🚀 go-pugleaf

Interview With IM Pascal Charbonneau

World Chess Network's Chris Heringer sat down with IM Pascal Charbonneau, to
discuss his current participation in the Canadian Zonal, chess politics, and
his personal chess goals.  The interview took place after Round 5.

WCN:    How is the tournament going for you so far?
Pascal:    It is going very well so far.  I think I have played well, and
the results have been good.  The game where I was actually lucky was my
first one, as I made a blunder, but somehow escaped to win the game.  Now,
I've already gone through Spraggett, Yoos, and Glinert, which in my opinion,
were three of the stronger players.  I still have a couple left, but I'm
feeling pretty confident.  It's also good that I don't have the pressure of
making the IM title here, which allows me to go out and try to win my games
instead of playing for a certain score where you are sort of making some
strategical draws to get you to a path.  So there is less pressure.

WCN:    Do you feel, therefore, that you have a chance to win the
Tournament?
Pascal:    I would be extremely suprised if I won the Tournament.  Kevin so
far is in a great position, and he is going to get White now against Alex.
And, he has already played a lot of the stronger players
already....Cummings, Hebert and myself.  So, he is going to have Glinert,
Yoos, and Ross left.

WCN:    Are you therefore predicting Kevin to win?
Pascal:    I think Kevin is the one, if I had to bet on someone.  He is half
a point ahead of Alex, and is getting White against him.  Of course, Alex is
going to try to win which is risky... it allows White to play it safe
knowing that Alex will probably take chances.

WCN:    In your game against Kevin, why did you two draw so quickly?
Pascal:    First of all, I haven't played the Open Sicilian for the past
couple of years.  But I think it is the only real challenge to Black, so
I've started to play it again.  But with the theory, and Kevin has played
this line a number of times, I think I made a slight mistake at some point.
I could have kept an advantage, but instead, the position at the end is the
kind of position where Kevin really doesn't have a lot of play and we both
have only one weakness.  So there was not much way for either of us to break
through.

WCN:    So he had a weakness you could have played against?
Pascal:    Well...yes.  His Pawn on d6 to be precise.  I could try to pile
up on it using my Bishop and major pieces...and of course he would have to
defend it with his major pieces too.  And then I have one possibility of
breaking through, but it's unlikely that it would be feasible.   He's a very
solid player.  So that's why we agreed to a draw.

WCN:    At that point then, would it just be too risky to continue?
Pascal:    It wouldn't really be risky, nothing terrible is going to happen
to me.  But if I try to win, I would be gambling.  So refusing a draw
against him at that point, where I am not really better, is just tempting
the devil.

WCN:    He offered the draw then?
Pascal:    Yes, he offered.

WCN:    What then is the accepted etiquette for draw offering between two
strong players?  Would the higher player always be the one with the
responsibility of offering a draw?
Pascal:    Yes, it is usually considered unethical if you are largely lower
rated than your opponent, to offer a draw.  In fact, I had one experience
like that when I was in the Olympiad.  I thought it was ethical to offer a
draw.  I was playing GM Kiril Georgiev, who is obviously a much stronger
player than me... he is 2700 FIDE, and I was Black.  But I was actually a
little better the whole game, and it simplified into a drawn endgame.  It
was pretty obvious, and so I offered him a draw.  I felt it was ethical.
But then from the looks he gave me, I could tell he was slightly offended.
So you have to be careful.

WCN:    What about the ethics of resigning?  I am thinking, for example,
about Spraggett's first game in this Tournament against Divljan, where
Divljan continued an obviously lost position.
Pascal:    I think one can't blame anyone for not resigning, almost at any
point.  What I think becomes a problem, is when someone is just trying to
make a game last forever.  If someone is down a Queen and has an hour left,
that is really frustrating and I think unethical.  But if you are just
banging moves quickly... I wouldn't be mad at anyone for that.

WCN:    Spraggett and Hebert did not shake hands to start their game.  Why?
Pascal:    There's a rivaly there that goes beyond my generation.  There
have been some disputes, but I don't know enough about them to relate in
detail.  There's tension and many reasons that they don't like each other.
Perhaps they just do that for the image, making a point. It's unfortunate in
a country where there are so few strong players, that some of them can't
stand each other.  But we shouldn't read too much into it.  They are both
just playing a game and probably finding it funny.

WCN:    Can you tell me about your rivalry with Stephen Glinert?
Pascal:    We get along fairly well.  If there's a rivalry, it's mostly
because of other people.  You feel this outside pressure because some people
want you to win, and others want you to lose...and that causes pressure and
tension that maybe wasn't there before.  And of course, we have played a lot
over the years and competed for many events.  He beat me in the junior, but
in the past years before that I've had a lot of success against him.  So I
guess I feel satisfied that I took my revenge today.  I was in control... we
have played similar variations, but I have a lot of experience with it.
That line is the reason Kevin stopped playing the Pirc Modern
defense...Black has to be extremely careful.  What happened today is he got
a bad Pawn structure, and there were weaknesses to exploit.  In such a case,
it is very easy to make a tactical slip.

WCN:    How good a player do you think Stephen can become?
Pascal:    I think it depends a lot on his priorities.  I've played a lot of
chess this year and during that time, I think I've improved more.  If he
decided to take chess more seriously over a certain period of time... the
problem is always what do you get with the time when you could be doing
something else.  So I think that is what he will have to decide.

WCN:    Let's talk about Lesiege.  What is his potential in your opinion, on
the World stage?
Pascal:    He has enormous potential.  The things he sees during a game are
very impressive.  He calculates more than anyone I've met.  He also has a
good positional sense; he is an all-around player.  I think he hasn't
fulfilled all his potential yet.  Whether he will or not, I don't know.  I
think it's necessary for him to play in stronger tournaments...studying will
only get you so far.

WCN:    Do you think he should be playing more outside of Canada?
Pascal:    That's a tough question.  That depends on what he intends to do.
He should probably spend a lot more time in Europe, although he still needs
to respect important tournaments in Canada.  The point is, if he wants to
make a living, he's not going to make the living he deserves by playing in
weekend Canadian Swisses.  That's my opinion.

WCN:    Does he have any weaknesses?
Pascal:    Definitely.  I think one of them is that he probably
over-calculates.  He calculates very precisely, but sometimes he calculates
such long variations, that he forgets something simple.  I've seen that
happen...sometimes.  Second, I think there are some flaws in his opening
preparation.  I think he knows lines very deep in a lot of cases, but others
not as much.  His game with Glinert, for example, the line he played...  so
there are some gaps in his preparation.  Maybe 25% of his losses are due to
opening preparation.

WCN:    What would you say about Alexandre as a person?
Pascal:    Well, from having spent a lot of time with him, I think he is
very nice, funny and very intelligent.  His lifestyle... life in general you
have to make experiences.  What he did before, this does not matter very
much.  He's only 26 years old, people have to realize that, because it seems
he's been on top of Canadian chess forever.  When he was 15, he was already
2400 FIDE, then GM at 21.  So I think people need to do different things at
stages of their life, this might be better than always doing the same thing.

WCN:    How much time do you devote to studying chess?
Pascal:    My own studying has been quite random in the past couple of
years.  It's hard sometimes to find motivation when there are so few
competitive tournaments.  I've played a lot of junior tournaments where I
didn't have to be prepared, I could just get away with a lot.  I think a lot
of what I've learned is over the internet, for example Banter Games on World
Chess Network, or watching a ton of blitz games with masters.  I've done
very little absolute studying in terms of going over games in a database, or
reading books, except in the past two months.

WCN:    Do you think you will be a GM?
Pascal:    I don't know.  A couple of months ago, I would have said
definitely no.  Now I think maybe there's a chance.  The jump from IM to GM
is pretty big.. but without trying to be cocky, I think I have been the
strength of an IM for a couple of years, and it was just a matter of getting
the norms.  I'm very happy to get them, but we'll see how long it takes to
get the GM norms.  I have improved a lot, but whether that will show in
acquiring GM norms or not, I don't know.  I love chess, and I spend so much
time on the internet with things relating to chess.  But I always try to
keep a number of interests.

WCN:    You mentioned the internet.  What do you think of World Chess
Network?
Pascal:    I think World Chess Network is by far the best server in terms of
ease of use, and features for players who really want to learn.  I think
other servers have their plusses...but when you opt for more options you
lose some ease of use.  For example, look at Windows.  People used to say
that DOS was better, because for the real experts, you could do anything.
But in the end it is Windows that won out, so maybe WCN will be the same!

WCN:    What are your other interests aside from chess?
Pascal:    I like sports... I played a lot of competitive tennis.  I used to
play almost everyday for many years.  Now my tennis has slowed down a lot,
although I have my license to teach.  Right now I play basketball when I
can.  I like movies, music, and reading -- mostly French literature.

WCN:    How would an average player best go about becoming 2000 rated, in
your opinion?
Pascal:    There are different ways, but I think the one that is the most
efficient is to play a ton of games... if you are playing on the internet,
play slower games.  A book I like as well is "The Road to Chess Improvement"
by Yermolinsky, which basically says that you have to analyze your own
games.  That's something I've neglected to do for almost my whole chess
carreer, but I think it is extremely important.  Because even though every
game is different, the types of mistakes one makes is very repetitive.
Also, it's possible if you can, to have a decent coach.  Chess, compared to
other games, is an extremely cheap game to get good at.  So the investment
to getting a coach is worth it.

WCN:    Thank you very much, Pascal.
Pascal:    No problem.



Canadian Zonal Championship
Round 5 Report LIVE From Richmond, British Columbia

by Chris Heringer, Senior Administrator
World Chess Network

WorldChessNetwork.com is pleased to provide daily LIVE coverage and reports
of this event.  To watch the games, register at www.worldchessnetwork.com
(Free) and catch all the action!

Canadian Closed -- Standings After Round 5
# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Total
1 Spraggett Kevin 2629 W18 W15 D3 W10 W4  4.5
2 Le Si�ge Alexandre 2660 W7 D6 W9 D4 W13  4.0
3 Charbonneau Pascal 2428 W23 W25 D1 D5 W9  4.0
4 H�bert Jean 2470 W34 W16 W10 D2 L1  3.5
5 Yoos Jack 2412 D14 W30 W20 D3 D8  3.5
6 Reeve Jeff 2353 W24 D2 D14 W12 D11  3.5
7 Haessel Dale 2238 L2 W24 D15 W19 W18  3.5
8 McLaren Brian 2290 W32 L9 W23 W22 D5  3.5
9 Glinert Stephen 2397 W26 W8 L2 W14 L3  3.0
10 Cummings David 2490 W21 W13 L4 L1 W23  3.0
11 Ross David 2397 D29 D17 D22 W25 D6  3.0
12 Gardner Robert 2268 L22 W28 W29 L6 W24  3.0
13 Herder Dave 2273 W33 L10 W26 W16 L2  3.0
14 Jiganchine Roman 2219 D5 W27 D6 L9 D15  2.5
15 Milicevic Dragoljub 2323 W31 L1 D7 D17 D14  2.5
16 Neven Knut 2309 W36 L4 W21 L13 D17  2.5
17 Lawson Eric 2200 D19 D11 D27 D15 D16  2.5
18 Divljan Igor 2229 L1 D31 W36 W20 L7  2.5
19 Berry Jonathan 2379 D17 D29 D25 L7 W22  2.5
20 Ristovic Nenad 2346 W28 D22 L5 L18 W29  2.5
21 Zubac Marius 2210 L10 W35 L16 D26 W30  2.5
22 Hladek David 2063 W12 D20 D11 L8 L19  2.0
23 Poitras Luc 2221 L3 W33 L8 W31 L10  2.0
24 Kret Ted 2202 L6 L7 W30 W34 L12  2.0
25 Sokourinski Sergei 2266 W35 L3 D19 L11 D28  2.0
26 Roussel-Roozmon Thomas 2207 L9 W32 L13 D21 D27  2.0
27 Huber Gregory 2327 D30 L14 D17 D29 D26  2.0
28 Stanford Mike 2173 L20 L12 D33 W32 D25  2.0
29 Patterson Roger 2224 D11 D19 L12 D27 L20  1.5
30 Mayo Alvah 2164 D27 L5 L24 W36 L21  1.5
31 Bogle Bill 2169 L15 D18 D34 L23 D33  1.5
32 LeBlanc Paul 2085 L8 L26 W35 L28 D34  1.5
33 Sladek Vaclav 2085 L13 L23 D28 D35 D31  1.5
34 Wu  Howard 2230 L4 D36 D31 L24 D32  1.5
35 Yousefzadeh Mehrdad 2023 L25 L21 L32 D33 W36  1.5
36 Salcedo Daniel 2182 L16 D34 L18 L30 L35  0.5


Those who follow the political soap opera of Canadian chess felt a subtle
pain upon the posting of Board 1 pairings.  Even the traditional hand shake
to launch the game was dismissed by both GM Kevin Spraggett and IM Jean
Hebert.  But to the credit of each, the game was played professionally and
with class.  On the board, Spraggett's thematic ...d5! appeared to be the
turning point, as Hebert's noticable weaknesses came to bear.  Our second
feature saw IM Pascal Charbonneau outplay Canadian Junior champion Stephen
Glinert in fine fashion.


Hebert, Jean IM (2470)  --  Spraggett, Kevin GM (2629)
Hebert once again opened with 1. Nf3 and quickly double-fianchettoed his
Bishops.  White soon achieved an impressive "looking" position, but with
possibilities of over-extension.  Perhaps Kevin sensed this very fact when
thrusting forward the thematic d-Pawn on move 26.  Like an hour glass, the
whole nature of the game seemed to slowly sift into the GM's direction.
Spraggett's beautiful 29...Nd3! damanged both the psychology of the game and
the White fortress.

Here is the game:

Hebert - Spraggett
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. g3 a6 5. Bg2 Qc7 6. O-O d6 7. b3 Be7 8. d4
cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Rc1 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 O-O 13. Rfd1 Rfd8 14. e3
Be8 15. a4 Rab8 16. Ba3 b6 17. e4 h6 18. h3 Rbc8 19. Kh2 Qb8 20. Qe3 Nd7 21.
Bb4 Nc5 22. Rb1 Qc7 23. Qe1 Bc6 24. f3 Bf6 25. Qe3 Bb7 26. Ne2 d5 27. cxd5
exd5 28. exd5 Re8 29. Qf2 Nd3 30. Rxd3 Qc2 31. Rd2 Qxb1 32. Qxb6 Bxd5 33.
Nf4 Ba8 34. Nh5 Ba1 35. Ba5 Rb8 36. Qxa6 Qxb3 37. Bc7 Rbc8 38. Bf4 Bxf3 39.
Rd3 Rc2 40. Bd2 Rxd2 0-1

Charbonneau, Pascal IM (2428)  --  Glinert, Stephen FM (2391)
A true rivalry, Glinert crushed Charbonneau in their recent Canadian Junior
matchup.  Perhaps revenge was in the air as Pascal seemed the more confident
of the two.  Glinert defended 1. e4 with the Pirc but utilized a tremendous
amount of clock time within the first 20 moves.  He never really seemed in
the game.  Pascal quietly allowed a weakening advance of Black's queenside
Pawns, an advance that in the end proved fatal.

Here is the game:

Charbonneau - Glinert
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Nf3 c6 6. Qd2 Nbd7 7. h3 O-O 8.
Bd3 e5 9. O-O b5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. a4 b4 12. Ne2 a5 13. c3 c5 14. Qc2 Bb7
15. Nd2 Qe7 16. Nc4 Ne8 17. f3 Nd6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. Rfd1 Rfd8 20. Bb5 Qe6
21. cxb4 axb4 22. Bg5 Nf6 23. Qxc5 Bf8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Qc7 Qe7 26. Qxe7
Bxe7 27. Rc1 Rc8 28. Rxc8+ Bxc8 29. Nc1 Bc5+ 30. Kf1 Nd7 31. Nd3 Bd6 32. Bd2
1-0

Other Notable Results
Lesiege defeated Herder to reach 4.0 points along with Charbonneau.  Jack
Yoos drew to move to 3.5.  Jeff Reeve continued his strong showing so far
with a draw to each 3.5 as well.

For complete standings, games, reports, pictures, and more, visit
http://www.worldchessnetwork.com
WCN's LIVE coverage continues Tuesday March 26 @ 5:00 pm Eastern!
Visit www.worldchessnetwork.com to watch all the action!