In the interview taken by A. Karlovich and A. Burtasova on the next day after the decisive 8^th game of the WWCC match, 17 year old world champion Hou Yifan from China talks about the match, the hospital story, her hobbies and her view on life.

Congratulations on the victory! Can you now reveal some secrets of your preparation? Who helped you?

I played European Club Cup which finished at the beginning of October. When I was back to China, I also had to participate in a special gathering for the Mind Games to represent chess. It took a few days. When I came back from there I started my preparation for the match but I had only less than a month left.

After he finished shared first with Ivan Salgado Lopez in Barcelona, Yasser Seirawan was interviewed byAna Matnadze for El Butlletí d'Escacs, the official magazine of the Catalan Chess Federation. Matnadze generously shared the interview with other chess media, and we're happy to publish it here as well.

Hello Mr. Seirawan, welcome to Barcelona. Could you please, describe to us your preparation process for the Magistral Casino Tournament? What chess analyzing program do you use?

Thank you very much. It is a pleasure to have been in sunny Barcelona as I live in Amsterdam where it was windy and chilly when I left. I use three programs Rybka, Fritz 12 and Houdini. I like Houdini best.
The majority of the players in Barcelona were unknown for me. My preparations were mostly to review their most recent games (last two/three years) and to get a feel for their style of play. What types of positions they excell in and to see if they have favorite openings that I like to play as well.

E. Klimets: First, Peter, you win the championship of Russia is the sixth time. The figure becomes a straight indecent, honestly!

P. Svidler: I myself could hardly understand what it could mean, honestly tell you.

E. Klimets: So would ask, if to recall and compare sensations after the first victory, and after the sixth - emotions rise, or conversely, diminished?

P. Svidler: No, the emotions do not grow, unfortunately. Due to the fact that I was not the first time today answering this question, I had to think about it, and came to the conclusion that now is more difficult to breathe from everything else that happens in life. For example, team world championship in China ... It seems now achieved a great victory, and stand as what happened in China. This, of course, wrong, and this seems to mean that I have forgotten how to rejoice as it should. When I won the Russian championship, I was eighteen years old, and I maybe did not have the baggage hassles and frustrations that have emerged now. So I remember that time ... Happiness is - a very fine thing ... happiness - it is such an intense emotion point. Therefore we can not say I was happy, for example, for several days. But then there was the feeling that everything in life is correct, and will continue to only get better. Now this intensity can not be tested.

E. Klimets: That is to say that the strength of this championship is much stronger than, say, one that you have won for the first time ...

Anastasia: Ekaterina, what do you think about the idea of Grand Prix and the fact that the first stage of this series is taking place in your native city Rostov-on-Don?

Ekaterina: When three years ago FIDE had this idea to organize this series, I was happy not only because I was qualified but also because the issue of women’s chess that I love so much was paid attention at. I remember my conversation with Kirsan Nikolaevich about 10 years ago when he was telling me about Men’s Grand Prix and said that the time would come when we will hold Women’s Grand Prix as well. I appreciate the fact that they have worked out a competent system of round tournaments where the best women chess players have an opportunity to face each other and it is wonderful that they can play a number of round tournaments instead of looking for some other events thus preparing for GP series, World Championship cycle and perform themselves.