Anand moved back into a tie for the lead with Topalov. Some notes on his endgame win over Bacrot are in my short ChessBase report. (Photos now up.) Frederic is having internet problems so hasn't been able to get photos up from the last few rounds. As is often the case it's easier to do event reporting from as far away as possible. (It's hard to concentrate on posting photos and flash reports when you are schmoozing with Bessel and the usual suspects. More of a problem is how many sites kick all the journos out the minute the games end, which of course is exactly when you need to be online to post your goods.)
The predicted duel between Vishy and Topy has duly come to pass and it won't surprise anyone if it continues in other events for the next year or two. But how many events will see them both in action? Anand won't be in Linares next month. The rumored field for the 2nd Mtel includes them both, as might Dortmund unless there is bad blood between the Dortmunders and Topalov after their attempt to organize a match with Kramnik fell through. Monday is a free day.
Hi Mig
It would be nice if you provide us (if you can of course) with the publication date of OMGP V. Amazon says February 1st, is that correct?
Posted about this in the last Cat Blog. I don't know when Amazon will take orders, but Garry say it will be out late February and usually it's a few weeks later in the US, so possibly even March.
Another request for Mig - do you happen to know what Kasparov thinks about the Kamsky comeback? What are Gata's chances? Kasparov is deliciously opinionated (and often correct), so I'd be interested to see if he thinks GK (hey, same initials) can make it in top-flight chess once again.
the kind of game that anand played is what i consider to differentiate the very good from the truly elite. Man what a complex game! Vishy seemed to just weave around the few white pieces remaining in the endgame like a magician. Truly great exhibition of chess talent.
Macuga,
Kasparov has already been speaking about Kamsky's chances in the game he won against Anand (even if it was indirect). Saying that Kamsky can only win by luck against Anand tells a lot about Kamsky's chances.
It's finally funny to see how most of you, on this US site, overestimate Kamsky. I have the same problem in France with everybody thinking that Bacrot can make it to the world title... Neither Kamsky or Bacrot will be able to fight seriously for the world crown : today, it's a Topalov vs Anand match, and two huge players are coming, Karjakin and Carlsen (both are 15 yo and are already able to perform over 2800 against strong opposition).
I won't "support" a chess player because he's from my country. I support talent, and therefore I was American when Fischer played, Jewish and Armenian when Kasparov played, Latvian when Tal played, Indian with Anand, Bulgarian with Topalov, and now Norvegian with Carlsen. I am citizen of the world, and it's harder to make war with guys like me than with those who'll support their countrymen or national team or national interests or colonialist views and so on...
... to finish with my idea, I shall add that those who support their national teams over foreign teams also prefer their city team, then they love more the people that they know a little, then they love more their friends, then their family and then... themselves.
Being patriot is natural when you're selfish.
... to finish with my idea, I shall add that those who support their national teams over foreign teams also prefer their city team, then they love more the people that they know a little, then they love more their friends, then their family and then... themselves.
Being patriot is natural when you're selfish.
I had asked this earlier as well, does anyone know why Anand is not playing in Linares? It would have been nice for Topalov and Anand to duke it out in the first post-Kasparov Linares.
Ruslan, I think your take on Kamsky being American has very little to do with it. I believe his true popularity with a lot of the people here stems from the fact that most of us who blog here also hang out at ICC where Kamsky (a seemingly very nice guy also) frequently interacts with the rank and file players. I am too old to care about kissing GM butt, but young players and weak players generally have very little access to GMs on a personal basis, so when Kamsky or Nakamura talk to the crowd, they gain a great deal of popularity.
These two just happen to be Americans, but on ICC, they coincidentally also are the two GMs who interact the most with the crowd. Add to that that both are top-flight GMs, the appeal is natural.
I also know from ICC, that the appeal is not limited to Americans alone. Both can command 200 spectators for blitz games, and surely those are not all Americans watching.
Maybe if a few more of the European GMs set the new variable allowkib=1 and chatted with the crowd, they would also have a great following. The only other one that comes to mind is Petrovich, and he is also VERY popular and NOT American, but he is just not high enough on the FIDE list to be in the Corus A group.
Too often on ICC I see non-Americans attribute popularity to patriotism, and I think that you guys most times just don't have a clue about what makes us tick. We are a selfish society, and as such, the youth today doesn't care about the country very much from what I have seem. They do care about what is in it for them, and in this case, the chance to talk to a GM.
Lastly, I am patriotic, and it doesn't even hit my radar to care about country when looking at chess. I am a chessplayer when watching chess, and I want to see good games only.
Did anand comment on his loss to Kamsky ?
I am curious what he has to say.
could the same thing have happened to adams against hydra ?
ruslan I am shocked by your comments. KCotreau I like your comments.
Gata Kamsky is a real nice guy. He is also very helpful to Susan Polgar who is very wonderful for chess in the USA. so Gata is very good for chess in USA. they contribute instead of only taking.
Here is my view on who to cheer for in a sport.
Pick a team or person that you feel an affinity toward. It will be someone who you get news about. Someone who is a person for you. not simply a name on a tournament chart. Then cheer for him or her. and enjoy.
Will the person I cheer for become the World Champion. Probably not. but that does not matter. the object of cheering for someone sometimes is to cheer for the one who will not win. to support that person or team. to tell them that we love them. To tell them that we appreciate all the effort they have put out to give us great entertainment.
Of course most people will cheer for their fellow city team or national team or players. but those are the ones it is most easy to get information about. they are the ones most often in the news and on TV etc.
ruslan if you had a son or daughter and he or she was not the super best. were not to become the dictator of the entire world. would you throw the baby out into the street with the water. of course not. you would love and support your children if they won or if they lost. it is the act of loving your children that is important. not if your children win a game or not.
so loosen up. love your children. love any sports figure you feel ONEness with. and then enjoy life. enjoy sports. maybe just maybe your team like the Chicago Cubs will win a pennant again. or the Boston Red Sox or the Chicago White Sox. Then you will learn the happiness that comes from having your team win against all the odds. the resurrection of the pheonix.
So I cheer for Gata Kamsky. but I dont bet money that he will win Corus this year. I bet my money on Anand and Topalov. but I still cheer for Kamsky.
Tommy
Ruslan
Gata Kamsky who I am cheering for in Corus has has some things to give me great cheer.
My guy beat Anand and whoever you cheered for did not beat Anand
My guy beat Gelfand. did your man beat Gelfand.
If I win some 100-1 shots at Corus and you win some $2.40 payoffs guess who will win the most money at Corus. Me. I will have won some serious money on my long shots. you will have won a few cents on your favorites. I think I will have more fun.
and Ruslan one bit of advice. Dont bet against Gata because he has talent and he can win againt anyone he can beat the very best. just be careful or you just might lose some serious money on Gata someday.
or if you post too much against Gata and he wins. then as the expression goes. you get mud on your face.
Ruslan let me ask you a question. Lets say Gary Kasparov stays retired for 10 years and then says he wants to play some chess. Will you be willing to cheer for him to win. or will you want to throw mud on his face and say he is no good anymore. Well I will be there cheering for Gary K to win. I hope you join with me to cheer for Gary.
Peace and Love
Tommy
It is nice to see Topolov and Anand at the top of the cross table, as expected, but I don't think they will run away with it. In fact, I like Adams' position very much. None of his remaining games are against those with a plus score. One point is not an insurmountable deficit, especially if the leaders draw in their encounter.
How funny, Gata for so long got so much crap because he was "Not a true American", now people are saying he's "Too American". Awesome!
Rouslan,
Please do not try to psychoanalyze people you only know by a short note they wrote on a message board. That's just stupid. "Oh, he wrote this 10-line note, and now I know he's selfish".
People have the right to root and cheer for whoever they want. Chess, and any sport, would be extremely boring if people would only root for whoever's the best just because he's the best and most talented. Sometimes we root for the best, sometimes for the underdog, and sometimes just for cause we like their style, or for any other reason.
I am rooting for Topalov, but not Anand. I am rooting for Gelfand, but not Kamsky. I am rooting for Carlsen, but not Karjakin.
Why? Personal preference. Analyze it if you can.
"Saying that Kamsky can only win by luck against Anand tells a lot about Kamsky's chances."
Just plain wrong, he only said that Kamskys victory said more about Anand than about Kamsky.
Luck? Last I checked Kamsky has 9 career wins vs. Anand. (Anand has 12 vs. Kamsky.) I wouldn't call that "luck".
petroff was indeed foolish since Navara didn't beat Carlsen but only got a draw without gaining any real advantage against the norwegian. What do you predict for tomorrow Petroff?
ruslan,
I was a fan of Kamsky long before he moved to the US, and I would continue to be one even if he moved to France.
With all respect for the participants in Linares 2006, it can hardly be called the Wimbledon of Chess, this year. A few worldclass players, most notable Anand, are missing. Chorus is the Wimbledon of Chess this year.
Ruslan
who did you cheer for in the 1980 ice hockey olympic teams. may I borrow from the chess reporter.
1/2006 - I will never forget Al Michaels call in the final moment of the US vs. Soviet Union Olympic Hockey Game in 1980. The winter Olympics were being held in Lake Placid, New York. In an earlier exhibition game, the Soviet National team had crushed the US Olympic Team by a score of 10-3. In 1979, the US professional hockey all-stars had also been soundly defeated by the Soviet team by a 6-0 score. This set the stage for the greatest upset in sports history. So when the US amateur team faced the Soviet National team in the Olympic medal round, the worst was expected. However, through tough gritty play, the US amateur hockey team went on to defeated the Soviet National team by a score of 4-3. The US team went on to win a gold metal.
the above quote is from
http://www.chessreporter.com/i2k2005_frame.htm
I was cheering for the American team. I suppose you must have been cheering for the Russian team. too bad. but then again you win some and you lose some.
tommy
Ruslan, Regarding your pontification about nationalism, your personal methods of countering that is called "jumping on the bandwagon." When one supports a "candidate" for reason of probability of success only, it is called elitism and can be considered in the same disposition as what you preach against.
Some plagiarism incidents I recall:
The pleonastic Lev Khariton published quite a bit of plagiarized material on the "Pakistan Chess Player" (iirc) site. This inspired an angry tirade from Hanon Russell, and Khariton's "work" stopped appearing on chesscafe.com, but I don't know if anything concrete happened.
Tim Krabbe's site has been brutally plagiarized, once in print by John Emms (TK's "100 greatest moves" list, spawning the verb "to emms") and once by some "Florida Nurse" (Matthew Sauget) nutter's website (see item 173 at http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess2/diary_9.htm).
Ruslan : "I am citizen of the world, and it's harder to make war with guys like me than with those who'll support their countrymen or national team or national interests or colonialist views and so on..."
I don't agree with much that you have to say (you sound kind of angry to me in general) , but I do go with the quote above. I stopped being American last election day. But it would be a great comeback story if Kamsky were to rise to the top again, and he is a nice guy on the ICC, so go Gata!
You forget the most important thing in Kamsky's favor: he posts in the Daily Dirt!
(Please keep the flamewars down in active threads, thanks.)
KCotreau, Peter Svidler used to hang out at ICC and chat with the woodpushers too. (Electronpushers?) I don't think he has much lately for whatever reason, but his cheerful friendly attitude back in the day always has me cheering him on when he's in a tournament.
Another reason to root for Kamsky: some of us would like to see him do well without having his father around, just on general principle.
Hi Mig:
I'm not sure Bacrot could have drawn the game against Anand with 53. f3. Anand could recapture the e4 pawn with the rook instead of the f-pawn, gaining a tempo. I find the following variation:
54...Rxe4 55.Bb5 Rb4 56.Bf1 Ra4 57.a6 f4 58.Kg4 Kg6 59.Bc4 Ng2 60.Kf3 Nxh4+ 61.Kxf4 Nf5 -+
Seems like Black is still winning here. Any ideas why this may not work? Thanks.
Negi, the 12-yr old IM from India got his second GM norm yesterday in New Delhi. So he has one more norm to go, and if does that soon enough he can become the worlds youngest GM ever.
Icepick, Agreed. Peter is a long-time friend of mine through the ICC, and IM Dave "Fluffy" Vigorito, a good friend, when talking to me always refers to Peter as "your boy".
I thought about adding Peter to my post, but didn't include him precisely due to the fact he is rarely on ICC now. :( He was a very good example though.
I support the American chess players in my country because they're American and they're who I root for. I also root for the Chicago Cubs (baseball team) over the White Sox because I'm from the "North Side". Does that make me a nationalist or excessively patriotic? No.
I could give two sh**s about our half-wit president and in general I'm very weary of nationalism (I'm one of the few americans who refused to wave the American flag everywhere post 9/11). That said, I think it goes pretty far when you can't cheer for a chess player from you're hometown or country without being labeled excessively patriotic.
Ruslan : "I am citizen of the world, and it's harder to make war with guys like me than with those who'll support their countrymen or national team or national interests or colonialist views and so on..."
That just sounds absurd. This chess not war. Leave politics for political blogs.
Another obvious reason to root for Kamsky is that he's on a comeback after so many years. Of course many people will love to see proof that "it's never too late" to make another good showing, in chess as well as in the most general sense.
Yet another reason is that he seems to have developed into a generally relaxed, honest and nice guy, thus proving by example that one can overcome early obstacles like maybe a dominating father and truly develop into a good person.
And finally, but not least, by having gone through university and achieving a "respectable" education like law, he maybe can do much to improve the image of chess in the US. In other words, change the perception that chess is a poor man's sport that every sane and talented kid would abandon in favor of a civil career. Just maybe.
Personally I could do with fewer "citizens of the world"(aka Ruslans). It seems his own narrow-minded intolerance has kidnapped this whole thread. I too wanted to respond as a Kamsky well-wisher. But would only repeat the comments by others.
Hopefully more comments will be made about Corus----- I love reading analysis and impressions from the Dirt posters.
Saguni: The problem with 53.f3 Rxd4 54.fxe4 Rxd4 (instead of my 54..fxe4) is that White takes the a-file away from the black rook with 55.Bb5 Rb4? 56.Bc6 and the a-pawn is difficult to deal with. Recapturing with the pawn on move 54 also allows the knight to escape. Black could improve with 55..Re5, but it's still White with the better chances after 56.Rb3
Wow :-) Guys, I'm really touched. Thanks to you all :) Yeah, right now I feel terrible about being on the last place, but it's good medicine for becoming complacent after world cup qualification. Can't sit and relax anymore. Have to keep working and studying to progress.
So, thanks for cheers and coming to my defense folks. Much appreciated.
GK
Well...
I am glad that Gata does not have his father watching over the board now to intimidate opponents and the he is taking a more sportsmanlike view of competition.
However obviously I will be cheering for Michael Adams to play well against him today and keep him at the bottom of the table!
I've blown off many nights of sleep following Kamsky's "come back". I'll continue to do so. I guess I identify with him due to the fact that I took a 20+ year layoff away from the game. I'm just an amateur..but I have a better appreciation for the game as an adult than I had as a teenager. Obviously Gata too feels he has unfinished business to attend to over the board. That's inspiring considering how many talented top level players throw in the towel at ridiculously early ages. Where can I buy a Kamsky T-shirt to sport as I salute (with liquids) his victories and bemoan his losses hunkered down over my Imac in the early morning hours?? I follow lots of other players too....from all over the globe. And I don't fault anyone else for getting enthusiastic over their own favorites. I could name a dozen other players I'd also love to see make a "come back"..can't all of you??
Mark, I don't think anyone will hold it against you for cheering your favorite on. And as it turned out, Mickey cleaned up today.
'Last I checked Kamsky has 9 career wins vs. Anand. (Anand has 12 vs. Kamsky.) I wouldn't call that "luck".'
Obviously it's not literally luck, like winning the lottery. But any given player might defeat any other given player on a particular occasion. In that sense, you cannot draw too many conclusions from an isolated win, even over Vishy Anand. I'm sure that even Gata would admit that you can only draw conclusions from sustained success, not the occasional win here & there.
As an amateur returning to tournament competition after 30 years of working and raising a family, I found Mr. Kamsky's remarks in the post above to be both encouraging and helpful to me. Truly, one cannot sit on one's laurels and become complacent. If a renewed commitment to working hard at chess is good enough for a GM, it is good enough for me. Thanks, Mr. Kamsky, and "good skill" during the remainder of the Corus tournament.
Patriotism is not a dirty word,nor is it a disease to be infected with. We cheer for whom we will and I am cheering for Kamsky because I missed his first rise to the top ranks of the chess world and am thrilled at his attempt to do it again. Mark Crowther at TWIC said Kamsky can play with the best but will need to work on his opening repertoire(perhaps a reading of John Watson's Modern Chess Strategy would help?)watching Kamsky refine and update his opening repertoire should be an opportunity for furthering our education as well.
Good Luck Gata!
Patriotism is not a dirty word,nor is it a disease to be infected with. We cheer for whom we will and I am cheering for Kamsky because I missed his first rise to the top ranks of the chess world and am thrilled at his attempt to do it again. Mark Crowther at TWIC said Kamsky can play with the best but will need to work on his opening repertoire(perhaps a reading of John Watson's Modern Chess Strategy would help?)watching Kamsky refine and update his opening repertoire should be an opportunity for furthering our education as well.
Good Luck Gata!
I was wondering about the double posts and see that now I have made one! Sorry! I got an error mess. then resent the post and it went in twice. Oh well.
Thank you Mig, for your to the point commentaries on Chessbase.
Well done - and a pleasure to read them.
Mig: I wonder if you could expand on what you mean by this comment:
"More of a problem is how many sites kick all the journos out the minute the games end, which of course is exactly when you need to be online."
Many tournament venues want to empty the area the moment the last game ends. So you can use their internet and/or computers during the games, sometimes a few minutes before the games start, and only rarely after the games end! So you have to rely on the internet connection in your hotel, which might mean dial-up or a cruddy business center. It gets better all the time, but keeping the press area open would be nice.
Thanks, Stany, appreciated.