Broadcast at Playchess seems to be going okay after initial delays and the usual trauma on-site in Morelia. If you aren't cool enough to go there, linares.soloajedrez.com is running a java board broadcast that seems stable so far.
Below the jump (moved to save space and bandwidth) is a screen shot from the spiffy new Fritz 9 Playchess interface with the Linares games in progress. Four boards at once, chat on all boards, pretty cool. You can't copy the moves in multi-board view, however. But when viewing just one game at a time you can just copy the moves ctrl+c or edit-copy.
R1: Svidler-Topalov 1-0; Aronian-Radjabov 1-0; Vallejo Pons-Leko 0-1; Bacrot-Ivanchuk 1/2
Topalov went with the Berlin (groan) he essayed in San Luis to fine effect. Svidler answered sacrificially and achieved an ingenious bind. Topalov had to give back material to survive and went further downhill in time trouble. Radjabov made it through a King's Indian alive but also lost the endgame. Vallejo Pons was out-prepared in a sharp Nimzo line. Bacrot-Ivanchuk started dull but heated up. Ivanchuk missed great winning chances in the endgame. I'll have some light notes and a few comments from Kasparov in tomorrow's ChessBase report.
item #424985 that should be included in free chessbase ui updates.
Thanks for the link. I use Playbase whenever I watch live games EXCEPT when I'm at work. My work access won't let me visit Playchess. The site at linares.soloajedrez.com will do nicely on those sorts of days.
I am a F9 user so I'm well aware of the usefulness of the multi-board option. I agree with the first poster that it would be good if this were made available for CB9 as an upgrade straight from Playbase. Maybe we'll have to wait for CB10?
Leko beats Vallejo Pons with black, perhaps he's going to back up has talk.
For anyone who may not have been following live: Aronian-Radjabov 1-0, Svidler-Topolov 1-0, Bacrot-Ivanchuk 1-2/1-2.
Svidler 1-0 Topalov. While I am very much in favor of Topalov, always been a fan since the 90's, I am thrilled with this since hopefully it will be another nail in the coffin of the Berlin, may it rest in peace forever.
Interestingly, am I correct that Topalov returned to Kramnik's plan with an early Ne7-g6 and Bd7? Or am I missing a move somewhere?
Aronian 1-0 Radjabov, as if anyone is surprised at this point that Radjabov lost a KID. Someone (maybe someone also from Baku who gave up the KID for good reasons) needs to tell Radjabov in an authoritative and fatherly voice that the opening is of historical interest only for super-GMs.
Why is Ivanchuk still playing? Does he really think Bacrot is going to let him win a rook ending like that? I mean, Bacrot may not be Anand but he's over 1800...
Vallejo-Leko was nice, I liked the knight sitting on e4 forever. Maybe Paco could take it sooner and live with the consequences...
"Vallejo Pons was out-prepared in a sharp Petroff line." --Mig
Hmm... If Vallejo thought he was playing against the Petroff during that game I guess his preparation does leave something to be desired.
Funny, read it a few times and still didn't notice.
To the contrary. If he figured out a way to play the Petroff against d4, Kramnik and Leko will be battering down his door for starters looking for more draws!
I think it is an extremely regrettable trend that people analyze a game by just the result column and opening used. I.e Aronian-Radjabov 1-0 Kings Indian. I.e Kings Indian refuted therefore good boys should stick to their daily Nimzo and QID.... what rubbish-the KID is perfectly playable at all levels. And if you cared to read the Chessbase report it says that Radjabov made it out of a KID alive. Personally looking over the game It didnt look like it was lost in the opening.
Dutch endgame composer Martin van Essen notes on a dutch chessforum that Aronian-Radjabov would be a draw after the 51th move - if the black pawn on c7 would be absent. In the final position black would like to play 79. ... Qd4-b4 check. But it is not check, thanks to the fatal pawn.
Okay, I've got a question. Can someone explain to me why Leko played 40 ... Kf8 instead of 40 ... Rxg4 41 hxg4 Kxe6? [Question mark indicating a question, not a bad move.] The ... Rxg4 line seems easier to me. What am I missing?
Two points:
My point was not that Aronian-Radjabov was lost in the opening. My point was that the KID is positionally suspect and players over 2700 can gain the advantage regardless of opening theory, because the structures that arise give White all the chances as long as White doesn't get mated.
IE - 2700 players are booked-up and careful enough that the KID's main ideas simply don't acheive their aims, and White gets a virtually risk-free initiative at that level. It isn't that any "bust" to the KID exists, it's that the positional result is crap. I like the KID, I play it all the time in blitz and only haven't adopted it OTB because I can't be bothered to learn the theory. It's just that Radjabov and others have lost way too many games in this line at this point.
Point Two: My assumption at the time was that Leko played ...Kf8 because Vallejo had virtually no time left. Why play an obvious forcing line in your opponent's time trouble?
Aronian played a relative sideline so I don't know how you could call it a bust of the KID. In addition, I think the KID players must be reasonably happy now that they are not losing virtually by force in the Bayonet attack.
Again, not calling it a bust. But in every main line (and even sidelines like Aronian-Radj), White just plays c4-c5, sacrificing a pawn if necessary, and ends up with a better position.
2700's aren't afraid of Black's kingside chances anymore because they have sufficient defensive skills that Black really has none. It's like a Steinitz French flipped around - with Black castled queenside!
White's chances persist in all phases of the game and are dependent on the structure rather than the actual position. Black's chances are dependent on creating active play for his pieces, but White can spend as much time as he needs to preventing this.
One reason the KID may leave a bad impression at the top levels is that it is usually played by slightly "weaker" super-GM's, e.g. Radjabov and Bacrot. Obviously, they are not objectively weak at all, but if you look just at their supertourney games, it may create the artificial impression that the KID is somewhat worse than it actually is.
This is independent from any discussion of the opening's objective merit.
Unrelatedly, I have to say, this year's Linares doesn't really "feel" like Linares. Linares is supposed to be the Grand Prix of chess events, but there's no Anand, no Kasparov, no Kramnik, etc. And Bacrot and Radjabov, while excellent up-and-coming players, don't quite feel like the elite just yet.
Mig, you would appreciate this cat blog...
http://penguinx.org/?p=31
gmc: "authorative and fatherly voice"
Considering the relationship between the two after a defeat of the one who came before: authorative yes, but fatherly voice? It would be more like stepmotherly voice.
Whatever is being said about the objective strength of the tournament, they are playing amazing chess, not comparable to the yawn chess that typically dominates this tournament.
Btw, anyone prove a win for Black in Vallejo-Leko after 34.Kd3 instead of 34.Bxh5? It doesn't seem as "of course the endgame is winning" as Chess Today says. It's weird that a rook and passed a-pawn don't win trivially, but providing a variation hasn't been easy.
[34.Kd3 Re5 35.Kc4 a6 (35...h4 36.Kb5= c4+ 37.Kxc4 a5 38.Kd4 Re2; 35...Kh7 36.Kb5=) 36.h4 (36.g3 Kh7 37.h3 Kh6 38.h4 (38.g4? h4) ; 36...Kh7 37.g3 Kh8 38.Bxh5 Kg8 39.Bg6 Kf8 40.g4 Re4+ 41.Kxc5 Rxg4 (41...a5 42.g5 a4 43.Kd5 Re1 44.f6 gxf6 45.gxf6 a3 46.e7+ Rxe7 47.fxe7+ Kxe7 48.Bb1 Kf6=) 42.h5 (42.Kb6?? Rxg6!) 42...Ke7 (42...a5 43.Kd6 Rd4+ 44.Ke5 Rd1 45.h6=) 43.Kb6= Ra4 44.Kc5 a5 45.Kb5 Ra2 46.Bh7 a4 47.Bg6 Ra1 48.Kb4 Kd6 49.Bf7 Rf1 (49...a3 50.Bg6) 50.Kxa4 Rxf5 51.Kb4]