"The holding of the Memorial is a tribute to the effervescent talent of the 8th World Champion and his human qualities. Mikhail Tal is a phenomenon. He swept across the chess sky like a comet. This tournament is very significant for the Russian Chess Federation and FIDE and for fans and everyone who knew Tal. I am grateful to the leading chess players who always respond to invitation to play in this tournament," concluded Ilyumzhinov.
"The Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is one of the main favourites of the Tal Memorial in Moscow," said Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to R-Sport news agency.
"All the players are playing without pressure; they do not set a sporting goal such as in the Contenders tournaments. Therefore, all have almost equal playing strength and everyone has a chance to win. But Vishy Anand is always very dangerous. No wonder he won the championship matches so many times", - said the president of FIDE.
"In addition, Anand has never won at the Tal Memorial," continued the interviewee. "Should he win it at last?"