Andrey Esipenko

Russian GM

“I can give you an example of the preparation. One day, we were going home with David, we were in the metro, already about to go our separate ways, and David literally explained a line in the Italian Game to me in three minutes. Everything that happened in the game against Abasov was what David explained to me in the metro. During the game, I sat there, recalling the details, the sacrifices and other things. Those were my only ideas for that game. I didn’t understand anything in general, but I grasped that one idea and tried to build the whole game around it. Abasov immediately thought it was some “great and deep” analysis. It should have been like that on paper, but that’s how it turned out.

To be honest, we didn’t organize any special trainings. That is my usual routine: I sit at home and analyze things, David and I discuss something. Physically, I didn’t prepare for the tournament. I didn’t set any grand goals at all, I just went, it was interesting to play and to check my level.”