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The Russian chess player Alexander Grischuk wrested the right to play in the finals from Vassily Ivanchuk of the Ukraine. He won in the tie breaks (2,5−1,5) and came to the press conference to share his emotions with the journalists.

— Alexander, there is an opinion that you are not only a successful chess player but very lucky man. Do you agree with that? — No, my wife Natalia is very lucky person. There is one card game, called burkozel. No matter how many times I play with her, she always wins. There are few things in life which make me upset, but the loss in this game when I play against my wife does. Nevertheless it happens every time.

— Were you lucky when playing the tie breaks against Ivanchuk or it was a logical victory? — I was really lucky with David Navara. Today it was a tough fight. I was playing my first game very well. At the beginning I gained an advantage in the opening and later on I forced an endgame which was unpleasant for Black. Vassily did not manage to resist it.

In the second game I got one of the complicated positions and then made a decisive mistake: after e6-e5 the position became losing. Vassily did not leave me any chances.

My third game was played in a Polgar style. I tried an absolutely incorrect combination and all pieces were hanging. In three moves my opponent resigned. This is the typical Judit’s style.

— Your fan who is at the same time your next opponent was sitting in the Hal. What can you say about the struggle against Peter Svidler? — So far I don’t think about the finals. I am happy that I won today, for I was waiting for this fight as if for a real holiday. Everyone knows that it is more interesting for me to play tie breaks than the main games. I think that today is the culmination of my chess career. I will start thinking about my final match against Peter tomorrow; today I don’t want to spoil such a good day.