2005 FIDE WCh r4

Yet another useless prediction:
Kasim-Anand ½-½
Topal-Adams 0-1
Leko-Polgar 1-0
Moro-Svidler 1-0

I agree that GM Shipov's commentary/annotations are instructive and very entertaining.

"I have a feeling, that the Indian grandmaster won this game at home. His opening preparation was better. It's not surprising! Adams's opening repertoire makes his opponents' life easier. It's possible to plant a bomb in one certain place, being absolutely sure that Adams will sooner or later be there."

Well put by GM Shipov. Adams did try a different variation of the Ruy Lopez but the point still holds, I think. I also suspect that Adams' days as one of the elite GMs are numbered. :(

Kasim - Anand 1/2-1/2 (10 min on Anand's clock)
Topa-Adams 0-1 (Topa will overstretch)
Moro-Svidler 0-1
Leko-Polgar 0-1 (Black is err OK ! It's a Hungarian state of mind anyway)

Does anyone know if there will be a tournament book released for this event?

Thanks Mig for your article on Leko's training regime. It had passed me. Interesting and funny. Well done! Even with a picture of Mr. Henderson.

Round 4 (Sunday = free day = nightmare for all of us):
Kasim - Anand 1/2-1/2 (Both happy)
Topa-Adams 1-0 (Inspired Topa on the roll..)
Moro-Svidler 1/2 - 1/2 (Moro does not want lose
again)
Leko-Polgar 1-0 (Leko: No more bullsh**...)

if Moro loses this, I'm going to be needing some zoloft or something. The man has to win today!!! come on Moro show us the flair and the genius!! Go, go go!!!

how do you get to the english version of Shipov's reviews from the chesspro homepage? I can only find the russian pages.

Use this link to get to the English language coverage at chesspro.ru for the WCC.

GM Shipov's English analysis will appear as a link at the bottom of each round's informaiton.

http://www.chesspro.ru/events/sanluis05-en.shtml

Duif, Mig already provided that link. I'm asking how can i get to that page from the chesspro.ru homepage. For example, on the chesspro.ru home page click on ___, then on, ___ and finally on ___. :-)

Thanks in advance.

Duif:
Please tell me if there will be a tournament book available in future for this event. Thanks.

Yes, I have the same problem. When I follow that link, it goes to a home page that's mostly in Russian, and if I scroll way down there is a link for the current round to get to Online annotations (rus), which only lists one active game and it's certainly not in English. Did anyone else get this behavior?

Just follow the 'annotations' link in the item and scroll down to the reports. One after each round completed is active.

Are we talking about live English annotations or are they translated after the round? I had the impression from earlier postings that you could read live commentary in English from Sergei. Typically what I see during the round, is "Online annotations (rus)" that is a link, and "Review by GM S.Shipov" that is not a link yet. Am I missing something? Or is there an "Annotations" link somewhere else on the page that you're talking about?

My useless predictions:

The winner will make at least +4, probably +5. Topalov and Anand are clearly the favorites, although Topa's riskier approach will make him lose some games, but he will win far more games than anyone else. Fighting for third place, with a +2 score, are Polgar, Svidler and Adams. Leko may join them if he is able to recover from his poor play so far. Morozevich, frightened to death, and Kazim, not so lucky as in Libia, will thank to god if they can make it -2. Note that the numbers do not add to zero, since my optimistic nature made me overestimate the likely scores for at least one member of each group.

No, not talking live. I don't know of such either way.

There is an initial set of live Russian comments. The English "review" shows up after the round, usually 12 to 18 hours later. Still very timely since it's analysis of all 4 games.

I'm not sure why you'd want to get there from the homepage, since you can just go to the English summary page, but if you insist... :)

Go to the main page of www.chesspro.ru

Page down through a lot of Russian, and eventually you will see the line in Englsh:

"All information about the World Chess Championship in San Luis 2005 on the special page "

That will take you to the English summary page. Towards the bottom of the summary page there is a list of information about each round. The English translation of GM Shipov's comments will be listed there for each round as "review." You can only click on the ones that are already posted.

As for books on the San Luis event, I'm sure there will be lots, but I haven't heard of anyone specific committed to one yet. Mig might know.

regards,
Duif

GM P.H.Nielsen is helping Anand. I haven't found any information others. Who helps Judith etc at San Luis?

Mig,
please refute my view if it is groundless, but as of Round 4 I am disappointed by the quality of the games in the WCC. I am not qualified to make an authoritative judgement, but the play is not inspiring.

Mickey crushed again. Keep all sharp objects away from him. Shoelaces too, I guess. :(

Paul, I would agree - not to complain at all but maybe it tells us something? Certainly most of this isn't even near Brissago-04 or London-00 in terms of quality.

And what does it tell us, acirce?

Many of the games in Brissago didn't go on long enough to tell us anything.

I think its funny that there are "complaints" about the quality of these games. Had we seen a bunch of "solid" 20 move draws everyone would be all over the players for a lack of fighting spirit. Considering whats at stake, I think its wonderful to see the players pressing, attacking, and even blundering. Don't forget that many of them will never be in a tournament like this again. Theres a long way to go but the first 4 rounds were all I could hope for. It doesn't make sense to compare these games to a match tournament....landing some haymakers in the first round could go a long way towards victory and the tourneys long enough to allow a comeback if over aggression leads to early losses. Topalovs game with Anand was a perfect example of this strategy. Kasparov must be salivating...he would have thrived in this environment.

Some San Luis-related material apperas on http://www.e3e5.com/eng/
There is more in Russian, but translation delay is about a day or so.

What is happening in the Moro - Svidler game ?

Moro was winning. A little unclear now. Maybe a draw.

Actually, it might be Svidler with the winning chances now.

by the anticlockwise propellor of my sainted aunt!! What is this man Topalov on?? He goes to +3 and Anand to +1. Topy really looks convincing now. No wonder Kramnik was too chicken to play. Brissago?? What was Brissago? This is real blood and guts chess, no polite maneuverings and you first, no I insist you first stuff. The fact of the matter is, when you play Chess like this you're bound to make the odd mistake. I'll take a bet with you, if Kramnik was playing here, he would be on a minus score by now.
I must say I'm a bit disappointed by Anand's loss today, but a long way to go, including whites against Kasim, Topy and Polgar. So who knows?? Whoever wins this tourney would have really earned the right to be called the second best player in the World.

d;

The 2nd best player of the world ? Kasparov has long retired, unless you want to consider Kramnik the best player of the world. By no objective measure is Kramnik the best player in the world today. If Topalov wins (as seems most likely), Kramnik's title will become totally redundant.
Apparently, Topalov doesn't recognize the legitimacy of Kramnik's title .

I disagree. Whoever wins has the right to be called the best. Kasparov doesn't play anymore; he is only the best non-player. And if he stayed on he wouldn't be a clear favourite over Topalov or Anand.

Can anybody post a weblink to the Svidler Moro game ?

Game over. Svidler won.

------------------------------------------
Page down through a lot of Russian, and eventually you will see the line in Englsh:

"All information about the World Chess Championship in San Luis 2005 on the special page "
-------------------------------------------

That's exactly what I was looking for. I'll try to look harder next time... :) Thanks

d, if you don't personally appreciate the fine chess played in Brissago it's one thing.. I was talking about quality, not mass entertainment. There seems to be a latent conflict, sometimes realized, between these two, and it strikes me as a quite critical thing, but it seems impossible to get a rational discussion about it without just a bunch of lame mudslinging and aggressivity - probably just a sign of the times as well, and I guess chess can't escape from the forces of the Zeitgeist...

Morozevich-Svidler

http://www.thechessdrum.net/palview2/morozevich-svidler(wcc05).htm

acirce - I completely agree that the "accuracy" (slightly different meaning than "quality")of the Brissago games was better. The nature of a match lends itself to much more accurate games than a tournament format like San Luis.

Acirce, maybe you would garner more positive opinion about things if you didn't continually whine about quality, while sporting a low club rating. You yourself barely understand this game, so it can be grating to here someone as unskilled as yourself preach about quality.

And as my old software engineering prof would say, "A fool, with a tool, is still a fool", in reference to fritz.

rwgambit: Yes, probably true, and that would speak in favour of matches in my taste.

Mango: That was a rather silly comment. My own mediocre rating has nothing to do with this. You seriously think that I'm actually criticizing the players for only playing 500 times as well as I do instead of 600?

Perfect play from Kasim! A beautiful checkmate to stamp his authority!

Everything acirce said about quality (I prefer "accuracy") is completely true. Regardless of rating, its easy to see that match games discussing a couple of openings in depth consistently yield greater game quality than all play tournaments. No need to get insulting....its more a matter of taste. Chess understanding and OTB skill are often two very different things anyway....

If all we care about is game quality, why don't we make every chess game be a correspondence game, with one day per move? Maybe we can install cameras in each player's location to ensure no one is using computers. The quality is gonna improve, for sure.

Alternatively, we could bring back adjournments. With such a system, Topalov would now be playing his second round game since his first round went all the way to the last time control (= 3rd adjournment old style).

Say what you will, the participants are playing hard, fighting chess and there have been some wonderfully exciting games. A real treat for us chess players. Some kudos are due FIDE for finally organizing a World Championship tournament with a decent structure and time control.

The winner of this tournament will have earned the right to call himself World Champion, IMO.

To correct my last sentence:

"The winner of this tournament will have earned the right to call himself or herself World Champion, IMO."

"...the right to call himself or herself FIDE World Champion..." imnsho

This tournament shows how anyone in the given field can win on any given day. Most games have been decisive. Both Topalov and Svidler cannot hope to go undefeated and of course both Morozevich and Adams will taste victory in this tournament. There were those saying that FIDE Champion Kasimdzhanov would not win at this level because he was only a "rapid" player. What nonsense. I suppose by him beating Anand may change that view... and he won rather convincingly.

I am sad to see Moro playing so poorly. But, I want to thank all the players very much for the fighting spirit of this tournament! It is such a breath of fresh air from the typical draw-fest we usually see. Even the day that ended in all draws saw lots of fighting chess.

As far as quality of games that people keep ranting about- I am glad that the players are only human and that they are pushing the limits in order to try to win. If you only care about perfect chess then sit home and have your PC play itself over and over again! I love human chess. I love to play it and I love to watch it. Bravo to the players! Too bad Topolov is winning though, as he may not think he needs to play Kramnik in order to have the genuine world title- a foolish mistake, because those in the know understand that the true world title is still in Kramnik's hands regardless of how poorly he has performed lately. The winner of this tournament needs to play Kramnik to gain the title.

I agree that this tournament is a breath of fresh air. I have enjoyed the games up to this point. I simply can't believe that this pace of decisive chess can continue for very long. If it can, then double bravo to the players.

I don't think it's bad that Topalov is leading. If he continues to play with great results, then I don't see why he wouldn't want to bite the bullet and play Kramnik despite whatever hang-ups about legitimacy, etc. Given this past year's results against Kramnik, Topalov can only be optimistic about his chances in a match. He's shown he can play e4, d4, or even c4 at any time, and can win the occasional suspect position with black. I don't think Kramnik would win the match's opening preparation battle against a motivated Topalov. And right about now I'm talking straight out of my a*&.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's still 10 rounds to go. Good luck to all the players.

i don't know why one wouldn't have the right to complain about lack of quality...quality over razzle-dazzle entertainment. That said, there have been many games of outstanding quality already.
Kasim beating Anand was simply brilliant, it's not like Anand made a blunder. And as for the non-masterpiece games, it's understandable because of the pressure.
And appreciating quality has nothing to do with one's rating...i am not a masterclass player but i can recognise a masterpiece and appreciate it. When i go through a game of some IMs, for one reason or another, i do recognise its lower class, whether or not i would be able to make the same moves myself. It is always the rubble who prefer "flashing lights and high speed with an abundance of noise" circus entertainment over artistic performances.

i still believe Moro starting to win at some point, he was so close already, closer than any time earlier.

PS: It's hardly the point that the games are decisive or not, as so many people are hailing about this tournament. It couldn't bother me less if all the games ended in hard-fought well-played draws. The problem is, this wasn't the case in Brissago...mind you, i'm still getting the tournament book for that one.

There is no need to say that the accuracy of the Brissago games was really high(the Marshall game being the one exception). And there are many games where the tension is high and the players are both up to the challenge and the result is a draw. These are fantastic games. But the most common thing is that when the tension is really high, there are inaccuracies. No one can say that the tournament has not produced some very tense games, and the fact the players have made some mistakes is well almost secondary. If they made no mistakes, it would be pointless for them to play chess.

i agree with DP...my point kind of was that the quality of many games in San Luis now has been more than enough for me, but a few games have also been of the variety unlikely to be included in selections of their players' best games...and it does show. But again, even many of these games are hardly unenjoyable. But the way Anand beat Judit was not pleasant to watch at all!
And i was also a bit dismayed by how Anand simply refused to resign against Kasim a few moves earlier. But damn, what a game that was from Kasim! Still can't get over it.

Maybe these games do have more mistakes than the Kramnik-Leko match, mainly because in that match the players agreed to a draw before they could make any mistakes. All the players in San Luis seem to be playing every game to win, which is always going to result in more mistakes.

In my opinion, the Topalov-Anand game had more quality than any game in the Kramnik-Leko match, even though it probably had more mistakes than all the games in the match put together.

"I don't think it's bad that Topalov is leading".

It is very very good to have Topolov leading chess today. He's a committed attacking player as opposed to Anand-the opportunist. Anand plays as many Petroffs as Kramnik when it suits him. Topolov is a reincarnated Garry. He will keep the tension no matter what in fact I think the only reason he played the English was to avoid another Petroff. He also played d4 the avoid geeting the same from Anand.

The new FIDE rating list is out. Main highlights:
1) Top 3 Kaspy, Anand, Topa
2) Kramnik drops to # 7
3) Radjabov breaks into 2700
4) Now there are 20 players in the 2700 club (Rating inflation)

http://www.fide.com/ratings/top.phtml?list=men

-Amit

Don't know about the rating inflation. Radjabov had a very good season not to mention that won the European Championship!

It seems that Garry seldom played "badly" to be aggressive the way Topalov does, whom i just can't bring myself to like.

oh man, moro lost again :-( Moro's play is never "normal" but he seems to be very strange here. Hope he's not sick or something. The only consolation is, the games are of a very high QUALITY, as opposed to Brissago or London. Also looks like we'll end up with a worthy champion. Peach and Jim Foster, OK, lets call whoever wins the tourney the 2nd best player currently alive, and the best among current active players!

A few remarks on the understanding of 'quality' in chess. It has always been accepted that the amateur chess player can appreciate the sporting and aesthetic qualities of master play, while not being able to reproduce them. Indeed, the chess profession depends upon this fact. Moreover, the idea of chess culture -- i.e. of attainment through education in and the practice chess -- is quite widespread, so that it is perfectly proper to speak of the cultural and pedagogical qualities of chess. Added to this there is the more recent QUANTitative (not QUALitative) notion of 'accuracy': a notion transformed by the ubiquity of chess engines, whose use is now part of the chess spectacle.

Quality in chess is not a static concept. It is subject to cultural and historical forces: 'Russian school' has in the past been an epithet for this phenomenon. Today the forces that form a new generation's appreciation of 'quality' in chess are commercial. 'Quality' becomes a function of number; it is quantified, and therefore greatly diminished. Clearly for many amateurs there is some 'kick' in representing themselves as chess aficionados, on the basis of their ability to use a computer; they remain, however, dilettante (like myself).

Historically, 'quality' is a standard that is set for chess generations, usually by competitions between the world's elite players. So, for example, any chess fan fortunate enough to enjoy the Kasparov-Karpov decade, will know very well that 'quality' in chess is an admixture of cultural, sporting and aesthetic achievement.

Can one hope for 'quality chess' from the present WCC? At present (after R4), that prospect is entirely dependent upon Topolov's performance. His will to win may be the outstanding achievement of this world championship event. As for the play of the remainder of the field, there has been excitement, certainly, and a high level of competition. However, to the amateur mind -- which in the chess public is not to be despised -- I would suggest there are reasons for concern.

Random comments:

Nice win of Kazim over Anand. He reminded all of us he is not wc only by luck. Lowest seed, it is true, but he can do some damage.

Topa fears no one! Reincarnation of Garry or Tal? I don´t mind, just want to see more unsound sacrifices, minor mistakes and real blunders in hot positions. That´s what chess is about.

While Leko may not be dead yet, I feel sorry for Adams´ and Moro´s performances so far. As a chess fan, I have learnt to appreciate different styles, and I do like theirs.

I still believe Polgar and Svidler are running for third, but am starting to think that the Russian can fly higher. He is in good form.

While watching the games, I could foresee that Anand was in deep trouble: the compensation for his overexposed King was a lonely rook incursion. But I still don´t understand what went wrong with Moro against Svidler, since apparently he got a slightly better middle game at some point. Could someone point out where his mistake(s) are? Or maybe Svidler is just a climbing monster?

While Radjabov came in second, a certain Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu from Romania won the Euro Champs 2005.

d, I reckon Kasparov is finished being the best player in the world. He quit because at 42 years of age it was just too hard to stay on top.

And if that is not true there is still the plain fact that he retired. He is not just currently non-active, he has declared that he is out for good. So why consider him?

That's a very academic speech about quality...academic in the sense that it's more interested in clear definitions and their meanderings than what the point is about.
For me, life is simple, because quality is quality. Everyone knows what it is, it is not dependant upon perception or taste or cultural prejudices/fixations, but is determined by completely natural standards that have nothing to do with ideas people may have. It also shies away from its natural enemies, popularity and increased quantity.

In chess, quality play, appears to me to require a combination of vision, creativity, logic and stamina.
In a good quality chess game, the player must be able to create a coherent and (un?)realistic plan, and execute it while being able to simultaneously determine and undermine his opponent's intentions.
Quality drops when the plan is proven to be either incorrect, or the player is unable to execute it in harmony with destroying his opponent's forces.
i don't understand how this could be not true. And based on these very simple criteria, the quality of games in San Luis has been very shaky, BUT some truly amazing games have been seen.
Even so, i would not call Morozevich's play last night of poor quality, unfortunately he lost the thread and committed fatal inaccuracies...very sad, but hardly fatal to the overall quality of his game. A mistake is a mistake. The sad thing is, a loss of good quality game doesn't increase his sporting achievement at all, it is still zero from the point of view of points.

No, i have no intention of defending my views against the surely forhtcoming attacks which will be as aggressive as well as futile and misunderstanding.

Why still consider Garry? Cause he's simply the best, it doesn't change anything that he's not playing. It doesn't make Anand or Topa the best in the world. Not at all.

Currently Topalov is the best player in the world. And it is true even if he does not win this tournament.
This year's Linares showed that Topalov is already better than Kasparov. Kaspy looked quite frightened in the last game versus him there and lose after terrible mistake when surching for forced drawing line. It is symbolic that Kasparov lose his last game of chess to his successor on the throne Topa.
So, it is wise decision from Kaspy to retire when his still was recognized as number one.

acirce: not a big fan of Lasker then? :-) A matter of taste, I suppose. (Do you want a search for the perfect game, or a good fight?)

Jeremy: I agree with Strayer. The winner of this tournament will, IMHO, be a "good enough" World Champion for 90% of the chess community. That claim will fade if FIDE bungles its plans for the upcoming cycle, but if the plans hold up then I predict that San Luis will in fact be the reunification. (The "Council of Constance" of chess, if you like historical analogies.)

Which is to say that Kramnik will have missed the boat, and will have to try to get back on at the next port like everyone else by challenging in the next cycle.

It would be a different story if Kasparov were still champion and still active, but he's not either thing. And Kramnik isn't Kasparov. He's not top-rated and does not have the tournament domination that would inspire people to go around saying "Kramnik is the REAL champion and Topalov [if current trends hold up] is only a pretender."

And I am also saying that people who want to make the argument that the new WC is not the real WC, because FIDE is horrible and all claims by FIDE are false, like statements by knaves in the knight-knave logic problems, will have a tough sell (barring other outrages). Despite all expectations to the contrary, the format of San Luis and the plans for the new cycle suggest that somebody at FIDE actually learned something.

p>

Comments bei worldclass GM SEIRAWAN (commenting without engine!! wow) were great! Much better than the comments of british-average-IM Andrew Martin who was just quoting his engine all the time - boring.
looking forward to listen to that wonderful comment of SEIRAWAN! and of course brilliant fighting chess played there in ALL rounds!

I agree with Kramnik-Fan about Seirawan but I have enjoyed Andrew Martin a bit more then he has.

However, I still find myself listening to the Chessfm commentary more (yesterday it was Fed and Akobian) because they provide more of a play by play commentary while Yaz and Martin are giving deeper analysis while sacrificing some of the drama of the games. Also, the chessfm commentators rapidly bounce between games while Yaz and Martin spend 15 or 20 minutes on one game before they move on to another.

Each approach is worth listening to certainly but I am sticking with the ICC boys (and girls, if Jenifer Shahade shows up) for now.

peachtree:
do you have internet access? check this site chessgames.com to follow the games.

acirce: I agree with you. more entertainment and less artistic games.

Others: so far Topalov is doing great taking risks and winning. But do not forget that there are 10 more rounds to go. Also lot of people are saying that Moro is not well. I wish him well. Though he is loosing, I am enjoying his games so far and I hope he shows us some more strange play and wins a couple of games.

com'on Jim Foster, Kaspy is the best. I agree there's no point in talking about it if he never played again, but imagine a hollywod scenario where he comes out of retirement all guns blazing and blows the pretenders away....! Farfetched, but the man is so good, he's capable of it even at 50. As for Topy being better than Kaspy, sorry folks, one victory doesnt do it for me. And that was a very strange loss too, I believe him when he said he could hardly think about the game given his impending announcement. But I agree this discussion is pointless right now. Topy is giving us the best spectacle in Chess for ages, and this is his moment.

i can't help but agree that Botvinnik was absolutely right when he said that blitz will destroy chess. That has obviously happened already to a large extent.
Personally, i wish people hoping for dazzling excitement and sport-like entertainment from chess would switch to checkers. Harsh, but true.

You are right, Radjabov came second buthe convincingly won the recent Giant Ordix Open with 55 GMs and he is only 18-year-old. I see him as one of true contenders to Garry.

sacateca,

I noticed you implied checkers isn't exciting, but I realize you were using an analogy. However, draughts or international checkers is quite exciting with deep strategies, tactics and absolutely stunning combinations!

Check out this loooong combination by the late GM Baba Sy of Senegal. Yep... he saw all of it!

http://dammeur2.free.fr/Baba%20Sy/sommaire/simultanee.html

More on Baba Sy here (scroll down for pics)
http://www.thechessdrum.net/newsbriefs/2005/NB_BabaSy.html

More combinations
http://www.dse.nl/~dambo/main_miniatures.html

International Draughts Federation
http://fmjd.org/

FMJD (equivalent of FIDE) just had the World Team Championship (won by Russia over Senegal) and their World Championship will start next week.

Correction: Sacateca was perhaps saying instead checkers WAS exciting! Indeed. A lot higher number of draws though.

Forget Kasparov. he is gone. done. the PAST

may as well replace the word Kasparov with Fischer who is still alive but retired.

Right now today. it looks like Topolov is the BEST. Plain and simple. I have not been a Topolov fan. I am rooting for Judit and Vishy. but I will accept Topolov as the true present World Chess Champion if he wins this tourney.

Kramnik is the PAST also. he beat Kasparov a very long time ago and has done nothing since then.

I believe that because Kasparov is now retired this is the big opportunity for FIDE to regain control of the title of world champion. Kaspy has had control of the title. he was the best and everyone knew that. so because of that he controled the title. but now with him gone, FIDE will regain the title especially if Topo or Anand wins the title.

if someone else wins the title it could still leave things up in the air. it will also help if the winner can win convincingly.

If Topolov for example goes undefeated and wins well ahead of the pack. he will have a lock on the title. everyone will consider him the best. and I think justly so.

I am not a Topolov fan, but I do really like his fighting chess style much better than the draw style of Kramnik and Leko.

I really liked Leko's big win against Kramnik in the Marshall but he did not follow through and win the match. I think Leko played like a champion in that game.

Apropos the first paragraph of Mig's post, I've also been providing round recaps and analysis on my blog (http://chessmind.powerblogs.com), and try when possible to interact with various online commentaries as well. It may not be Shipov, but it's not too bad!

Everybody's gone wild watching Topolov smashing 2700+ GMs, now it turns out Aleksander Grischuk is among his admirers. His comments on ChessPro is a must read (in Russian). According to Grischuk his best game was the English against Adams where nearly every move deserves an exclaimation mark! This is Grischuk's opinion who himself should've been there...More importantly he thin ks that Topolov reminds Garry Kasparov in 1999 or Fischer 1976-77!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can anybody explain to me how does a website generate revenues? Aside from subscriptions, adverts, etc. Obviously sites like chesspro pay GMs to write for them...and it costs money but what's the catch?

i certainly stopped being Grishuk's admirer when he declared in New in Chess that he doesn't believe in the future of classical chess but rapid. This tournament must be spot on for such people, with so many ah-so-exciting _decisive_ games.
Don't get me wrong, though...it's not that i have anything against decisive games, just that people like Topal play too risky for my taste. Kasparov always made sure he was relatively safe and still managed to play fighting chess, and Tal was much above his opponents when he took his risks.
Well, our culture loves results. i prefer the journey.

"More importantly he thin ks that Topolov reminds Garry Kasparov in 1999 or Fischer 1976-77!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That is what he (Grischuk) actually says: "So far Veselin plays at the level of Kasparov 1999 or Fischer 1970-71" (of course, not 1976-77.)

i think Karpov should be in this tourney and he would kick Toppy's behind if he took the time to prepare properly.

The ghost of Botvinnik would have done very well in this tournament. After all, the great Mikhail was all about "quality," and given Topalov's many character deficiencies, there's little doubt that the Patriarch would have beaten some respect into him.

macuga: i am not certain if you are being sarcastic or not, or perhaps i'm beginning to be paranoid, but i am in absolute agreeance with what you say.

I was being half-serious, half-not. It just seemed like your point of view had many similarities with the extreme conservatism and devotion to "quality" of Botvinnik.

However, I'm a huge Botvinnik fan, so the sarcasm is very mild. :)

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