first to be eliminated in the playoffs after his position fell apart quickly in game two.

Bareev played the oldest player left in the championships, Boris Gulko. Gulko later said, :I played badly. I don’t want to think about it." when asked for his comment on their match.

Qin through to semifinals.

The Chinese player Qin Kanying who couldn't get a place in the gold medal winning Chinese Olympiad team is through to the last four stage in the world women chess championships. Qin has now reached the semi-finals. She was helped by a piece blunder from her opponent, Corina Peptan in the first playoff game and she shut the match out by a win in the second game also.

Peptan who failed to convert her advantageous position yesterday into a win was mentally tired and in her words, "did not have enough power to continue". She took the loss in her stride and said that she is happy with her performance. She said, "Playing tough opponents continuously is very difficult". She had earlier defeated Ioseliani and Chiburdanidze and they had really sapped her energy.

Alisa Maric wins after a playoff.

Alisa Maric played strongly to defeat the popular Almira Skripchenko Lautier. Skripchenko actually blundered a piece in the first game and it seems the ladies have started to experience the pressure and the magnitude of the championship. These blunders occur during such periods and it also contributed to her second game loss. Skripchenko took the loss easily and congratulated Maric’s mother first.

Maric meets Qin in the semifinals and the winner will probably be the underdog in the final.

The other semifinal is to be played between the defending champion Xie Jun and the Russian champion Koveslavskya.

Fide Vice-President Mr PT UmmerKoya with the Chief arbiter Mr. Abundo and an arbiter from India Mr SL Harsh.

Interview with Qin Kanying

Qin has qualified to the semi-finals of the World chess championship and this interview was taken few days back. Here she speaks about her ambition and her interest in chess.

The Chinese player Qin Kanying has serious ambitions to win the Women's World chess championship 2000. Qin who reached the Quarterfinal stage of the World Cup in China did not make the Chinese team for the Olympiad. Here she speaks about herself and chess.

When did you start playing chess and how?

At the age of ten. I learnt from my school.

Don’t you think it is very late to start chess?

Yes.

Who is your trainer?

My husband and myself train together. We got married recently and he is GM Peng Xiaomin.

Who is your favorite player?

Anand.

Have you seen all his games?

Not really. Just a few games which I really wanted to see.

Whom do you think will win this tournament?

Vishy, who is the top seed.

How far do you think you will reach in these championships?

I will try for the title.

Have you been to India?

Yes. Once to Calcutta and then to Udaipur.

How do you find the food here?

It is really good and different. Spicy and herbal.

Have you got any plans to go around India after this tournament?

Yes, I would like to visit the Tajmahal.

What are the languages you know?

Chinese and a little bit of English.

What is your educational qualification? After college (School in India) now I am now graduating in commerce.

What are your future plans?

I will fight for the world championships.

What is your aim in life?

Not just chess right, enjoy life, tour the world, have a happy life.

Have you got a computer? Do you enjoy playing with computers?

Yes, I have a computer. I play with it but still I don’t like because it is not human but just a machine in there.