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I like that one of the computers announced that at one point Nakamura had a mate in 198. I think on the broadcast after the game he said he saw Qa4+, but only calculated following it up with Qd7, which didn't quite work.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 01:15 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 23:38 |
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At this point, Anand has nothing to lose in this tournament beyond a few meaningless points. So of course he goes for the Berlin Defense. UGH.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 13:26 |
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The Berlin rules and running headlong into and endgame against Carlsen is badass as hell. Also it's probably a reasonably good strategic decision since Carlsen needs a win to clinch the tourbament. It's a similar idea to playing the Lasker against Topalov in 2010 - make the game as drawish as possible to maximize the concessions that white has to give to open things up. e: Polgar and Aronian with a "gently caress it lets go home" draw
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 14:21 |
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Magnus seems to have won a pawn. Kramnik has black against Adams in what looks like a pretty even position to me.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 14:47 |
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Not sure if "won" is right in this context. Anand played c5 as a sacrifice because he was, on principle, worried about getting his knight on d3 trapped and taken. So long as white's knight remains on b1, black's position looks comfortably drawish. Of course, Anand seems to be intent on pushing rather than sitting back. fe: and now things get interesting. I'm quite happy that Anand is playing more creatively these last two games, even if he doesn't seem to have been "up to it."
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 14:58 |
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Kramnik: I am the best human player in the world. (Carlsen is a machine.)
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 15:26 |
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totalnewbie posted:Kramnik: I am the best human player in the world. (Carlsen is a machine.) He is also going to have a posted rating of 2810, his highest outside of having a posted rating of 2811 for Jan-Apr 2002. Which more than anything shows general rating inflation but you know whatever Kramnik Rules.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 15:28 |
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Ouch. Nakamura-McShane looked more like me getting crushed by an expert or a master than two 2700+ players in a classical game.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 15:39 |
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Carlsen-Anand ends in a draw, and Vishy actually sounds quite pissed at his inability to play "endgames I should be able to draw in my sleep."
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 17:42 |
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Tiax Rules All posted:Ouch. Nakamura-McShane looked more like me getting crushed by an expert or a master than two 2700+ players in a classical game. Looks like McShane was holding quite well until he outright blundered a piece. Vishy called his result in the tournament catastrophic.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 18:15 |
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I think he was slightly joking, but yeah he sounded like he's been really unhappy with his play not just this tournament, but for the last while. It also sounded like he made a conscious decision to be more creative these last two rounds which is good, because that's what he needs to do to be great and I think that outside of a couple of blunders he seemed much more like the 2800+ Anand than the ~2700 one he's been lately.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 18:25 |
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Tiax Rules All posted:At this point, Anand has nothing to lose in this tournament beyond a few meaningless points. So of course he goes for the Berlin Defense. UGH. I absolutely love seeing the berlin defense since it's what I most often play as black (leading into the mortimer trap because I play blitz and everyone falls for it).
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| # ? Dec 11, 2012 12:13 |
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The cheating scandal that's currently going on is pretty hilarious. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8751 Apparently some 25 year old guy who's been about a consistent 2100-2200 player just got a 6/9 in a tournament beating several GMs and playing pretty poor games in the ones he lost. FM Valeri Lilov made a video analyzing most of the guys recent games showing almost perfect parallel moves with Houdini for the game he's won. Apparently the TD stripped him but couldn't find anything but there's speculation that he had a mic implanted in his ear and was being fed moves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr0J8SPENjM
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| # ? Jan 11, 2013 16:52 |
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Tata (Wijk an Zee) has started, with round 2 going on right now. Aronian just offered a piece against Carlsen, and it looks to be sound. The tournament should be pretty interesting, since it's a large field ranging all the way down to Yifan Hou at 2603. The games have been pretty good so far, and most encouraging is that Anand seems to have picked up where he left off at the end of London and is playing much more ambitiously.
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| # ? Jan 13, 2013 14:22 |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTg46f85RBQ
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| # ? Jan 14, 2013 08:39 |
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Stuck in another drawn position? Computer analysis giving you an endless stream of zeros? Don't despair: order yourself a Magnus Carlsen today! Best postgame reaction ever. You'd never get that response in any other sport!
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 18:46 |
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OrangeKing posted:Stuck in another drawn position? Computer analysis giving you an endless stream of zeros? Don't despair: order yourself a Magnus Carlsen today! That is a thing of beauty. The way Carlsen plays endgames is just amazing.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 19:52 |
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Just saw via a tweet that both Kamsky and Ivanchuk drew their first round matches to sub-2300 players in Gibraltar. Looking at the games, Kamsky had black, so while it's surprising, it's not impossible to believe; the white player (rated 2206) never was much worse, and got into a forcing line that allowed for a draw after one inaccuracy. On the other hand, Ivanchuk managed only a draw with white against a 2218-rated player, and was actually slightly worse in the final position. Meanwhile, Carlsen won again, and is now up to 2870 on the unofficial live rating list.
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| # ? Jan 23, 2013 06:34 |
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Also Shirov got his queen trapped and lost. So Carlsen needs to go +2 over his last 4 rounds to tie Kasparov's 10/13 record score. His opposition is L'Ami, Giri, Hao, and Nakamura which is certainly a beatable opposition. Then again I said the last thing about Aronian last year just before he lost to Navara so... To be honest, I'm not actually sure how this compares to Kasparov's 10/13. Kasparov seems to have faced a stronger mid-section of the group, but the bottom of the 1999 table was atrocious with Yermo and a 2541 Dmitri Reinderman. Interestingly, Anand will likely end up coming second in both tournaments! e: comparing this year's field to last year's is weird. Last year Van Wely was the bottom seed at 2692. This year we have 5 <2700 players, all the way down to L'Ami (2627) and Hou (2603). Hand Knit fucked around with this message at Jan 23, 2013 around 12:53 |
| # ? Jan 23, 2013 12:49 |
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Candidates starts this Friday!! Carlsen is, of course, the prohibitive favourite but you don't have to (and shouldn't) cheer for him. Me, I'm in for Team Ivanchuk.
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 07:53 |
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Hand Knit posted:Candidates starts this Friday!! Team Aronian! I'd be fine with Chucky too.
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| # ? Mar 11, 2013 13:25 |
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I can't see it being anybody but Carlsen at this point.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 02:49 |
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Gelfand!!!
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 03:34 |
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Screw the haters, Team Carlsen all the way  Really though, mostly hoping for some good chess and a close finish. And for Gelfand not to get into a rematch with Anand, though that feels extremely unlikely in a tournament format. I'd be happy with Carlsen, Aronian or even Kramnik as the challenger to create an interesting match. Edit: Yeah, I'm down with Ivanchuk, too. I like a lot of the field. 
OrangeKing fucked around with this message at Mar 12, 2013 around 04:27 |
| # ? Mar 12, 2013 04:00 |
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I want to live in a world where Chucky fulfills his potential and becomes world champion. 
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 04:06 |
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BurningStone posted:I can't see it being anybody but Carlsen at this point. Everyone who isn't Gelfand, and maybe Grischuk, could quite easily win, I think.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 16:01 |
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Hand Knit posted:Candidates starts this Friday!! This may be a dumb question, but why are the guys with a higher rating lower in the seed than those with a lower rating? I always thought that seeds were determined by being better or winning more games, thus putting them up top. Is it different for chess or is it arbitrary? Because I'm just confused about why a few 2800 players are lower than Gelfand who is only 2700+.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 23:28 |
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xIlluminatusx posted:This may be a dumb question, but why are the guys with a higher rating lower in the seed than those with a lower rating? I always thought that seeds were determined by being better or winning more games, thus putting them up top. Is it different for chess or is it arbitrary? Because I'm just confused about why a few 2800 players are lower than Gelfand who is only 2700+. I don't think those are really seeds, but the results of the random draw to see who plays who when.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 23:33 |
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The table is listed with the former challenger at the top, and the rest sorted by January 2012 rating. Their actual seedings are determined by random draw, and you can check them out on the official tournament schedule. Speaking of which, here is the official tournament schedule.
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| # ? Mar 12, 2013 23:33 |
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Hand Knit posted:Everyone who isn't Gelfand, and maybe Grischuk, could quite easily win, I think. Well, of course everybody has a chance, but I expect the players will feel they need to go for wins, so there will be a lot of blood on the board. That should count against some of the more solid players. I don't think +2 is going to be good enough. I say they'll need to go for wins because only first place matters. Even the guys who, by rating, would be happy finishing in the middle of the pack will want to take risks. If it's not Carlsen, I'd guess Aronian. Between them they must have the lion's share of the odds. It's certainly possible that somebody gets hot and plays like a 3000 (Ivanchuk) for three solid weeks, but that seems awfully unlikely. I'm sure there will be a lot of very good chess that I only vaguely understand.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 17:13 |
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BurningStone posted:Well, of course everybody has a chance, but I expect the players will feel they need to go for wins, so there will be a lot of blood on the board. That should count against some of the more solid players. I don't think +2 is going to be good enough. There are a few points to this, I think. The only person there who isn't predisposed to fighting chess is Grischuk. Kramnik, who is still burdened by his "drawnik" reputation, is still one of the best attacking/tactical players in the world. The contender format may also be especially helpful to Radjabov, who has a history of playing more cautiously with white and being very aggressive with black. Svidler is absolutely a "tactics and explosions" style player, as is Gelfand even if his waning ability doesn't really let him show at this level. In fact, the most "solid," unambitious player is probably Carlsen, who is winning his games in the late middlegame and endgame. It might be interesting to see if he runs in to trouble without a bottom of the table to beat up on, and ends up being outraced by a more explosive player like Aronian or Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk is, of course, Ivanchuk.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 18:25 |
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Kramnik has looked awfully strong for a while. I am excited for this tournament.
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| # ? Mar 13, 2013 18:27 |
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I'm skeptical that Kramnik will have the stamina to face top opponent after top opponent. His age is creeping up and his health has always been a little dicey. A bit of a soapbox: I don't believe Carlsen is unambitious, but he can look like it because he doesn't follow the old style. The world champion always sets chess fashion, and for two decades that was Kasparov. His style was to try win the game in the opening by out preparing his opponent. But now that influence is starting to wane and you see younger players like Carlsen and Nakamura who just want a position with a lot of play. It makes for longer games, on the average, but it doesn't make draws more likely.
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| # ? Mar 14, 2013 02:00 |
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The thing that gets Carlsen note, however, is that he's winning positions with no play. He's taking horseshit, 0.000 late middlegame positions with no prospects and managing to outplay opponents over 30-40 moves. And this style of play has cost him in the past in strong fields. For example, in the 2012 tata steel tournament, he finished +4 -1 =8, losing to Aronian's +7 -2 =4. Three of Carlsen's four wins that year came against the bottom of the field (Gashimov, Gelfand, Topalov).
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| # ? Mar 14, 2013 09:57 |
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I looked at this tournament without knowing much of anything about chess. I purely looked at everyone's classical head-to-head records. If a player had a +3 or higher win differential, I awarded them a win. +2 to -2 is a tie, and -3 or worse is a loss. In the aggregate: 1st: Kramnik - 4 (Gelfand, Aronian, Ivanchuk, Svidler) 2nd: Carlsen - 3 (Aronian, Radjabov, Ivanchuk) 3rd: Svidler - 1 (Gelfand, Grischuk) (Kramnik) 4th: Ivanchuk - 0 (Gelfand, Aronian) (Carlsen, Kramnik) 5th: Grischuk - -1 (Radjabov) (Svidler, Aronian) 6th: Radjabov - -1 (Gelfand) (Carlsen, Grischuk) 7th: Aronian - -2 (Grischuk) (Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Carlsen) 8th: Gelfand - -4 (Kramnik, Radjabov, Ivanchuk, Svidler) It's hard to imagine a worse way to rank these people (some of these games happened in like 1992), but that's what I'm going with. I wonder if there is a way to bet on the outcome of chess tournaments... Then, I organized the players in bounty-style. The top guy got 7 points, next was 6, on and on. Then, I gave those points to each player for a win, and deducted (7-x) points for a loss. 1st: Kramnik - 10 points 2nd: Carlsen - 8 points 3rd: Svidler - 2 points 4th: Ivanchuk - 0 points 5th: Aronian - -2 points 6th: Grischuk - -5 points 7th: Radjabov - -6 points 8th: Gelfand - -9 points That would be more of their "general skill" in this field, because it ways beating good opponents more. factorialite fucked around with this message at Mar 14, 2013 around 13:35 |
| # ? Mar 14, 2013 13:21 |
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I am super pumped for this tournament. 8 of the absolute best players, double round robin, long time control, high stakes...  PS: Radjabov will win, write it down
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| # ? Mar 14, 2013 16:33 |
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Official video feed of the event. Games start at 10AM US (Eastern) and 2PM London.
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| # ? Mar 15, 2013 10:52 |
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Looks like the event website is down. Can't say I didn't see that coming.
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| # ? Mar 15, 2013 14:02 |
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Tiax Rules All posted:Looks like the event website is down. Can't say I didn't see that coming. Some links are working. Here are the games: http://london2013.fide.com/analysis/index.html e: One Bogo-Indian, one Keres pseudo-Bogo, one Catalan, and one QGD.
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| # ? Mar 15, 2013 14:11 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 23:38 |
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So they have computer saying Aronian is down -0.9 after 12 moves. It didn't like his 11th move. Can you read anything into that or is it way too early and way too imprecise? And presumably this is in Levon's home prep still. For various reasons I can't listen to commentary.
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| # ? Mar 15, 2013 15:00 |
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