The Dutch journalist Gert Ligterink wrote about an incident in the 2009 Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament when Vassily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short were both in the pressroom watching a pawn ending from Morozevich vs. Adams. Suddenly Ivanchuk asked Short: "Nigel, why did Kasparov retire from chess?"
 
Short had been in the tournament circuit with Chuckie for many years already and is used to his sudden questions. He thought about it a minute and proceeded to explain that Kasparov has seen it all after twenty years at the top of the chess world. Ivanchuk was not satisfied: "But why doesn’t he play some other opening. Isn’t there more to chess than the Sicilian? He could study the French."
 
That sums up Ivanchuk -- chess is his life, and his life has been one continuous round of tournaments. Sometimes he gets a bit stale and tries to recover with draws, but sometimes he catches fire and really shows what he is capable of. For example, his most tournament is the 38th Greek Team Championships in Peristeri from July 5-11, 2010. It is a 7-round event which Chuckie’s team, the P.S.PERISTERIOU won, no doubt helped by Ivanchuk’s massive 6/7 score on top board.