Does he tattoo key positions on his chest?

In this article from West Life Newspaper (OH), GM Alexander Shabalov makes the following remarkable claims:

It's not necessary to have a good memory to excel at chess, [Shabalov] added.

"I have no memory at all," he said.

I don't know about you, but I find both comments specious. Without memory how can you have pattern recognition? How can you recall opening theory you've studied? How will you even remember the basic rules of the game?

With no memory at all, how does Shabalov even know that he is Shabalov?! You don't recall the guy in "Memento" playing chess, do you?

The article continues:

He encouraged students to learn more by reading books about chess strategies.

I'm not sure what point there is in reading if you can't remember what you've read.