Hard work more important than talent in chess: Korchnoi

Hello Everyone!

The debate over what makes great chess players - hard work or talent - never really ends. With 19-year-old Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen on a roll at Kings Tournament in Romania, it's natural to ponder over the question all over again. Particularly because his coaching sessions with the great Gary Kasparov had inspired acres of newsprint space over the last several months.

Here is what Viktor Korchnoi - one of the world's oldest active chess masters today - says about talent versus hard work:

"I believe hard work is more important to achieve success and to be exceptionally genius or talented is not all that necessary. Of course talent is desirable. I also agree that some chess players are destined for greatness.

I believe that Capablanca was a brilliant chess player. Rather, his talent was already evident in childhood. At the same time, I agree that neither Botvinnik, nor Alekhine or Lasker were geniuses. They were just talented people who by will, ability to work hard, forced their way into the group of strongest chess players in the world.

Genius - is a very strong word! Carlsen has impressed me. He has an exceptionally strong mind and he enjoys the game. But once age, it's not just about being a genius!"

Now all of you out there who get disheartened after losing a game or two should rethink about working hard at chess!

You can read the entire interview of Korchnoi in Russian here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.Chessblog.com

Also see my personal blog at

www.Chessqueen.com