As 2013 comes to a close and my inability to book a train ticket to Tbilisi in time has scuppered my plans for the new year, I will use some of the break ahead to catch up on the many films and documentaries which have appeared on Chessbase recently, linking the best of them on this site. In this post, however, I’ve linked an interview with Magnus instead, as it is impressive on many levels and certainly worth a watch even if you are not an admirer.
Interviewing is an art in itself, and like top-flight chess requires much preparation and understanding of your subject/opponent, some creativity and an ability to seize the moment don’t go amiss also. What I particularly liked about this interview is that it is exemplifies both how to conduct an interview professionally and just how difficult it is to show chess players in a more revealing light. To do this, the interviewer probes the mind of Magnus for 30 minutes, and quite skillfully at times too. Even though some of the questions asked are a little uncomfortable for him, they are handled by his interlocutor with a level of sensitivity that allows the conversation to flow sufficiently. That may sound insignificant but its not. As you will see, Magnus cannot help but ponder or think deeply about even the most trivial of questions, thus getting the subject talking is a tough ask for our non-chess playing friends. Perhaps that was why I did notice the occasional lack of finesse too. Some of the earlier attempts to flatter Magnus weren’t effective and the question ‘What makes you cry?’ asked so directly, isn’t likely to get much of a reply from a shy 23 year old male on tv. You would never have seen Frost blunder like that in his heyday. Anyway, enjoy.
MJM
McCreadyandChess 
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