Dmitry, tell us how you spent time after the Zloty Tur - how much did you rest, recover?

- After the Zloty Tur, I simply took rest and was recovering, so to speak. I started training recently.

What phase of preparation are you currently in?

- I would say that now I am at the initial stage of preparation, my weight is about 150 kg. I think by June I will get in good shape.

How do you like Top 8 matchups? Who is your favorite and why?

- To speak about matchups, I’ll say that in the open will be very interesting Dave Chaffee – Levan Saginashvili and Evgeny Prudnik – Tim Bresnan matches. In the category of up to 95 kg, an interesting one is David Dadikyan - John Brzenk. I think that David will make John sweat, and maybe even with a crushing score.

You have to pull Dmitry Trubin. What do you think of him as an athlete and rival?

- As for Dmitry Trubin - he is a very professional athlete, very dangerous. He has a baggage of experience and foolishness, our fight with him will be interesting, I think. I won Dmitry once left-handed. At the time when I was fighting with him, he was beyond my reach. Now I think I can really fight this whole crazy eight.

I’m well prepared, if only I had enough natural strength. In fact, in this tournament, many factors depend on the outcome of our match. Regardless, I win or lose, Dmitry is my friend and comrade.

A little earlier on the net you told that you would like to get to the Levan Saginashvili in the first stage? Where does this desire come from? After all, on the contrary, people do not want to fight him.

- Yes, I would like to get to Levan immediately. He is now supposedly the king of the table, and I fundamentally disagree with this. I want to challenge this, so I wanted to fight him right away, in the first stage. I think that everyone overestimates his strength, I think it’s really possible to fight him, otherwise why should you pull at such a tournament and not try to be the first. Yes, he is huge, genetically gifted, he has already won the first stage, but let him try to defend this title - I'm hungrier than him!

Who would you like to meet in the Top 8 finals and why?

- In the final, I would like to meet with Vitaly Laletin, because we are training together, and what is the point of going to other countries if you can come to all of us and see everything.