Holy heck! Instead of sleeping or working I was glancing over at the round four rapid tiebreaks at the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Only three matches went to tiebreaks from the sweet 16. Aronian-Jakovenko, Bareev-Alekseev, and Svidler Kamsky. Both Alekseev and Jakovenko won with white in the first rapid game while Svidler held Kamsky to a draw. In the second it looked like white was in good shape on all three boards, especially Svidler. A Spanish that turned into an ugly KID position could only be better for White at first glance, which is all you really have time for in live rapids. Then the broadcast hung for a few minutes. When it came back, Kamsky had found some amazing defensive moves with his knight, picked off a pawn, and was winning the endgame. He converted it to knock out Svidler and move into the quarterfinals that start tomorrow! I believe he'll be facing Ponomariov. Jakovenko held and Alekseev won with black to move on, so another top seed, Aronian, is out. Not bad for me prediction-wise, although I thought Bareev was in good enough form to make it one more round.
Round 5 pairings: Kamsky-Ponomariov, Karjakin-Alekseev, Jakovenko-Shirov, Carlsen-Cheparinov.
The top-rated player in each quarter of the field is gone. Shirov is the highest-rated player in the field, Cheparinov the lowest. Two of the youngest players at the start of the event are still there, Karjakin and Carlsen, born in 1990. I believe Vietnam's Le Quang Liem, knocked out in the first round, is even younger. Over 10% of the starting field was under 20.
More on the round 4 games later. But did Adams miss a win in the second game against Carlsen? It looks like he has a winning king walk with 65.Ka5! and Black is in zugzwang. True, he can threaten mate or give a few checks, but it looks like the white king can make it all the way up the board and Black is out of moves. Can't find a draw.
Hey Mig, why is this posted twice?
We make a lot of noise about the young players, but who is the oldest player left? Who was the oldest player in the event at the beginning of round one? While it is great to see young players doing well at these events, I think it is even better to see older, experienced players still slugging it out with kids half their age.
He seems to agree with you:-)
From Henrik Carlsens blog:
"Magnus thought Adams could win at one point with Ka5.."
Go Gata!
Mig, congratulations on being named USCF journalist of the year!
A. Ivanov of USA was the oldest, I believe: 1956. Two of the oldest players in the field faced each other in the first round: Kaidanov-Gurevich, both born in 1959. I think Kudrin is the same age. Nikolic has to be up there as well. This was a remarkably young field. It seemed like almost half were 25 or under.
Hmm, too bad for Mickey. Would have been fun to watch those two play rapids.
Yeah, I would have hoped that he would have handled that Q engdame a bit better, but I understand that he was short of time. That Carlsen tactic was pretty awesome of course.
Thanks, but it was for CHEESE journalist of the year. My in-depth reporting into the 2006 New York cheddar scandals put me over the top.
Hmm, theoretically we could have a Karjakin-Carlsen final match. Anyone's final-four predictions still alive? Doubt it. Alekseev is my only survivor, although I'll generously give myself a half point for saying before the event started that Jakovenko had good chances of taking out Aronian.
Mig: Please predict that Cheparinov will beat Carlsen ;)
Anyway, brilliant stuff you're doing, Mig! Keep it up :D
Go Magnus!
Can someone please remind me how were the players selected for this tournament? Alternatively, why are Morozevich and Polgar missing?
>It looks like he has a winning king walk with 65.Ka5! and Black is in zugzwang. True, he can threaten mate or give a few checks, but it looks like the white king can make it all the way up the board and Black is out of moves. Can't find a draw.>
Adams suspected that "looks" too (that's why he played Kb4 to begin with) but, alas, he neither could compute Fritz-like all the branches of tree of variations..nor he had the nerves for taking the gamble.
Time for him to move on to some other hobby.
I know I'm going to regret asking, Ovidiu, but what's your problem with Adams? He might not have a Kasparov-style work ethic, but his nerves have never been a problem & you can't spend over a decade in the top 10 without the odd training session ;)
Finding a tricky winning plan in perpetual time trouble (thanks FIDE) isn't easy. You're generally hoping your opponent blunders in that sort of situation.
>I know I'm going to regret asking, Ovidiu, but what's your problem with Adams?>
I'm not having a 'problem' with Adams, I made a comment on how he played. Kb4-Ka5-Kb6 to attack c6 pawn had been the plan for a dozen of moves ( perhaps since the c5 push).. yet he bailed out when uncertain because of the complications.
That's not the way to play a gambling game, nerves are a necessary. It is not math or physics where conclusions can be drawn with certainty, that's rather the exception in chess.
Ok, but the whole point of chess and Adams' play in particular is not to play a gambling game. He could have "gambled" earlier with d5 pushes and various "aggressive" combinations, but it looks as though all those plans were just forced draws. Maybe he looked at Ka5 and thought the same - or thought he saw a cleaner win (or at least saw a plan that left Carlsen with lots of chances to go wrong).
I don't know if the king moves particularly meant he was just playing for that one plan - he was continually improving his position in the hope that he'd eventually be able to force a win.
p.s. the reason I said you seem to have a "problem" with Adams is your "move on to some other hobby" comment.
If Cheparinov could get through, we would be looking at a Cheparinov-Topalov match. At least they might not fight about what country to play in.
Ovidiu is a patzer, don't worry about his comments.
A Cheparinov-Topalov match should be fun. Both of them have Danailov as their manager, so the crazy cheating accusations will be flying back and forth in no time.
from all the field that did not went through I just feel bad for the fact that now Cheparinov Vs Svidler will not happen.
Now I have to root for Karjarin-Carlsen...
or Kamsky-Shirov
>I don't know if the king moves particularly meant he was just playing for that one plan - he was continually improving his position in the hope that he'd eventually be able to force a win.>
By that moment he had been running out of ideas to improve for a long time. Alreday the c5-push to fix c6 weakness was a concession (giving up control in the center)... but he did it
after first frustratingly trying to penetrate by shifting his Q q-side k-side on Carlsen's back rank few times.
So, obviously imo, he switched the plan to c5 (c6-fixing) and the Ka5-Kb6/Qb7-Qc7/c6 attack...and then he didn't follow through, afraid of being mated perhaps.
Morozevich qualified but is missing because the big prize is a match with Topalov in Sofia. He said that there was no way he'd ever do that, so he wouldn't have the motivation to win. And why participate if there's no motivation?
On the age question, Kamsky and Shirov are the remaining old men--both are a whopping 35. Yes, over twice as old as Carlsen and Karjakin, but it's a little hard to be amazed that they can still perform at such a high level at such an advanced age! Much more impressive is that Karjakin and Carlsen are right there with them.
Other than Kamsky and Shirov, all the remaining contenders are younger than 25. By contrast, the top six players in the world are all 30+ years old and 11 of the top 15 are at least 25. The youngsters are doing great in Khanty-Minsiysk.
The best news is that fat bastardovsky Pigger Svidler, the original Wizard of Draw, is out for good.
They should pay this guy on a per-win basis, so that he can one day develop a solid set of much-needed cojones...
Ovidiu is the most eloquent commenter around here. It's always fun to read his comments. Now I can see why he uses that nickname.
Gata is still 33! not 35! And if we will count that he was out of play for 8 years, he is just 25 :-))
irv- try Svidler's record since the last round in Mexico a win vs Grischuk there, 6/7 on board 1 in the Euros (vs Berg ,Aronian, Navara ,Mamedyarov, Sutovsky, Bacrot, Cheparinov) He also started with 4/4 here. That's a pretty impressive +10 =2 in 12 games (maybe a Bundesliga game here or there)- hardly the effort of a drawmeister.
"Morozevich qualified but is missing because the big prize is a match with Topalov in Sofia."
Has FIDE already formally awarded the match between the World Cup winner and Topalov to Bulguria (Sofia)?
Or is Sofia the default choice since it looks like there will be few other sponsors willing to organize the match elsewhere?
How many games will comprise this Match, anyhow?
Doug, no point in trying to guess. The number of games, venue and world championship format will change at least half a dozen times before Topalov sits down to play anyone...
Well, Mig, here are my predictions from before the event started. So far, 2 of my picks--Carlsen and Kamsky-- are still in the running....
"Final Four predictions:
Ivanchuk: Why not? He's actually made it to the finals before in one of these KO events (only to lose to Ponomariov). He's capable of going all the way, and his nerves seem to be holding up better.
Carlsen: This is a close call, since Adams might be a bit more likely to advance in this bracket. But, Carlsen is afraid of nobody, is improving from tournament to tournament, and will be tougher yet if a mini-match goes to tie-break rapids and blitz.
Aronian: He is well suited for this type of event, and it is about time for him to shake off the poor result in Mexico City.
Kamsky: Opening preparation is somewhat less important in a KO event. Fighting spirit and nerves is somewhat more important. Kamsky was rather unlucky to be paired with the World Junior Champion, adly--who is obviously much stronger than his 2494 rating. If not Kamsky, then Radjabov, although I suspect that Timor will fumble away his chances through over-aggression."
i still have Jakovenko from my original prediction
would like to see Ponomariov, Jakovenko, Alekseev and damn it, have to go with Carlsen since i dislike him less then Cheparinov.
"A. Ivanov of USA was the oldest, I believe: 1956. Two of the oldest players in the field faced each other in the first round: Kaidanov-Gurevich, both born in 1959. I think Kudrin is the same age. Nikolic has to be up there as well. This was a remarkably young field. It seemed like almost half were 25 or under."
I really respect these "old lions". They are able to compete--and still win--in the pressure cookers that are the US Swisses. But, once a player reaches the mid-40s, the writing is on the wall, and it is unlikely that such a player can advance more than a few rounds.
Maybe Ivanchuk will be an exception.
Perhaps FIDE ought to give Kortchnoi a Wild Card seed for these events....
pafnutij,
Ovidiu picked his name because it is his name.
http://www.ovidiu.ca/pdf/ovidiu_medical_2006.pdf
pafnutij,
Are you sure this resume belongs to our commentator here?
He looks too idle and lazy to have all those occupations listed there.
How can someone sit and write all those ridiculous material in Mig's blog all day and have such a packed resume in the mean time?
Maybe he is a superman.
I hope so...
> have to go with Carlsen since i dislike him less then Cheparinov..>
We all should root for Magnus, he is chess' great hope, the best that has appeared since Garry (save Rybka, if you think it counts).
Also, judging by his father demeanour, he will turn into a decent man too.
Impressive resume' Ovidiu. Very hard to believe, but impressive.
Magnus Carlsen's father needs to teach Magnus how to shake hands. Magnus is looking down in EVERY photo I've seen of him shaking hands with his opponent. Look at your opponent while shaking hands Magnus; it’s the polite thing to do. He reminds me of a young, awkward Bobby Fisher, but I'm sure he's more polite.
Good Luck Magnus!
Ovidiu's comments are always erudite and interesting but it's hard to imagine how he was admitted into the University of Nice.
>Good Luck Magnus!
He will need it tomorrow. Cheparinov seems doxed in opening preparation and he may score easily in one of the games.
Saskirian was dispatched quickly in Samisch tough 7..Nh5 is a dubious variation for black... but Saskirian was unprepared and castled too early.
It's not uncommon for an adolescent to not look squarely into the eyes of an adult when shaking hands. It will pass. Besides, it probably won't be too long before opponents of Carlsen will not want to look him in the eyes while shaking hands...knowing that their fate is already sealed. =8-)
After 4 years at medical school Ovidiu dropped out (= certificate of attendance) and became a dentist, but is not allowed to practice in Canada. So he teaches dentists how to use a computer (press this button and calculate your malpractice insurance).
My apologies for beating a dead horse, but Carlsen really is something special when it comes to chess; just like Kasparov and Fischer were as teenagers. I've said before that I believe that Carlsen will become the youngest World Chess Champion to date. Two years ago I received a lot of heat for that because at that time he hadn't had much experience against the elite of chess. Those days have passed and he just turned 17 this week. Will he be greater than the Kasparov of the 80's and 90's or Fischer 70-72 or even Capablanca in the 20's? Still too soon for that assessment, but in time he will be mentioned in the same breath as those chess giants and some others.
Oh yeah, I did pick him to win this knockout. Go figure.
Out of my top 4, Carlsen and Karjakin are still in, but Aronian and Svidler got knocked out today. Anybody have 3 out of their top 4?
>It's not uncommon for an adolescent to not look squarely into the eyes of an adult when shaking hands. >
True, at this age their behavior is often very difficult to understand.
And unpredictable, a month ago an IM (Sergey Nikolaev ?) was attacked and stabbed to death by a pack of 16-ish teens while walking on a main street in Moscow.
Ovidiu,
You are playing the first "variation" indeed...
"And unpredictable, a month ago an IM (Sergey Nikolaev ?) was attacked and stabbed to death by a pack of 16-ish teens while walking on a main street in Moscow."
Those "teenagers" are a different breed of "animal"...entirely.
" The best news is that fat bastardovsky Pigger Svidler, the original Wizard of Draw, is out for good.
They should pay this guy on a per-win basis, so that he can one day develop a solid set of much-needed cojones...
Posted by: irv at December 5, 2007 12:03 "
What a jerk, and i am not talking about Svidler.
I'm guessing that there are more violent stabbings by adults, so does that mean that adolescents are more predictable than adults?! Not a very solid argument. I think it's safe to say that most people's actions are difficult to understand.
Irv re. your Svidler comments :
you're really a lying (or ignorant ?)
son of a bitch ; you're just repeating old clichés you read somewhere ; try at least to be
creative in your attack.
Steven
What a great KO-Tournament! And I love that Kamsky is still with us.
But as CS pointed out: Imagine a match between Cheparinov and Topalov and all the cheating that would take place! I have a suggestion for a name for that match:
FIDE Advanced Chess 2008 World Championship
>But as CS pointed out: Imagine a match between >Cheparinov and Topalov and all the cheating that >would take place! I have a suggestion for a name >for that match:
>FIDE Advanced Chess 2008 World Championship
Very funny Juha...
By the way, it was impressive to see Jakovenko defeating Aronian by playing better the endgame. In two relatively equal positions, Jakovenko won the first one and held easily the second one. A 1.e4 player (at least in in his youth), and very talented in the endgame, seems to remind us of some World Champion ... The question is whether a player of his type can be a WC again, when you see nowadays a lot of well-prepared and more complete players in the chess scene.
'We all should root for Magnus, he is chess' great hope, the best that has appeared since Garry (save Rybka, if you think it counts.
I dont agree. I dont like his game or the way he approaches chess in general. And to be honest, i didnt like Garry when he first came on the scene, or for that matter, when he came off it.
Moreover, I never though that he was 'chess' great hope'. No doubt that he was a good player, but very few of his games 'speak' to me. The only one that comes to immediately to mind is his win against Korchnoi; was it Louzane Olympics early 80's (a Ben Oni)?
As for current 'chess hopes', Ian Nepomniachtchi would be on the top of my list. Only 2600 + but i have actually been impressed by his games.
Oh I forget, Tomasevsky (with 20, born 1987) still counts as a junior. So Ian is numero 2
I just hope Cheatparinov gets kicked out, but considering Rybka strength I doubt it !
The cheating evidence against Topalov falls far short of "beyond a reasonable doubt" and probably short of "by a preponderance of the evidence" as well.
But concerning cheating allegations against Topalov there may be "probable cause" consisting of, among other things:
--a rating spike at an "advanced" age
--substandard results in rapid and blitz formats
--unusual activity of the manager at playing venues
--publicly voiced suspicion from fellow competitors
--diminished results in cheating-proofed venues.
How many of these concerns apply to Cheparinov?
Will we see the Challengers match Cheparinov-Topalov next year?
Larry Christiansen juts showed a game by the so called "too solid for his own good" Peter Svidler against the aforementioned Cheparinov. If anyone thinks that El Svid lacks balls, they only need to review that game to refute the notion.
Based on what I cannot say -- but I have had a growing impression this year that Kamsky has exceptionally good control of his nerves.
Maybe leaving chess for 8 years, and after challenging for the FIDE Champ title, gave Kamsky a different perspective from those who have been grinding chess into their gray matter without respite since boyhood.
Kamsky knows what adult life without chess is like, whereas the others may have a natural fear of that unknown.
Zigomar, I too really like Ian Nepomniachtchi's chess. I hope we get to see a lot more of him in the future. I see that he's in the B group at Corus next month. Although he's 9th rated of the 14 players, it would not surprise me very much if he won (like Carlsen, who was just slightly higher rated in 2006 when he won the B-group).
GUYS -- is my computer compromiseD?
I read article on CHESSBASE...
At end of the article there is a link and it links to a BAD page.
ANY IDEA?
This is the Link to CHESSBASE Page...very last link it showing up to bad site...
Is it just me? Or is CHESSBASE COMPROMISED AND HACKED?
http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4305
It looks like pure porn.... did not see that coming. Anyhow, the article has not much to do with chess, so why not put "compromised" stuff in the end.
Today I am rooting for Kamsky very much. I finally see a real chance for him, he passed the most difficult. Unfortunately, not much coverage of the game with Svidler, hope some comes out later.
Todays game will be commented at http://www.chessdom.com/world-chess-cup-2007/kamsky-ponomariov , I suppose later http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/ will give some comments as well. Go Kamsky!
A mere frustration, I know, but I've been dead to shout that I deeply regret all three results of the tie-breaks. Three coolest participants out, ?=)(/&%¤#"!
Funny about the porn link. I just jumped in and fixed it but I swear it wasn't me. I don't have time to update my own sites these days let along theirs (or time to surf for porn, alas). I'm eagerly awaiting the explanation though! Pasted link from wrong browser tab, I bet. Heh.
let-s enjoy now the World Cup:) the rest will be ok ;) no big harm done.
Photos, your notes are very funny and stupid. For your regret, Chepa will play with Topa in Challenger's match. Because his form now is fantastic. Opening preparation of Chepa is better than Carlsen's. And i predict final for Cheparinov in World Cup.
the matchups are all extremely exciting. Kamsky-Ponomariov will be the ultimate slugfest! the battle of the kampfgeist.
However, everybody of last 8 deserve respect and is enough strong to make Challenger's match very interesting.
>It looks like pure porn.... did not see that coming. Anyhow, the article has not much to do with chess, so why not put "compromised" stuff in the end..>
Oh boy, kung-fu beatings and hard core porn at chessbase.
It makes Josh Waitzkin's detour through chess to appear as a mistake. Precious lifetime was lost in a lame substitute-- in a diversion from the true goals perhaps motivated by childish inhibitions.
But now he has matured, has got manly courage and has discovered the raw-essences of life.
Idiotic, anti-adevertising article from a chess-based company.
How about if Cheparinov wins. Doesn't that make it Cheparinov (Topalov's second for the world championships) vs. Topalov? What will FIDE do to decide that the "free and fair" way that FIDE is so good at (irony intended).
Having a drawn position against Carlsen with black I would not advise risking a sacrifice--the kid is a terrific calculator.
Yawn. Ovidiu, your life seems to consist of mocking people whom you say have no life. Without delving too deeply into the logical issues involved, I believe that makes you either a hypocrite or just stupid. And lifeless.
"It makes Josh Waitzkin's detour through chess to appear as a mistake. Precious lifetime was lost in a lame substitute...."
Why are you here again?
this just hit me
are you guys drooling as much as i am from the prospect of a shirov - topalov match?
Ovidiu: "It makes Josh Waitzkin's detour through chess to appear as a mistake. Precious lifetime was lost in a lame substitute...."
Tomlinson: Why are you here again?
Your uncreative retorts are extremely irritating on a day of tense games, Tommlinson... Ovidiu has a sense of humor. What have you got?
D.
"Ovidiu has a sense of humor. What have you got?"
Probably a real life. :-)