EP.224 - GM Ruslan Ponomariov

This week’s guest is none other than former FIDE World Champion, 2 time Olympiad Gold Medalist, and 2011 Ukrainian National Champion, GM Ruslan Ponomariov!  With the FIDE Candidates having concluded it was a great time to hear the thoughts of this genial super grandmaster. In our conversation, Ruslan puts the 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates into historical context, shares his perspective on GM Ian Nepomniachtchi’s  victory, and then assesses the 2021 World Championship matchup between Nepomniachtchi and GM Magnus Carlsen. We then delve into GM Ponomariov’s storied career. How does he reflect on having been the youngest FIDE World Champion ever? What is he up to these days? We discuss this and much more in this fascinating, wide-ranging interview. Please read on for lots more details and timestamps.   0:00-  Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. You can check out their latest offerings, inclluding IM Christof Sielecki's course on the Pirc defense here:  New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com 2:00- We begin, of course, by discussing the just-ended FIDE Candidates Tournament. What were GM Ponomariov’s impressions of the FIDE Candidates Tournament? Mentioned: Curacao 1962: The Battle That Shook the Chess World, GM Garry Kasparov, GM Alexei Dreev, Alexander Grischuk, GM Garry Kasparov, Rublevsky vs. Ponomariov 2007    20:00-  How does he assess GM IanIan Nepomniachtchi’’s chances  vs. Magnus Carlsen?  Mentioned: Bwin World Championship Odds- https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/events/world-championship-2021-11184631 GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Peter Heine Nielsen   26:00- Ruslan answers a question from the Perpetual Chess Patreon mailbag: “How would a world championship team typically prepare for a match?” Ruslan describes his own experiences working with Magnus Carlsen.  Mentioned: The Anand Files, GM Wang Hao, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, GM Sergei Karjakin, GM Boris Gelfand    37:00- Patreon mailbag question: “How does Ruslan place his FIDE World Champion title within