I may have missed this coming out during the last Kasparov hurricane to hit New York. Info on the players' teams. Anand: Peter Heine Nielsen, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Kramnik: Peter Leko, Sergei Rublevsky, Laurent Fressinet. An interesting cast, especially the choice of fellow top-tenner Leko. This continues Kramnik's habit of working with super-elite players as well as the usual young and creative hard-workers. Leko, an e4 player like Anand, drew a WCh match with Kramnik in 2004. And of course there is the off-stage cast as well. No doubt both players have contracted theoretical work from any number of GM contributors. [New interview with Kramnik just posted on ChessBase. He lists the same three players.]
This may seem like overkill for just 12 games, and that's no doubt true. Over 24 games you could expect a great deal of ebb and flow in the opening phase. With just six whites each there's not much time to experiment. You can either keep butting heads or switch to plan B, then C, trying to catch your opponent with your prep. Topalov and Kramnik battled frequently in the Slav in 2006, though not deeply. Only two of their 16 games (including the four rapid playoff games) matched beyond move 10. Unless Anand strays from his preferred 1.e4 we're guaranteed more variety than that in Bonn. Although we may regret it if it means a half-dozen Petroffs.
Both players are veterans and largely consistent with their repertoires. I'm not expecting any sensational surprises -- e.g. 1.e4 or the Sicilian from Kramnik or the KID or Grunfeld from Anand. I could see Vishy playing 1.d4 if he's not getting anywhere against the Petroff. And it's worth noting Kramnik's Berlin is still alive and well. With the two best-prepared players in the world going at it with big teams and months to prepare it's a shame we only get 12 games. They'll have leftover prep for a year after this.
Radoslaw Wojtaszek seems to be a primarily d4 player. I guess Anand is going to go for d4.
I am surprised that Leko is helping Kramnik, if I know correctly he has helped Anand against Kasparov. In 2007 WCC they played a line that they had analysed back then at such a high level. So that preparations still of value and Kramnik will have access to that. Also I thought Leko is quite good friend of Anand. Though both Kramnik and Leko share same manager. Anyway may be Kramnik promised him 30% of prize fund!!
I like Kramnik's seconds. They look pretty impressive. But rumours are going on that Magnus Carlsen is part of Anand's team. If that's true, it'll simply be awesome!!
"But rumours are going on that Magnus Carlsen is part of Anand's team." Well he evidently isn't. There was never much basis for those rumours to be true, as Bonn conflicts with Carlsen's own tournament schedule.
I think it all started when people misinterpreted something Kramnik said in an interview.
Great Kramnik interview on chessbase. He's in good health and so is Anand. I really hope this is going to be a very good match and hopefully no scandals.
My prediction is a +2 Anand win.
I was also sad to see that Carlsen wasn't a second. As he is entering the top five, it'd be a great chance for him to get the experience of a match from the inside.
But just b/c he isn't listed doesn't mean they haven't consulted. If I'm not mistaken, Nielsen is oftentimes Carlsen's coach or second, so there is probably some kind of connection there.
I was wondering if Kramnik's choice of Rublevsky (who he had for Elista) meant that he was preparing to meet the Taimonov/Paulsen, which Anand has often played (including a neat novelty in his last tournament).
In that case Carlsen is Anand's thirds. LOL!
Kramnik struck gold with Leko in several ways. A top-10 player; expert in deep opening preparation (especially Sveshnikov, Ruy Lopez and QID); lots of experience against Anand; almost perfect knowledge of the type of positions Kramnik likes to get on the board.
"I like Kramnik's seconds. They look pretty impressive. But rumours are going on that Magnus Carlsen is part of Anand's team. If that's true, it'll simply be awesome!!"
I can see seconds are important (for psychological support, as much as anything), but I don't get the excitement about them. Someone like Carlsen's a phenomenon because of the speed and quality of his play over the board, but there's no reason to assume that at his age he's the best guy to have working on opening preparation (the general weakness of all young players).
Even if he was the best opening theoretician around it would still be unlikely to make a huge difference to the match. Both teams will be relying on computers running round the clock, in any case.
I have predicted Leko (well, kinda - at least mentioned he would be a good pick) just a couple of days ago:
http://www.chessninja.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001813;p=6#000128
Leko's presence on team Kramnik is huge news. Kramnik can use Leko as a sort of a sparring partner to test out opening ideas and plans. It can also mean the Petroff is still on, since Leko has a lot of experience of playing against the Petroff, a lot of which came from preparation for and playing of the match against Kramnik in 2004. But then again, no matter if Kramnik sticks with the Petroff or not, Leko could be used as a guy to come with ideas for the white side, as well as a sparring partner. Also, Leko is great against the Ruy, which he plays with both colors with good results (most of the time), so the stocks of all kinds of Ruys (including the Marshall) are up, too. I am not sure how much Leko can help Kramnik on the white side, since he is a hardcore e4 player, and Kramnik is now again a hardcore 1.d4 player. And their primary responses to closed openings are different, as Kramnik has mostly been a Slav/Semi-slav guy, while Leko is a Nimzo-Indian and Queen's Indian guy. But Kramnik has been playing those occasionally also, especially in less important games, and has made a point of playing the QID a couple of times in Dortmund and Tal memorial - perhaps in an attempt to make a switch to 1.d4 even less attractive for Anand.
I am not sure what to make of Fressinet. His chessgames page gives an impression of a 1.e4 player, with a strong background in the Semi-Slav and Slav, so maybe he is brought in to help deal with Anand's Semi-Slav. But his recent games show he has been playing 1.d4, too, and that in the last couple of years he has increasingly become a 1.d4 player. Also, it seems like he has been phasing the Semi-Slav out of his opening repertoire wth black, but he still plays the Slav quite a bit. I am not sure if he is considered a talented theoretician or anything like that, but I would guess he is mainly there to help out with the white side of 1.d4, and maybe the Slav (if Anand is to abandon 1.e4).
On the team Anand side, Kasimdzhanov is a great pick. He played Petroff with both colors, so he was obviously brought in to help with that, which is reasonable, since Petroff has to be the main concern for Anand. He has also been playing Semi-Slav, including a recent Anti-moscow Semi-Slav game against Anand's other new second Wojtaszek (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1499079). It looks like Kasimdzhanov will be able to help Anand in a lot of areas, and of course, he is a very strong player in his own right.
Wojtaszek is the least known of the seconds, and it seems like he has been playing all kinds of openings. He apparently was a World Youth Chess Champion (U-18), and then a Polish champ a few years ago. He has had some pretty good results with black, even if it comes against opposition that is less than elite. But he has wins with black even against players such as Shirov and Volokitin and at least one draw against Anand - with white (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1502357). He plays A LOT of different opening systems and seems to do quite well in many of them, especially with black.
Kramnik leads 1-0.
Yellow card to Leko for foul play.
Russianbear, that's because you are a KGB agent, and as everyone knows KGB has a special chess department. You are responsible for poisoning ppl with orange juice, and transmitting moves using modern technologies such as doves and sewer system to a grandmaster in the toilet.
Dimi regards.
P.S.
The future of chess is after Vietnamese guys.
My friend the journalist asks: if you had to interview anand before the world championship match against Kramnik....what would you ask him? Serious questions and quirky ones.....just a couple....pls help!!!
I think I have about a half hour to get back to her - bring on your best ideas!
How about this for a serious question: what does he think about an idea that the real world championship can only be won in a match and does that idea influence his attitude or preparation for the upcoming match?
On the lighter side, you can ask the same question that Chessbase asked Kramnik: what openings are you going to play? (And watch him joke his way out of it).
I actually can't imagine asking anything about the match that they wouldn't tell. Everything of interest is being kept secret, right? Anand won't say what his chances are, anything about his prep, anything about his opponent (because it might indicate his strategy). All that is left is either personal stuff (which is interesting, but who cares right now?), past achievements (which is interesting, but who care right now?), the match vs. tournament formats (which is interesting, but who cares right now?). Politics? Economics?
Although the second the first game gets played, I am sure there will be a lot to talk about...
Going by the live rating list now. One should inform Topa that this match is going to be between no4 vs 6 and not 5 vs 6. I am sure his opinion will not change.
Who cares what Topailov thinks
Can't see why Kramnik didn't blurt all his opening prep to Friedel. It would have amused us all heartily and given us a nice smile every time we read the name "Kramnik". Guess some guys have no heart.
anand will play the petroff himself if he picks black on the first game of the match... if he doesnt, he and his team dont know psychology...
talking about team spirit, the euro team championship is coming soon too...
Having Leko in his side for Kramnik is like adding ice to ice. It doesn't make it any worse, it doesn't make it any better either. It is just as cold like before! So Anand really doesn't have to worry here about the surprise addition!
@silvakov It will be hard for Anand to play the Petroff when Kramnik doesn't play 1.e4. ;-)
playjunior: Russianbear, that's because you are a KGB agent... ...Dimi regards.
??
Indeed, RB is clearly an NKVD agent, but his messages do not lack
content, unlike yours Junior.
Anyway, getting Leko to help Kramnik is the greatest surprise of
all the news on seconds and thirds... Does it mean that Leko has
lost his desire to ever challenge Kramnik again in a match? What
else does it say about Leko's intentions? Of course, this can be
reversed too. Will be interesting nonetheless..
D.
"Having Leko in his side for Kramnik is like adding ice to ice"
Well, what do you what Leko to add? Fire (a meltdown)? Vodka? Nevertheless the result would not be in accordance with pre match strategy. Maybe after the match...
Playjunior has nowhere else to practice his bad sarcasm, we're stuck with him.
Hi everyone,
It seems to me that all comments have neglected Mig's most critical point : it is a real SHAME these guys will only play 12 games. 24 games was great after the KK contest. 16 was Kasparov's demand because he knew he was getting tired vs a young opponent. 14 was greedy. 12 almost a farce if you compare with the 10 games rule of quarter and semi finals in the old days.
Shame to Kramnik, who has said and repeated he has deep respect for traditions. Shame to Anand, who must be thinking that 12 games is enough for a 39 years old player. Shame to Iliumjinov who is destroying one more aspect of our beautiful game.
Say Mig, looks like you've forgot about one more thing : I still cannot digest the fact that both players split exactly the green regardless of the result. Who made that old commie regulation ? Khruchev ? Lets imagine one gets totally crushed : people will say he 's getting along with a golden pararchute, won't they ?
Just kiddin'. Let's enjoy the games.
Off topic :
Is there any live broadcast of the games without having to pay ?
Interesting that Leko is Kramnik's second.
Any other example of a former opponent in a WC match becoming a second?
To Henry,
I have no recollection of that. But we have the opposite with Kramnik, who was Kasparov's secondant during the NYC Kasparov Anand match.
Kramnik must have learnt a lot then, since he crushed Kaspy right after as you know.
"Having Leko in his side for Kramnik is like adding ice to ice"
The point would be quite obvious: Kramnik will actually spend abit of his time playing...
(and a note from the allegory police: adding ice to ice will keep the ice better)
>these guys will only play 12 games.. I cannot digest the fact that both players split exactly the green regardless of the result... Shame to Iliumjinov who is destroying one more aspect of our beautiful game...
Kirsan as FIDE-president is not the cause it is only another symptom of the chronic, perhaps lethal, illness which eats the present day chess.
In fact Kirsan's prematurely ejaculated ideas fit well along with the "12 games-mini-WCh-match" and with the artificial, pseudo-rivalry between the contendends (being them Leko, Kramnik or Anand).
Heck, who cares if 12 or 24 ?, if Anand or Kramnik , when my cellphone plays 2500 ELO and makes no demands for being respected as a deep thinker.
"and a note from the allegory police: adding ice to ice will keep the ice better"
Quely, I have never heard of that allegory township. :)
"Well, what do you what Leko to add? Fire (a meltdown)? Vodka? Nevertheless the result would not be in accordance with pre match strategy. Maybe after the match..."
Dry ice may be? To reach some extremely cold temparatures where no one can make any progress. Anand should take anti-Fritz sorry anti-Freeze with him. :)
What cell phone is this? What program is it? I'm looking for a mobile chess partner with text (not graphic) interface for blindfold chess practice.
Thanks.
" Heck, who cares if 12 or 24 ?, if Anand or Kramnik , when my cellphone plays 2500 ELO and makes no demands for being respected as a deep thinker."
LOL. You must LOVE the game.
The more interesting question is who are the Top 20 GMs rooting for. I suspect Anand. Because he's a "player" and if he wins the WCC cycle will remain predictable. On the other hand if Kramnik wins it will lead to another deep freeze of uncertainty at the top.
D.
How/when do they pick who gets white in the 1st game? Is it already decided? Whose momentum would it help more to start out as white, do you think? Anyone have any opinions on that?
Methinks it's not very important either way, but Kramnik would not mind being black to quietly draw the first game and settle in, rather than attempt to immediately take the initiative. Then again if Anand has any big shocks in store he might well want to unleash one in game 1 as white to try to rattle Kramnik as soon as possible..such a short match it's maybe better to use your best weapons quickly!
Logically Kramnik will not play the Petroff - bypassing Anands opening strategy. Exactly as he did against Kasparov. Sensible options would be the Marshall/ Ruy Lopez and /or the caro kahn. This would fit in very well with Lekos presence. Anand will surely play at least 1 d4 game. I cannot see Anand backing off from the semi slav and encounters in this might well be decisive
just 1 day 12 hrs and 56 mins to go..
Will be interesting to watch the games via www.foidos.com , first time real ChessTV over the web.
Mig:
Is it possible for you to tag some of our frequent contributors? Over the last few years, I have tremendously enjoyed the somewhat partisan rancor among the writers regarding this match, the match v. tournament etc. It will be nice to see their arguments bunched together and compare after this match is over.
12 games for a World Championship is a travesty.
There was nothing at all wrong with the 24 game match rules (with a return match clause!). I'd like to one time control for the entire game too, something like Game/180 or Game 165+5 sec. per move).
Presumably everyone but me has already been able to find out what happens about colours. Is it a straight alternating run? And who is white in the first game?
No it's the same as Vlad v Topa (except they'll hopefully play game 5) with player A getting white 1,3,5 then it switches and they'll get white games 8,10 & 12. In the Gazza v Vlad match Garry had whites on Sunday following Vlad pressing really hard on Saturdays thus there was talk that he was too exhausted to mount a serious effort in those whites. In fairness I dont recall Garry himself voicing these complaints
According to the official website, Anand has 4 seconds. The 4th is Indian Surya Shekhar Ganguly.
Duncan
Anand looks nervous compared to the big guy.
The question on Lekos presence on Kramniks team made Anand look uncomfortable. Prematch score: 2-0 for Kramnik !
Brian, are you being sarcastic? He did voice those complaints. If he hadn't, would you remember now, who had which colour on which weekdays eight years ago?
@rdh:
From the match regulations:
"3.4 Drawing of colors
3.4.1 The draw for colors will be conducted during the opening ceremony. The colors shall be reversed after game 6. (The player getting the white color in game 1 shall play game 7 with the black color)."
I figure that the opening ceremony will take place on Monday evening (European time). So we don't know the colors yet.
Martin, I stand corrected - just didnt remember Gazza saying it. I think it was a pretty lame excuse anyway as even with days to prepare against the Berlin, in the same match Gazza didnt do any better. Of course many months later in Astana he did finally nail the Berlin.
I think Anand's psychological stability will be the most interesting aspect of the forthcoming match. I think we know what we're getting with Vlad - tough competitor with steely nerves. In my mind Vishy has never shaken off the ghosts of his collapse against Gazza. He has largely won tournaments (very successfully) by really impressively dealing with the lower half of the field. Obviously in a match that will have to change. This is his moment of truth.
Very intriguing prospect whatever happens..........
Looking at the Chessbase article, http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4955, though I approve of Anand and Kramnik's choice of the smaller pawns, I'm surprised that they went for brown wood pieces, instead of the black. To me, the brown wood pieces are almost camouflaged within the dark squares of the wood board. I think that the black black pieces would provide a better contrast.
Mig, here is the real poll you should put up on the DD: In over-the-board play, do your knights face forwards or sideways?
While there's been speculation about Carlsen working with Anand, what about Kasparov? His resentment toward his vanquisher might have led him to discuss a few things with Anand, completing the K-K-A triangle begun in 1995.
Dumb question: Will the moves be broadcast live other than on the fancy chess TV they are planning and other than on ICC or PlayChess? Will there be just a simple diagram broadcast live, for free?
Has anyone succeeded in gettin the Foidos tv demo right? I tried it and got the following error message: Server Error in '/' Application.
The resource cannot be found.
The slavemasters have ensured that nothing will be relayed, except through their buggy M$ Windoz crap app, without a 30 min delay. So no (official) live relaying.
r wrote:
{
I'm surprised that they went for brown wood pieces, instead of the black. To me, the brown wood pieces are almost camouflaged within the dark squares of the wood board. I think that the black black pieces would provide a better contrast.
}
But black pieces reflect the least light. Contrast with the squares might be a consideration, but direct see-ability outweighs.
Zombre wrote:
{
... Foidos tv demo right?
I tried it and got the following error message: Server Error in '/' Application.
}
This does seem like a major problem. I am getting the same error consistently.
(Yes I have Silverlight 2 installed.)
Last chance to enter the contest of the year! Do not miss it! (International Events forum):
http://www.chessninja.com/boards/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=64202#Post64202
Make your guess for the first four games.
Good luck!
Testing
Good point, Gene.
It's just nice that these two players can sit down and decide what pieces to use together, like menschen. Can't quite imagine that in a Kramnik-Topalov match.
The Foidos demo is nice! I had no problem.
"I'm not expecting any sensational surprises -- e.g. 1.e4 or the Sicilian from Kramnik or the KID or Grunfeld from Anand. I could see Vishy playing 1.d4 if he's not getting anywhere against the Petroff."
hmmm....waaaay off the mark as far as predictions go Mig!
What do you mean?! I was perfect! He wasn't getting anywhere against the Petroff IN HIS ANALYSIS and so went for 1.d4. Of course that's what I meant! ;-)
As for the Sicilian, of course I meant for the whole match, expecting 1.e4 from Anand. In these last few games there was around 100% chance of a Sicilian if Anand played 1.e4 like today.
Hey, predictions are always a fool's game. You're right around 1/4 and nobody talks about the one! Garry did call 1.d4 though, I must admit.
During the broadcast today I said that maybe Vishy played 1.e4 hoping Kramnik would respond with 1..e5 and a Petroff by reflex. But his plan was foiled because Kramnik was a little late coming to the board and 1.e4 was already there waiting for him.