Beasts Loose in Baku

Radjabov, Gashimov, Mamedyarov and Akopian must feel left out now.

22 Kh1? does look like a waste. I'm not a Breyer expert, but in the Ruy variations I do play, Kh1 is almost always a preparation for Rg1 and a kingside attack. Of course, here Black has already played h7-h6-h5, and White doesn't have g2-g4, which changes things a bit.

Maybe Inarkiev missed ...f7-f5.

"Worries about Kamsky's openings might be past their expiration date. He reeled of 20 moves of Lopez ..."

But wasn't that just very standard Breyer theory? Even I used to know those moves by heart. Not for long though...

Still, acirce, that's better than screwing up a London Defense.

Useless trivia vis a vis opening preparation, depth of: Anand's spectacular 23. Qd2!! against Adams in Round2 of San Luis was originally prepared for Kamsky some 10 years ago and kept in reserve. When I mentioned this to Gata on ICC he said that he had immediately "sensed" this when watching the game.
Addendum: Kasparov revealed that he already discovered 23 Qd2 back in 1989. (New in Chess)

Thats nothing i was playing this move in 1983 already lol

Must've been one hell of a time-trouble if Gashimov missed Qxf7 in that position..I'm under 2000 and it took me less than a minute..but the pressures of a tournament game of course need to be considered too..Also, I *knew* I needed to look for something..

Mig,

As I'm sure you know by now, Vallejo got a half-point bye in Round 1, here in Plovdiv.

Any other questions, get in touch...

Cheers,
Macauley

I think Kamsky has worked hard on his openings ever since he decided to work with seconds (since World Cup and Sutovsky). It looks like the work takes him to a higher level and I think he will beat Topalov because of this, if the match will ever happen.
Kamsky's comeback was just for fun in the start, I think. Now it looks like he is determined to make a real impact, which is great for chess.

Cheparinov is 0-3

very impressive queen endgames by Karjakin over Adams and Carlsen over Inarkiev. Some similarities as well.

I'm a little slow at these things, but after 34. Qxf7+ Kh8, is it really a quick win? Qxf7 is definitely the best move, I'm just wondering if there's more to it if the King just scuttles aside.

At least this time no one is going to accuse the Bulgarians of cheating!

Is it a style for Bulgarians to have a slow-start at major tournaments?

jonas, I don't see any crushing followup for White after 34.Qxf7+ Kh8 (maybe ideas of Ne5 followed by h5 intending Ng6+). But that isn't really the point: at this level, winning a pawn for nothing definitely qualifies as "could have won quickly."

Incidentally, anyone even close to 2000 should see the shot in under a SECOND if told it's there - not merely under a minute as Anand Nair confessed. It took me about 0.2 second.

Of course, the rub is, "...if told it's there." Wouldn't it be great if there was a panel on the table in front of us that flashed "White to play and win," or "Black to play and draw," or whatever, whenever such opportunities arose?

Alas, absent such guidance, it's entirely possible I would miss Qxf7+ in a tournament game - even if I wasn't in time pressure. Still more likely is that if I foresaw this position in calculations a few moves earlier, I'd fail to spot the possibility of Qxf7+, choose a different path and the diagram position would never even come up on the board.

I wonder if Cheparinov is shaking hands before these games that he is losing. Maybe tanking four games in a row will help him on his sportsmanship.

yeah, chepa paying back for that ridiculous handshake incident... maybe he was afraid of getting the sin from short's tourney in canada earlier huahuahuahahua

"At least this time no one is going to accuse the Bulgarians of cheating!"

Not so fast!

At Elista, Topalov accused Kramnik of cheating, even while claiming that Kramnik played rather poorly; the apparent contradiction explained by Kramnik's mistake of hiring of chess-retarded FSB agents to cheat provide the cheat-moves.

One similarly well-reasoned explanation for Chepa's slow start is that he's cheating with chess-retarded Bulgarian secret agents.

Marmedyarov just scored an impressive win over Magnus Carlsen, who with his sense of sportsmanship, acknowledged his opponent's fine play. Carlsen blundered with 30. ... a5?, whereupon Marmedyarov replied with 31. Bxa5, sacrificing the bishop to obtain a king side attack. But Black's position was difficult here anyway (for instance 30. ... Qe6 31. Nf4). This game is up on Chessbase.com.

"jonas, I don't see any crushing followup for White after 34.Qxf7+ Kh8 (maybe ideas of Ne5 followed by h5 intending Ng6+). But that isn't really the point: at this level, winning a pawn for nothing definitely qualifies as "could have won quickly." "

I've seen plenty of GMs fail to win with a clear pawn advantage (i.e. where it wasn't a pawn sac). In fact, I came across one between Seirawan and Speelmann this morning while reading an old Inside Chess.... So far it still feels like he could have "won a clear pawn".

off-topic but its probably the first time I've heard Vishy openly admitting to "not being on good terms" with Kramnik. More here..
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/apr/25look.htm

hey, sofia rules made their first victim today... karjakin lost against the berlim wall!
quoting the official website: "After some fine defensive moves, Wang Yue had managed to equalize and then suddenly Karjakin lost his concentration and played a few dubious moves (25.Rd2?!, 28.Bb2?!), according to Sergey Shipov, and after the excellent reply 28…Bg5! White faced some serious problems. Karjakin managed to keep things together but then made a big mistake in the rook ending."
dont know about you, but I surely saw many draws between GMs on similar positions not being criticized :)

"Anand and Kramnik are not the best of friends on the circuit, but the Indian ace made it clear that they are not enemies either.

"I have not been on good terms with him, but neither are we enemies," he said."

Another couple of interviews, and their relationship may go from cool to cold.

Who are Anand's best friends on the "circuit"? Some of the elite players are more popular than others...

But at that level, there is a lot of ego floating about. Most of the top GMs behave "correctly", but only few have the reputation for being "nice".

"hey, sofia rules made their first victim today... karjakin lost against the berlim wall!"

Why blame the Sofia Rules? Wang Yue played better than Karjakin, and won.

Karjakin was White, and playing a lower rated opponent. It is entirely logical, from a sporting sense, that he would seek to press on, in order to avoid "wasting" a White.

After this game, Wang Yue leads the tournament. This is the type of win that reaps more than one point, as the other remaining players may opt not to take risks when they have White against Yue.

This event might represent a "Great Leap Forward" for Yue....

While Cheparinov is performing badly in Baku, his teammate Topalov earns hard cash by advertising SoGen Bank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaLwzrHVBNs

I think Anand is on good terms with Leko (a former second), Gelfand, Chucky (old buddies dating from the world junior days), Shirov. Carlsen also seems to get on well with him.

Incidentally, Anand in that NDTV interview did mention that though he wouldn't name names there were certain opponents whom he loved beating and would exult afterwards.

Cool Topalov ad, beats the horrible stuff Anand does with NIIT and (earlier) with some weird brain-boosting drug.

I think Chepa made a mistake going to Baku and not to Plovdiv. In Plovdiv he could have done much better.
Talking about the Euro Champs, chessdom website have put an album of several hundred photos at http://photo.chessdom.com/thumbnails.php?album=28&page=2 It is good to browse through so many known faces

"I think Chepa made a mistake going to Baku and not to Plovdiv. In Plovdiv he could have done much better"

There's little doubt that Cheparinov would have a much better score if he had chosen to play in Plovdiv.

However, the FIDE invitation to have him play in the Grand Prix series was an offer he couldn't refuse. Had he opted to decline to play in Baku, he would have had to give up the opportunity to play in the other 3 Grand Prix events.

The Grand Prix is more prestigeous and lucrative, and it probably provides better conditions for the advancement of his chess career. I don't think that he has regrets about his choice, even if he is receiving too many "lessons".

If the Baku Grand Prix event didn't conflict with Plovdiv, he would likely be competing in Bulgaria as one of the Top seeds.

However, FIDE sets the list of participants at each Grand Prix event, and the players don't get to pick and choose. It's no accident that the Armenian player, Levon Aronian, isn't competing in Baku, or that all 3 Azeri Grand Prix invitees are playing in Azerbaijan...(Vugar Gashimov was a special nominee, no doubt as a gesture to the Baku organizers.

"I think Anand is on good terms with Leko (a former second), Gelfand, Chucky (old buddies dating from the world junior days), Shirov. Carlsen also seems to get on well with him"

Interesting that most of them are "Good Customers" for Anand, in that Anand generally scores well against them. He has a lopsided score against Leko, complete domination against Shirov, and a big advantage against Carlsen (that will probably change soon--I expect that Magnus will play Anand even up over the next 5 years, then begin to dominate). Even against Ivanchuk, Anand has a healthy plus. Same with Gelfand...

your blog is dying.

Interesting theory except that Shirov and Gelfand had comfortable plus scores against Anand for most of the beginning of their careers. It was only from the mid 90s that it started changing.

"your blog is dying."

Shhhhhh! MIG and Garri are busy at work trying to regime-change Russia... what can chess count for compared with democracy?

Radjabov clocks up another draw with his 3 ..f5 against the Lopez took him about 20 minutes. No one can pretend they have not been able to prepare agaisnt this as he plays it consistently against e4. Perhaps Adams should try it as he is having a miserable time with his defences to the Ruy Lopez and sems to have given up the Marshall. This was another amazing Radjabov piece of computer preperation.

Hey Mig,

Great up to date coverage of Baku, especially with Gata tied for first after 6 rounds. Remember when you mix chess with politics you get politics. This Daily blog has certainly gone to pot over the last few months. So please, **** or get off the pot.

"your blog is dying."

agreed. its dying a slow, uneventfull death!

"your blog is dying"

MIG has proven over and over that he can do two or more things at the same time.

Something is amiss.

"Great up to date coverage of Baku, especially with Gata tied for first after 6 rounds. Remember when you mix chess with politics you get politics."

Politics is inextricably linked to the international Chess scene--especially when it comes to World Championship Cycles. Thus, it is necessary to have coverage of "Political" topics to have a comprehensive blog.

Hey, if YOU want to post detailed analysis of Kamsky's win over Adams in Round 6, you are more than welcome to do so. The ending, at least, was quite cute. Arguably, Kamsky's form has not been that impressive, which perversely can be taken as a positive sign. Perhaps he is just getting warmed up.

As for handicapping the "Horse Race", there are 10 players within 1 point of the lead, and the tournament is not yet half over. You want Mig to pick the winner, already?

DOug,

Not the current politics of his buddy Garry which I am referring to. Personally, if I were an olympic athlete I wouldn't appreciate Garry's most recent Wall Street Journal pontification. I find it quite self serving, but not surprising. After all, Garry has always had a you can be first after me attitude about whatever his interest is at the time. If Mig wants to continue to be a part of Kasparov's political entourage, that's fine, but at least have the courtesy-for whatever reason-to let us know why the daily dirt is dying a "slow, uneventful death."

Oh yeah,

No DOug I don't want Mig to "pick the winner." I'm just asking that he cover one of the most important tournaments of the year a little more thoroughly. In fact, "daily" would have been nice. I doubt if I stand alone on that opinion.

"Not the current politics of his buddy Garry which I am referring to. Personally, if I were an olympic athlete I wouldn't appreciate Garry's most recent Wall Street Journal pontification."

I doubt that there are many Olympic athletes who care about the politics one way or another, but those that do are likely to agree with Kasparov. Seriously, consider the plight of the Marathoner who has to run throught the Beijing smog. If the athletes had had a vote, the games would be hosted at some other venue.

Kasparov is correct that the Olympics have largely devolved into a "smash and grab" opportunity for voracious developers, sleazy speculators, and corrupt bureaucrats. The money men even came close to getting a multibillion $$ stadium built in Manhattan, merely as a way to qualify for the "Olympic Lottery". Unfortunately for the UK, London won....

If the IOC officials had any scruples whatsoever, they would just make arrangements with Greece to make them the permanent hosts of the Summer Games.

The Olympics yield horrendous return of investment for the host country, which in the best case scenario is left with overpriced, White Elephant investment. In places like China and Russia, the situation is even worse.

Just wait: in 12 years you'll be able to enjoy the 2020 Summer Games hosted by Dubai....

I dont know if the blog is dying... maybe only the blogger, since theres thousand of ccmments on each topic :)
maybe changing the name to "the weekly dirt" solves the problem :)
I try to keep up a blog too, and know how difficult it is to come up with something to write every single day. I sort of envy people who can come up with 2 or 3 texts a week consistently :) maybe the right word is admire (maybe not, maybe im just evil...)

"I doubt that there are many Olympic athletes who care about the politics one way or another..."

I see, Olympic athletes are not sophisticated enough to interpret and understand political intrigues and therefore have no say, and should forfeit their Olympic training and involvement if asked to do so. No doubt with smiles on there faces. Only chessplayers have the inherit discernment to facilitate politics with chess and realize that they are "inextricably linked."

I guess that's why we should give credence to an ex-chessplayer who is politically marginalized in his own country, and forego the Olympic tradition because of politics, greed and avarice on the part of some.

It is tough, and it is certainly not his main gig. So, it is understandable that the Daily Dirt takes a back seat to other priorities. I've seen some bloggers deputize "guest bloggers" to blog in their absence, or to beef up the number of topics.

Still, it is what it is....It's not like there are no other websites that are covering the Baku tournament. Several are doing so, fairly comprehensively.

Those who complain, volunteer. If you think that you can do better (and to be honest, you probably can, if you are willing to commit to devoting sufficient time to keep the content fresh), then go ahead and create your own blog. If it is better than the Daily Dirt, then I'm sure that the Chess Community will flock to your blogsite.

"Olympic athletes are not sophisticated enough to interpret and understand political intrigues and therefore have no say, and should forfeit their Olympic training and involvement if asked to do so."

Talk about a "Straw Man"!: Very few people (and to be clear, I'm not one of them) are asking athletes to boycott the Beijing 2008, or otherwise forego participation in the Olympics.

Frankly, at this stage, I'd be happy if Bush and Sarkozy, et al opted to snub the Opening Ceremonies, and indeed stayed away from the games altogether. It would also be gratifying to see some Peaceful protests--about China's occupation of Tibet, and involvement in Darfur and Zimbabwe, as well as a host of other human rights and environmental issues.

It would be great if foreign tourists would boycott the games as well. But sure, let the athletes compete for their medals.

I can see where there are some countries that might wish to make a political statement by boycotting the Olympics. That is a legitimate decision to make. In such an event, rather than keep the athletes from participating--as the US did in Moscow 1980, or the Eastern bloc did in Los Angeles 1984, simply have the National sports federation withdraw, and let the individual athletes compete under the IOC flag.

By the way, I never implied that Olympic athletes are "not sophisticated enough to interpret and understand political intrigues". Even a child has such sophistication. The sad fact of the matter is that the majority of Olympic athletes will simply subordinate whatever moral qualms they have to the best interests of their sporting career. Sad to say, but it's reasonable to assume that 90% of Olympic athletes would opt to participate in an Olympic games hosteed by Khartoum, Sudan.

"...forego the Olympic tradition because of politics, greed and avarice on the part of some"

Which Olympic tradition is that? The Olympic movement has simply become big business, mixed with ugly jingoism and tawdry commercialism. The reality is that hosting an Olympic games has become a multi-Billion Euro affair, a large portion of which inevitably comes out of the public coffers. I don't think that Olympic athletes (nor Professional athletes, in general) are entitled to what amounts to huge, wasteful subsidies. There probably won't ever again be an Olympic games which breaks even, or makes fiscal sense for the host nation. Thus, there will be some greedy and avaricious people profiteering *every* Olympic games. In this case, there are many Beijing residents who have been evicted from their homes to make way for grand construction projects.

In the ancient Olympics, the athletes returned to the same spot for seven centuries. The IOC (and FIFA) ought to do away with the traveling circus, and simply find an appropriate place to establish as a permanent venue.

Matbe with global warming, in a few decades there won't be any place that'll be about to host the Winter Olympics

@ chesstraveler

I'm also not surprised by what GK wrote in the WSJ but am surprised by the writing style. It seems much less hostile now, considering it's politics. Has age and family caught up with him?

I disagree on not mixing politics and chess. Without politics this blog would die. Discussions occur because emotions run high and nothing provokes a reader more than politics (religion too but this is chess). I doubt the Olympics would be as popular today if it weren't for the politics (and scandals). I bet those pro-Tibet protesters will be glued to the tv sets come this summer rooting for Chinese athletes to pull an epic fail. More on topic, surely you must had had your juices flowing over toiletgate?

@ silvakov

There is plenty of chess to write about, just not enough of the kind that causes lurkers' blood to boil. Mig could cover Scholastic Chess and no one would post. Mig covered toiletgate and there were 200-300 posts per article. Readers want to pop out the lawn chair, beer, and peanuts while enjoying the troll vs troll debates. They would probably pay to see famous GM vs famous GM trolling each other!

Believe me, I understand that politics rears its ugly head in all areas of human endeavor...it's the nature of the beast. My point is that when it supercedes the main area of interest, i.e. chess on this blog, it subverts the true and meaningful purpose of what--I believe--we want from the Royal Game; a better understanding of that game and the great players who make that possible.

E.S., You say that without politics this blog would die. I say without chess this blog is dead.

If Mig continues to basically ignore that in the near future by not covering the ups and downs of these tournaments and their participants, then this blog will R.I.P.

To answer D., no I can't do better than Mig has done with this chess blog. I don't believe there's any better around. That's why I hate seeing it circle the drain without even a mention by the Headmaster as to why. Sorry, but it strikes me as somewhat arrogant and uncaring. If he has better things to do I can understand that, but at least let us know howcome it has lost its edge.

That Topalov commercial is really good: http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4595

I mean it's well made and funny. A good thing for chess.

Was I seeing things or was Carlsen analysing a variation that hung the queen... he suggested ...e6 in a variation which drops Bxd8.

Nope... Rxh5, duh. Pieces hard to see on the video.

After giving it thought since late last night, I have decided to forego my support of this chess blog. I see no reason to continue to check this site daily, or at any other time, since Mig has apparently lost interest in it as well. I can't help but find it rude and uncaring of Mig not to offer some reason when so very many have given so much of their time to have helped make this chess blog the success that it has been. I guess it is what it is, but still not good enough from my perspective. I want to thank all the fellow bloggers here who helped to make this an interesrting experience for me over the last 4 years or so. My apologies to all whom I may have or indeed did offend during some of the point/counterpoint sessions during this time. I hope all of you the very best, keep playing chess...the greatest game in the world.

Sincerely, chesstraveler

chesstraveler

It is pity that Mig has no time for daily updates, but I am still ready to sacrifice my precious 5 seconds a day to check whether there is something new.

@ chesstraveler

It's a shame to see someone leave a blog.

I hear ya that there is not much actual chess being discussed but it seems few are interested. Daaim Shabazz's attempt (Carlsen's Sicilian Dragon) died rather quickly. I can think of at least one immediate reason, the lack of technical support. How can one discuss chess if diagrams are not handy?

There is another reason, not everyone is on the same page, that is, not everyone knew Daaim was talking about Radjabov - Carlsen in Baku 2008, or know anything about the Dragon or whether Carlsen ever played it. I don't play through all the games of every tournament for example, or remember exactly of the games I do. It's conceivable some one may be following Baku but did not play through Radj-Carl.

The point is Daaim's post may only interest a few people. Had Daaim's post been about some 12 move draw of a famous book line and asking about why the GM didn't play some 13th move unbeknownst to Daaim that it is book would not in the least interest me.

A third reason for the lack of interest or responses is the lurkers and posters are varied in playing level and knowledge. Daaim answered himself of a question that took only a few seconds of thought, max. A GM is not going to waste time correcting every little obvious mistake in analysis. A chess master isn't going to explain the pros and cons of doubled pawns to beginners every time it's featured in some game. I take the position that if we are to discuss chess it should be variations and ideas that are not obvious, or if obvious, interesting or why it doesn't work. But because of the varied strengths and knowledge of the audience, what is obvious to one is not to another. It's possible to allow anyone to explain anything and everything in a limitless electronic blog but the practical issue is most won't wade through all the obvious stuff.

As for that Radjabov - Carlsen Sicilian Dragon, would you believe me if I told you I played that exact same line in a speed game up to about 27...g3 (I actually played 27...g3). I am a chessmaster and the guy I played against is an expert, probably a master now. That was maybe ten years ago. My remarkable memory, remarkable speed chess strength? Er, no. Up to about 17...gxh5 is well-known book. By now the book probably goes much deeper, however, I only knew up to 17...gxh5 at the time and the remainder was analysis (both home and published). Most of game after 17...gxh5 is almost forced so it wasn't a big deal playing like a world-class GM for so long. Someone somewhere, amateur or not, right now is probably looking at analysis that one day will be played by a GM.

That speed game was played at a park. I wonder about my opponent, whether he played a similar game on the ICC or some other internet chess site, recorded electronically, and then some GMs accessed the database...well probably a coincidence since most of the variations are forced, but still, makes you think?

Epic,

I'm convinced chesstraveler will be back when things get going. He's a chess enthusiast and has been a valuable member here. I hope I'm right.

Oh... I'm not a beginner. ;-) I simply made an oversight due to lack of attention of doing several things at once on the computer and didn't realize the nuance played in the mainline. It was a very sharp line, but I had to rewind the game and play it back. I used to be very booked up on the Dragon, but then switched to the Sveshnikov when the Dragon became overanalysed and hard to keep up on theory. Alas... the Sveshnikov met the same fate!

I will agree that diagrams would help, but managing a blog is not easy to do. The blog I run is a low-profile, yet time-consuming one attached to my main website. To put daily posts with diagrams, analysis and commentary is quite demanding. Mig has been able to do the DD for four years up until now. Of course one can say bad things about the blog now, but I would imagine he has his reasons and they will be known.

Until then lets use the current thread to follow the FIDE Grand Prix. Go Wang Yue!

I don't think Mig ever intended this blog to contain thorough analysis of games. Instead, he writes briefly (and piquantly!) about important/interesting moments of games, which I find very appealing.

Personally, I like this blog best when it focuses on games and on GM personalities, rather than on chess politics (not to mention other politics: Clinton v. Obama, oy vey).

I hope that Mig can muster the time, energy, and patience to continue this blog. But if not, I wouldn't blame him: from what I can tell, it's largely a pro bono effort, and clearly Mig has a lot of work to do with Kasparov, plus other projects probably, from which he can earn money. So, good for Mig whichever way he goes with the Daily Dirt: I wish him the best.

Cheparinov was also a "leading star" in the event called Handshake Gambit, when he refused to accept Nigel Short's hand before the game start. Short and Corus organizers made incredible noise, and more and more tournament contracts started to include the clause of obligatory handshake. However, nobody paid attention when this, and much worse, happened to "anonymous" WIM Anna Rudolf only few weeks earlier. The appeal submitted to FIDE has not seen resolution as of yet.

So what happened to Anna Rudolf?

Perhaps he should some get some guest bloggers on board until he is free again. Who would you like to see take on the mantle?

Clubfoot!

acirce!

russianbear! rdh!

What about Mrs. Mig, his wife of less than two years? Didn't she, using the handle, "Ms. Terious," fill in for Mig on one occasion, some months before he unveiled her as his bride-to-be?

Or can it be they are no longer together....?

How about Tommy as guest blogger? (smile)

I would like to be the guest blogger.

Everyone can have a whack at the VOR.

We could tell jokes and have fun!