Svidler Tops the Rock

Just a few weeks after his victory over Carlsen and Nakamura at the Aker rapid tournament in Norway, Peter Svidler won the strong Gibtelecom Masters Open in Gibraltar. He finished tied for first with Milov on 8/10 and then beat the Swiss #1 2-0 in the rapid (10'+10") playoff. Svidler was the co-top seed along with Azerbaijani Vugar Gashimov, who drew in the final round with defending champ and this year's comeback kid Nakamura, leaving them both in the pack at 7.5 with Akobian and Berg.

Here are the results of an impromptu interview with the new Gibtelecom winner, five-time Russian champion, and, most prestigious of all, occasional ICC Chess.FM commentator extraordinaire Peter Svidler. It sounds like he'll be back with me on the 17th to open our coverage of Kamsky-Topalov.

What was your best game of the event? - That would probably have to be the last round against Harikrishna.

Were you in trouble at any point in Gibraltar? - I was losing in one move to Gurevich. [Likely 22..Bd6 instead of 22..Rd6]

Any plans for that big £15,000 ($22,363) check? (Other than not converting it into the free-falling ruble?) - [Something about a fireplace and home improvements we aren't supposed to quote him on.]

How were the site and the organization? - I loved the tournament and the people running it, especially the net sessions before the event started (have you seen that horrific video?)

Any thoughts on the upcoming Kamsky-Topalov candidates match? - It will either be unclear or will be decided in the openings, and then you know who the favorite is...

Svidler continues his tour of the English-speaking nations of the world, sort of, by heading next to the Bunratty tournament in Ireland.