Open your mouth and close your eyes... Well, at least close your eyes. Actually, the blindfold chess in the Amber (they seem to have dropped the "Melody" part of the name at some point) tournament doesn't even require eyes to be closed. They use computer board with invisible pieces instead of the more theatrical blindfolds. Ah well, without spectators this isn't much of a concern, I suppose. And there's little doubt that players today are much more accustomed to visualizing computer boards and pieces than wooden ones.
As always, it's an incredible field. Anand and Topalov decided they would rather spend the time trying to break down the Semi-Slav, but just about everyone else who's anyone is there. Carlsen, Kramnik, Aronian, Grischuk, Gelfand, Svidler, Gashimov, Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Ponomariov, Dominguez, Smeets. Each round the same pair of opponents play one rapid and one blindfold game. Aronian has won the combined event two years in a row. Last year he topped Anand and Kramnik by a half-point. Morozevich, an infernally strong blindfold player, dropped out at the last minute ("personal reasons") and has been replaced by Grischuk.
What's up with Moro these days? Not that he doesn't have entirely legit personal reasons for dropping out of what is generally considered the most luxurious event in the world, but his latest rating plunge is bad even by his loopy standards. Last at the Tal Memorial, knocked out of the World Cup in the second round by Laznicka, then dropping three games to Papaioannou, Mamedyarov, and Akopian at the World Team in January. I had kind of hoped that age would bring a certain stability to his wild and amazing chess, making him more of a super-tournament threat. Right now it's all downhill. Any recent interviews with him?
ICC Chess.FM will be providing daily live coverage for the first time, and I'll be chipping in. Thanks to a deal with the official site you don't even have to be an ICC member to listen and watch the GM's analysis board. Check it out. Games begin at 1430 local time in Nice, 8:30am ET.
Moro is a modern tragedy... let's hope he can write a good act to append to his career.
Magnus Carlsen about Amber2010 on his blog:
http://arcticsec.no/index.php?button=blog&main_image=35
¨but just about everyone else who's anyone is there. ¨
Well , apart from Moro , Nakamura spanked Carlsen recently in a similar competition so i guess he has to be considered ¨someone¨ in this time controls.
@unknown :
I still think that Magnus´s blog is extremely dull and phony , specially if you compare it with his status changes at facebook.
:)
Perhaps one shouldn't reply to obvious attempts at trolling. However...
"recently" - It's been five months.
"similar competition" - It was a short-format blitz tournament with only three seriously strong players in an otherwise weak field.
"spanked" - Nakamura was gifted the second game. Had this not happened, Carlsen would've won handily. In other words, the match hung in the balance of that one game, through most of which Carlsen had the advantage.
"dull and phony" - It's a corporately sponsored blog, not his personal tumbling ground. What do you expect? And we all know you hate it (and probably Carlsen), so why do you waste your time (and ours, with your invariable and interminable complaints) by reading it?
I found the player photos on the Amber entry on Chessbase somewhat amusing. Carlsen looking like he regretted something he just said; Kramnik giving the death stare to the little stuffed animal in his hand; and Grischuk wondering why he bothered to put a suit on while remaining unshaved and out of contact with a comb for God knows how long.
Where can I see the GM commentary from chess.fm? I can't find it on the official site...
Mig says: "ICC Chess.FM will be providing daily live coverage for the first time, and I'll be chipping in. Thanks to a deal with the official site you don't even have to be an ICC member to listen and watch the GM's analysis board. Check it out."
I can find the audio of the radio commentary at http://www.chessclub.com/chessfm/ - but how to view the board?
thanks! James
¨Kramnik giving the death stare to the little stuffed animal in his hand¨
Lol , very funny.
@nohair: take it easy.
BTW my favourites for this event are Sasha and Kramnik in that order .
Wow, Magnus just unleashed a deadly innovation from Garry's database!!
[White "Carlsen"]
[Black "Ivanchuk"]
1. a3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Bb5
Rc8 9. g4 Bg6 10. Qa4 Nd7 11. b4 e6 12. Bb2 *
And Sasha defeated Kramnik...
Each year you have one outsider who is invited to all the top tournaments everywhere (and then is usually never heard of again). This time its Gashimov, last year it was Wang Yue.
Chuky!
I believe Magnus Carlsen will win the world title soon and not let go for a long time. He may be on his way to becoming the greatest ever.
Carlsen's game reminds me of something i do sometimes online if I am a little bored. Against players of equal or lesser strength, I play 2-4 totally crap opening moves in succession then play my level best for the rest of the game best to try to save the game. Makes for a challenge :)
Quite cheeky of C, I like it!
Make up your mind , Was that a ¨deadly innovation¨from Garry´s database ,or the ¨2-4 crap opeing moves¨ thing?
Or was it Chucky the one playing a lesser strenght opponent?
:D
Doubtless a deadly innovation. I never said for whom it was deadly, though.
***BEGIN REPORT***
Our spies have intercepted Magnus Carlsen original entry to his blog, which is available here:
http://arcticsec.no/index.php?button=blog&main_image=35
As you can see, there was much work to be done by the Arctic Bones people.
/////
AFTR SOLID BREAK SINCE CORUS ENDD AT TEH END OV JANUARY, IM NAO READY 4 ANOTHR MAJOR TOURNAMENT! TEH AMBR BLINDFOLD AN RAPID IZ RATHR UNIQUE TOURNAMENT, SPONSORD BY TEH DUTCH BILLIONAIRE AN CHES LOVR JOOP VAN OOSTEROM, DAT SINCE TEH FURST EDISHUN IN 1992 HAS ATTRACTD ALMOST ALL OV TEH BEST CHESPLAYERS IN DA WURLD. DIS YER IZ NO EXCEPSHUN, AS APART FRUM TEH HIGHEST RATD PLAYR IN DA WURLD(NO POINTS 4 GUESIN WHOM DAT MITE BE :)THAR IZ ALSO TEH WURLD N.3 AN FORMR WURLD CHAMPION AS WELL AS MULTIPLE WINNR OV TEH AMBR TOURNAMENT, VLADIMIR KRAMNIK, AS WELL AS TEH REIGNIN CHAMPION AN WURLD N.5,LEVON ARONIAN, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHR MEMBERS OV TEH TOP 10. EACH DAI WE PULAY WAN BLINDFOLD AN WAN RAPID GAME, EACH LASTIN BOUT WAN HOUR ON AVERAGE. TEH ATMOSFERE HER MOAR RELAXD THAN IN OTHR SUPR-TOURNAMENTS, PARTLY CUZ THAR R NO RATIN POINTS AT STAEK, BUT NOT LEAST CUZ OV TEH LUXURIOUS PLAYIN CONDISHUNS. STILL, THAR IZ LOT OV PRESTIGE CONNECTD 2 TOURNAMENT, AS MOST OV TEH BEST PLAYERS R HER, AN WE ALL HATE LOSIN! NOT 2 FORGET DAT PLAYIN BLINDFOLD IZ VRY DEMANDIN. SOMETIMEZ TEH BLINDFOLD GAME TAKEZ SO MUTCH ENERGY FRUM TEH PLAYERS DAT THEY R UNABLE 2 PRODUCE ANYTHIN DESENT IN DA RAPID GAME LATR DAT DAI. TEH DRAWIN OV LAWTS TOOK PLACE TODAI, AN AS RESULT IM GONNA PULAY TEH WURLD N.11 VASILY IVANCHUK 2MORROW. TEH 40-YER OLD UKRAINIAN HAS REPUTASHUN OV BEAN AN UNPREDICTABLE GENIUS, CAPABLE OV PRODUCIN ABSOLUTELY BRLLIANT GAMEZ, AS WELL AS AMATEUR-LIEK LOSEZ FRUM TIEM 2 TIEM. IVANCHUK IZ AN AMBR-VETERAN, BEAN TEH ONLY PLAYR 2 PARTICIPATE IN ALL 19 EDISHUNS SO FAR! MAH DUELS WIF IVANCHUK R ALWAYS FILLD WIF ACSHUN, WIF PLENTY OV DECISIV GAMEZ SINCE R FURST MEETIN IN 2005, SO STAY TUND 2MORROW AT 16.00 MAGNUS CARLSEN, NICE, MARCH 12TH 2010
***END REPORT***
Hope Chucky plays 1) a3! in the rapid...
No, Ivanchuk makes better use of his a pawn.
thx Ivanchuk for a wonderful evening.
"Kramnik is exceptionally strong in the blindfold part. Last year he even considered asking the arbiter if he could also play the rapid games without sight of the board." (from the ChessBase site).
I prefer disbelief to wonderment.
Well Knallo, that's from one of our videos posted on the official site. Vlad did smile when he said it...
Ah, I see, thank you! He does have a sense of humour...
Dear corporate diary , i got spanked today by a very atractive old man.
aaah those eyebrows make me feel like uhhuuhuhu
and how he dominated me with his center pawns, wow!
"Danailov has said that "Topalov will not accept or offer draws with Vishy Anand" in their title match in April."
Is this a first in a WCC?! I think Karpov & Korchnoi were not on speaking terms in Bagiou but they offered draws through the arbiter
your insane :P)- keep up the good work
Did Kramnik and Topalov still talk to each other in the second half of their Elista match? I just checked: all the draws were consistent with Sofia rules, i.e. either move repetition or dead-drawn endings.
Danailov's latest statement on behalf of Topalov seems to be a publicity stunt, not an offense to Anand ... .
Of course this is a first , if the statement is true (so far GM Fontaine is the only reference) it would be the first time that a player commits himself to something like that before a WCH match.
It remains to be seen if this ¨Topalov rules¨ include only the Sofia rules or if they really want to push this oath to the very end of each game.
I am not sure who would benefit from this , i believe it would be Anand but maybe someone could elaborate more on this.
Moral of the day: don't boot Manu off your Facebook friends list. He will wreak a terrible vengeance on Chessninja.
Question: does the announcement mean fighting spirit or hostility? The former seems likely judging by wording.
Carlsen had a bad start in first round. The usual suspects start barking. It is weird how grown up men spend such energy nitpicking on a young player they have never met. Argh, I found a typo on his blog. Argh, he should be spanked for playing a3. Argh, once he said something unfortunate on his Facebook. Argh, argh.
A young man has decided to devote his life to professional chess, providing great chess games and entertainment for us kibitzers. An exceptional talent will not be “lost” to science, law school or some other carrier. Carlsen will add to the world chess legacy. He’s striving with professional necessities like management, funding and other hinders.
Positivity is the norm in life. Normally he should be applauded. I wonder, what’s your problem in life?
Recommended listening: Professional Jealousy, Van Morrison.
Personally, I am delighted he played 1. a3. One of the things I really like about Amber is that the players let their hair down and play different stuff to their normal repertoires, take more risks etc...and that's what he did.
Btw, pretty much any response to 1. a3 must be good (if you really want to annoy your opponent, how about 1... a5?) but maybe the most logical is 1... g6, the only way I can see White justifying 1.a3 then is to transpose into a reversed Panno, which Black can avoid...any thoughts?
If you're going to hate Carlsen you're going to have a miserable next 20 years. Nice game against Aronian today.
Indeed regondi, a great crushing combo that slaughtered Aronian. Always fun to watch games like that.
Looks like Karjakin missed the simpe 46. ..h5! to win against Smeets. Now its a draw..
Blindfold often gets bloody when one player looses oversight, while the other maintains it. It happend to Carlsen too, in last year's Amber against Kramnik.
Fantastic comment!
I think you're reading Fiske's comment incorrectly.
He probably means "you" in the sense of "one".
Good point. A language misunderstanding.
Thank you.
oo argh what a thumping storming piece of kings indian thuggery from Magoose - he ripped Aronian apart with his bare hands. His ex advisor will be reet proud
Re the no draw Topalov move maybe Tophead thinks this will create more pressure on Anand and tire him out
"To the extent that this was a psychological ploy, I'm glad he lost. It's not that I wish him ill, but a player like Ivanchuk deserves more respect than that. Maybe this is the equivalent of Nakamura's 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 phase; if so, I hope he, like Nakamura, grows out of it quickly."
Comment from Dennis M on Carlsbergs 1 a3- having read this I think he's right
Replying to 1. a3 with Black, I would try to make the move as meaningless as possible.
I would not play 1. ... e5, as after 2. c4, Black's extra move would probably be very useful in a Reversed Sicilian.
1. ... d5 I also dislike, as after 2. d4 Black will not want to play the Queen's Gambit.
1. ... g6 seems reasonable to me. When I was confronted with 1. a3 (happened more than once!), I usually played 1. ... Nf6 under the assumption that 1. a3 would generally not be useful in the ensuing structures. 1. ... c5 might also be okay under this assumption.
And Anderssen disrespected Morphy?
Karpov-Miles (1. e4 a6) - now that was really disrespect (which worked).
Karpov-Miles (1. e4 a6)
That was provocation, an invitation to lash out in search of an outright refutation. GM Tony Miles was a master of such ploys.
***BEGIN REPORT***
Thank you, Andy, but I have just gotten a scathing rebuke from Magnus Carlsen himself. He appears to be mad at me for posting the uncensored and unedited version of his post. Here is what he wrote:
URE NOT FUNNY MAKIN FUN OV ME, CHES AUDITOR. EVRYONEZ BEEN TRYIN 2 HAS PIECE OV ME SINCE I WUZ 2 OR 3. MAH FATHERS TRYIN 2 UNDO HIS OWN FAILUREZ BY LIVIN VICARIOUSLY THRU ME, AN DIS ARCTIC STONEZ COMPANY IZ TRYIN 2 CASH IN ON ME, 2. BUT TEH TRUTH IZ IM NOT DAT GUD AT CHES. C, THAZ Y I CANT PULAY BLINDFOLD AS WELL AS KRAMNIK OR MORO. THEYRE NATURALS. IM BRUTE MEMORIZASHUN. THAZ Y I DOAN HAS ANY BEAUTIFUL GAMEZ 2 MAH NAYM, LIEK NAKA PLAYD AGAINST GELFAND LAST YER OR FISCHR-BYRNE. ANYWAY, MAH FATHERS BOUT 2 LOCK ME IN MAH ROOM AGAIN 2 STUDY MOAR OPENINGS. GUD NITE.
Magnus
P.S.: I ALSO FINKZ HANZ IZ LOSR!!!
Aside his accurate postscript, what we are seeing here is a very troubled adolescent.
***END REPORT***
1. a3 being “disrespectful” is only some posters excuse for barking against Carlsen. Generally the super GM’s respect each other strongly. You see it from interviews and comments they make. Disrespectful behavior occurs a few times in chess, like when they exchange cheating accusations or they refuse to shake hands, etc. That’s disrespectful behavior! Playing a3 against Ivanchuk is perhaps sloppy and/or foolhardy. There is €216,000 in prize money to win, and Ivanchuk got a terrific start. After the game, I think Ivanchuk was more grateful than offended for Carlsen’s opening choice. ;-)
Well, i think it's good that we have young players that sometimes do foolish things.
It adds color to the game.
Would Leko open with A3? Or would Kramnik? Probably not... So, this is our only chance to see how a top level game turns out when you do.
I think that's a positive.
A3 isn't THAT much of a terrible disadvantage either... It's probably just about equal to giving away the opening advantage of having white. So with this opening, you give away the advantage, and you start as if you were playing black.
And, in rapid and blind, having white in the opening isn't as much of an advantage anyway, as in a full time game.
My guess is that Carlsen reasoned like this, and that he probably gambled that the opening would somehow bewilder Ivanchuk or put him at unease, enough to maybe justify the opening after all.
It was a gamble... and it didn't work out...
I think it's good that we have players who do stuff like this from time to time.
Why is everyone blaming Carlsen's loss on 1.a3 ? He reached a position where this pawn move made some sense, and then went wrong (so it seems to me) grabbing the pawn on a7. I guess 14.Qa7: is asking for trouble - no matter whether a3 was played on move 1, move 10 or not at all. So far, merijn (Dutch IM Merijn van Delft?) on Chessvibes was the only one pointing this out ... .
" Moral" of the day? You meant "lesson" of the day , don't you? cos there is nothing moral on being spanked like that :)
Anyway , you are being too dramatic , i was just having fun with some of the fans of this particular player , if we al cheer up the same horse it becomes boring , don't you think?
And i have to say that Magnus 's press approach facilitates things a lot.
:)
One of Carlsen's best qualities is that he can come back from a debacle like that against Ivanchuk to deliver a drubbing to the likes of Aronian.
Nothing wrong with a3 really. It's just a "pass", you play Black, unless you manage to prove the move useful in later structures. (If you face it it's better to play to render the move useless in any possible structure).
The move is not NECESSARILY frivolous (just theory avoidance) but M's later play was "I've pulled down my pants, betcha can't spank me". For fun? Bravadura (good record v Ivanchuck)? Experiment? Or the ancient attempt to confuse the opponent with unorthodox moves in blindfold? (Bad concept, Fine said many years ago-but he was referring to blindfold simuls!!) A little joke aimed at GK? Who knows, I was very surprised but I liked watching it. That's the first tripled pawn I've seen in top chess since the Ruy Lopez exchange Fischer-Spassky 1972!!!
Dennis should chill out and applaud a little bit of joking at a non-serious (prize money aside) event, the guys a kid havin some fun and the world no.1, he has to answer to nobody :)
Btw, can any of you people play a whole game blindfold, I'm curious, a friend can and he's lower rated than me, but I go haywire about move 15...
I think you're the victim of a LOL Cats who are impersonating Carlsen.
I didn't mean "you - BobbyFisk" I meant "you" as in "anybody who..." I was trying to append his opinion.
I dont blame the loss on a3 its just a miscue - we hold the worlds no 1 to super high standards. So the small things: funny behaviour at blitz, funny posting, comments that he used to win about half the time against Gazza and how Gazza hated losing and the a3 move all hint at a bit of arrogance. Well to be no 1 at 19 its understandable but these little things are weaknesses that can be exploited on the road to the WCC. I am sure Gazza was actually horrified/mortified by this move LOL
I tried a simul of four once all rated two classes below me, but I was in better shape then. Not sure I could do it today.
1.a3 should not be considered as a sign of disrespect. It was used by Adolf Anderssen in games 6, 8, and 10 in his match vs. Morphy (the 10th being Anderssen's best of the match). Anderssen used it not as a show of disrespect but as a practical way to get out of known open lines in which he had discovered Morphy opponent to be his superior and play a reversed Sicilian (yes, they knew about using defenses as openings back then). Carlsen's own decision to play 1.a3 was probably motivated by his desire to throw the game into a position where each would rely on their own resources as early as possible and "play chess". Perhaps, Carlsen's primary motivation was an attempt to push Ivanchuk into a time scramble with that strategy. If that was his strategy, it backfired badly.
I only caught the end of his comments, but on ChessFM Carlsen did say he had various ideas of playing reversed openings, but obviously it went wrong quickly after Qa4 (he said he missed Ivanchuk's ...Nd7). In chess terms I don't think there's anything too much wrong with the strategy in blindfold or rapid chess, but I would say:
1) Ivanchuk was exactly the wrong player to try it against - he's generally acknowledged to have the widest opening repertoire. Why not save it for one of the Amber debutants, or a more purely classical player like Gelfand?
2) It is still a bit of a slap in the face to a very experienced colleague, though a double-edged one. Despite the rational justifications, in practice... either he was going to win and people would say Carlsen can beat Ivanchuk even when he plays 1. a3, or he was going to lose and people would say he got what was coming to him. It ratcheted up the psychological pressure, which maybe wasn't the best plan for the first game of the tournament (though the other favourites didn't get off to the perfect start either!).
CARLSEN SPEAKS ABOUT HIS LOW IQ, KASPAROV, RAP MUSIC AND CHESS GROUPIES!
:-)
Great interview in Der Spiegel, translated by Chessbase today:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6187
Fascinating comment in that interview with Carlsen:
"There are many things I am better at than he is. And vice versa. Kasparov can calculate more alternatives, whereas my intuition is better. I immediately know how to rate a situation and what plan is necessary. I am clearly superior to him in that respect."
REALLY?!
Carlsen also states that he is "lazy" and "I don’t enjoy working to a timetable. Systematic learning would kill me."
Carlsen sounds exactly like a very young Karpov to me!
Blindfold chess?
Depends on the opening, I guess. I have been able to follow main line Sicilian Dragons and King's Indians for up to 20 moves but tend to get lost soon afterwards unless the position becomes simplified. Blunders are common.
I think it takes a certain type of cognitive ability to play blindfold well. Some trainers recommend that you keep lots of positions 'in your head' but my head hurts when I do that.
To see a fellow named "noyb" reply "really" to Carlsen's comment is really really comical.
Carlsen just had Svidler for lunch.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nb3 a6 10.f4 b5 11.Bf3 Bb7 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd7 14.e6 fxe6 15.Bg4 Rxf1+ 16.Qxf1 Nce5 17.Bxe6+ Kh8 18.Rd1 Qc7 19.Qf4 Rf8 20.Qg3 Nf6 21.Nc5 Nh5 22.Qe1 Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Nf3 24.Qh1 Nf4+ 25.Kf2 Nd4 0-1
The odd thing is after 26. Nd7 (the only move) Rybka only gives black about a half pawn edge - though "resigns" is the move white's position seems to be crying out for! (especially in blindfold) I guess Svidler wishes he exchanged queens first on move 13 or so.
Why does Magoose feel the need to say "I am clearly superior to him [kasparov] in that respect." It may be true but somehow saying it out loud about someone who has achieved such a huge amount seems unnecessary.
The twelve participants are (in alphabetical order):
1. Magnus Carlsen – Norway
2. Vladimir Kramnik - Russia
3. Levon Aronian – Armenia
4. Alexander Grischuk – Russia
5. Peter Svidler – Russia
6. Boris Gelfand – Israel
7. Vasily Ivanchuk - Ukraine
8. Vugar Gashimov – Azerbaijan
9. Ruslan Ponomariov – Ukraine
10. Sergey Karjakin - Russia
11. Leinier Dominguez – Cuba
12. Jan Smeets – The Netherlands
This comment is consistent with conspiracy theorists like me who have been saying that Carlsen is fed up with being the apprentice. The time has come for the apprentice to depose the Sith Lord.
BTW, does Carlsen drink milk straight from the carton? I mean he's still a baby and all that, but milk? REALLY? Or was that something else on his table when he was playing Aronian.
It is not a milk carton. It is Magnus's ever-present orange juice.
Carlsen showing respect and gratitude to Kasparov in his interview:
"We remain in contact and I have the opportunity to confer with Garry regularly. I will also attend training sessions with him. I want to stress: The last 12 months have been of immense value to me, and I continue to listen to Garry‘s advice."
It is funny that you guys think Carlsen does not have the full right to say has the better intuition than Kasparov. His rating is about the same as Kasparov's when he retired; he's not comparable to Kasparov in opening, in tactics/calculation he admits Kasparov is better, in endgame (I assume) they are roughly equal strength (Maybe Carlsen somewhat better). Then what makes up for his deficit in tactics/opening? Intuitive, positional play.
I think Carlsen's in a position to judge his own abilities and those of any other chess player dead or alive.
It was said in a respectful tone.
Perhaps he's right, perhaps not. (No WAY can I judge). Experts can argue about it. But surely he has the right to say it. What is with this enforced underrating yourself thingy? Why should he not give his true opinion?? Does anyone doubt his qualification to estimate himself?
Dvoretsky, for example, said that Kasparov thought that his intuition was his strong side, not calculation, while Dvoretsky was of the opposite opinion. So there's at least one authority behind Magnus...
"What is with this enforced underrating yourself thingy?"
I agree. On a similar vein, what is with this enforced overrating Kasparov thingy?
Magnus comparing his and Kasparov’s style is actually the same thing which Kasparov himself pointed out in an interview last year, by Mig Greengard.
“GK: He is of course very talented, but what helps us is that his style is very different from mine. He’s more of a Karpov style, yeah, Karpov, Capablanca — he has great natural qualities in evaluating the position, while I am more dynamic, more a work-oriented player. I think that makes this cooperation potentially more profitable for him because he’s learning from a player of the opposite style.
MG: So his unique talent — you’d put in that line — because you’ve always spoken of yourself as being in the line of Alekine, Tal –
GK: –Yeah, there’s no doubt he belongs to the players of Capablanca, Smyslov, and Karpov-like.”
Read the interview here: http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/kasparov-on-coaching-carlsen/
(Keep in mind that this was before Magnus made the 40 Elo jump, starting with Nanjing. He has become noticeable stronger the last half year).
He also sounds very similar to Capablanca who has been described as lazy, anything but a systematic thinker, relied on his intuition, could instantly evaluate a position and know what plan to follow, and who had vast interests outside of chess.
It may sound boastful, but I think Carlsen is simply stating what he believes to be a fact and is not implying any sort of disrespect. As he says later in the interview, he has learned much from Kasparov and continues to follow his word.
Yeah, I got a giggle from that too. I wonder if Aronian is pissed off about it.:-)
If Carlsen thinks his intuition is better than Kasparov's, he surely has grounds for his assumption.
Being totally incompetent to judge the matter, I will of course do so immediately and state that he (I accidentally typed "He") may well be right.
That alone does not a better player make, naturally.
An anecdote involving cricket's nonpareil immortal Don "The Don" Bradman (1908--2001) is in order re: Carlsen's self-comp with Kasparov.
In 1992 or thereabouts, The Don was a guest on a BBC (or ABC?) cricket telecast, where it was noted that all the batsmen were getting out for relatively low scores. The announcer asked him,
"Tell me, what score do you think you would make out there?"
Bradman: "About 50".
Announcer, thinking this an odd shortchanging of the man at his best, queried:
"Only 50?"
Bradman: "Well, I am after all eighty-four years old!"
Garry isn't quite 84, but the point of his pushing 50 needs to be factored in. Besides that, maybe Magnus is goading Garry into doing a "training match" like he did vs. Anderssen, Timman, Psakhis, Miles in 1985--86. Which would be win/win for Magnus and maybe not carry so high a price tag...
If I were Kasparov and Carlsen wanted a match, I'd give it to him. And I bet Kasparov would smash him! Carlsen's only 19 and not yet ready for a full-fledged legend coming at him, loaded for bare. He still makes some critical mistakes on a fairly consistent basis. With just a couple of months preparation, Kasparov could take him, say, 4-2 in a six game match, easy. I'm not at all certain that Carlsen could beat Kramnik or Anand in a match. Maybe not even Topalov, but we'll have to wait at least until 2012 to find out the answer, if even that soon.
To see a fellow named "randytried" try to crack a wise-a** response to fellow named "noyb" is funnier still...
To see a fellow named "noyb" use the phrase "...coming at him, loaded for bare..." is the funniest, though!
Seriously, though, I agree with you. That would be a fantastic event, especially if it fit between the Olympiad and Corus 2011.
"With just a couple of months preparation, Kasparov could take him, say, 4-2 in a six game match, easy. I'm not at all certain that Carlsen could beat Kramnik or Anand in a match. Maybe not even Topalov..."
Monkey, watch, Steinitz.
Hilarious photo sequence when Carlsen discovers he’s not white, but black against Svidler in yesterdays blindfold!
http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6189
This list comes from the official site, under the General Info tab. Luckily my powers of chess observation spared me any confusion in this matter (took me a second to understand why someone named 'alphabetical' would miss this!).
Evidently regondi was in on the joke before I was.
CO :)
This is great, Kramnik really letting his hair down, now playing a KID sideline v Gelfand.
http://www.chessville.com/Quotes/misc_trivia_quotes_wit.htm
Well , he must be hiding his preparation for ...
nevermind .
:)
I did not know Carlsberg had a fantastic memory but memorizing all the countries of the world there populations and capital cities by heart - if he did that at 5 years old thats amazing but its not clear when he did it
Carlsen's 6 wins in a row include both flashy attacks and subtle endgames.
Gotta love young Carlsen. Comes back from the Kramnick defeat at Corus to take clear first. And comes back from a disastrous day #1 at Amber to take the next six games on the bounce and join Chucky at the top.
I think our current world number #1 might be highly unsusceptible to mind games. Which gives him an advantage over and above the chess in any WC match he may later contend.
Is it just me, or is that a Kasparov-ian look of indignation on Magnus's face in the first photo?
I’m afraid the student mimics both what he should learn from the professor, and what he shouldn’t. LOL
At age of 2, Magnus solved 50 piece jigsaw puzzles. When 5-6 he built Lego kit for 10-12 year old boys. His focus on his Lego projects kept him awake in bed during the night, to such extend that his parents got worried. Also, at 5 he memorized the name, symbol, areal and number of inhabitants for each of the 430 communes in Norway. After that he went on with the flag, areal, population and capitols of the 193 countries in the world, which he managed almost completely.
Later on, when he got interested in chess, he memorized every game in every chess book he found in his father’s bookshelf. Etc, etc.
Obviously, he has a photographic memory and an extreme ability to focus and concentrate on subjects which interest him.
Interestingly, he said a couple of years ago, that some of the early geographical trivia had faded from his memory. (Probably still good enough to win a game of Trivial Pursuit, I guess). These days his mind is occupied with chess matters.
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Since Magnus will be on the chess scene for the next 20 years, as he recently stated in an interview, then you might invest some time learning his background. The “Wonderboy” biography is partly an early game collection, partly a biography from his childhood. It’s full of trivia and facts about Carlsen and his family. Well worth a read. Here are some reviews: http://www.newinchess.com/WONDERBOY-p-104.html
Nobody post on the European Individual thread! Frogbert is heading into the stratosphere! It would be a crime to interrupt this streak-the Guinness people are keeping a close eye on proceedings and clicking "refresh" every 30 seconds
I'm taking it one notch at the time, like Sergey Bubka used to, back in the days. I just added one more to my personal record here, so now I'll wait for someone else to join. :o)
Of the quotations new to me, I liked this one in particular:
"The Platovs have been called fathers of the modern endgame study. Perhaps the term ‘brothers of the modern endgame study’ is being reserved for a later generation of study composers from Harlem." – Jonathan Levitt
Dang! Some nice tactics in Kramnik vs Pono, I had trouble figuring some of them out with sight of the board...
I can remember stories of Fischer giving Addison odds of pawn and move and playing blindfold and holding his own..
I would like to play against a strong GM who plays blindfolded while I have sight of the board. I fear I would be crushed with ridiculous ease, but would still be fun!
Oh my , Karjakin lost to Carlsen in blindfold and will play black in the rapid , my dreams of him becoming his nemesis are fading away.
Got steamrolled too, you'd never have guessed he was playing White.
Gelfand on a hot streak, (3rd 2-0 in 4 rounds) closing in on the leaders. Aronian having a very poor tournament so far for a 2-time defending champion.
Finally someone stops the train, good game Karjakin!
Poor opening choice by carlsberg, karjaking was well prepared and clobbered this insipid english variation. Magoose doesnt seem to play e4 much anymore... :(
Probably the worst game I have ever seen Aronian play - dreadful should have stuck with his marshall
about grischuk-gashimov rapid game 0-1,the official site round report blamed grish for being overambitious,instead of reapeting moves.well alex felt that he had a big advantage so he was right to play on and rybka confirm that,grischuk had decisive advantage by move 42,instead of the terible blunder 43bb5 getting in a 2move trap,he could cleanly winn the exchange back with 43na5 and 44kd4 getting in an endgame 2 pawns up,very likeky winning.terible commenting from the official site and chessbase videoreport!!!!if they don't understand a thing about what is going on the board,why they still comment?time trouble is a killer:grischuk who is playing the middlegame and endgame in 1 or 2 min alternates nice combinations(like the one against kramnik)with big blunders when he is down to seconds.instead of 6,5 now he is only 5,5.the position was a tehnical one,he felt for practicaly the only tactical trap.
Yes, seem Karjakin was the first person after Chucky to keep his head on straight in an end game against Carlsen.
And Carlsen goes 5/6 in the blindfold section, having won 5 consecutive blindfold games.
It's so irritating these Live commentators playing constantly the game forward and backward on the board, also confusing... it's like watching a tennis match where commentators are moving small toy players like "aaaah... Federer smashes the ball over the net - hey here comes the real ball again, let's see.". Doh.
LOL, Kaspy coming back to beat the arguably the best player in the world in two months, lmao.
Carlsen has now 12 consecutive decisive games, with 9 wins. Might it be a record of some kind? The strange people who do not like draws must love Carlsen, right?
Another highlight by Carlsen in the Rapid against Gelfand today.
First he puzzled everybody with 28…Bc1. Then Gelfand played the “brilliant” 30.Bxc5 and all the Kibitzers and Rybka predicted draw. Even Mig and LarryC left the live game and starting fooling around with some post analyzes with open mic feed. Everybody thought it was draw by perpetual check. But the clock was still ticking, with a couple of minutes left. After completing his calculation, Magnus took a zip of orange juice, played 36...Ke8 and won the game in 10 moves. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Epic!
On the same line of thought ,the common people who like draws must hate him , right?
One of the reasons it was such an enjoyable game was that not only did Mig, Larry, and all the kibitzers (including me) bet the farm on a draw, Rybka (on the chessbomb site) was a flat-liner as well.
When will people understand they are seeing one in a kind greatness, like Morphy or Capa. Those patzers doing commentary are fun to listen to though. It was like Speelman, who is suppose to be one of the best endgame players in the world, was questioning Carlsen for going for and ending he thought was drawn instead of murky complications that were in Carlsen's favor I must add. Still 10 moves later Aronian's king was moveless on h8 and he as about to get mated in the endgame and Speelman saw NONE of it. Carlsen played these moves so fast Speelman could not even set the positions up, I felt embarrassed for Speelman, this kid is greatness, lets appreciate this genious cause they don't come along too often.
"...one in a kind greatness, like Morphy or Capa. " That's 3 in a kind already.
The fact that Speelman saw none of that final in Aronian's game speaks more in Speelman's favor: the ending was indeed drawn, Aronian went astray at one point. Carlsen is great at posing problems and pressuring opponents into mistakes though, can't take that away from him.
When all is said and done, we haven't entered an era of Carlsen's domination yet, but trend is definitely in that direction.
It seems that Carlsen should be going down against Gashimov in blindfold ...
Yes, looks grim, Gashimov's position looked great the whole game. (to me, that is)
12 decisive games in a row a record?
Well, I know Fischer had a huge string of wins, the last 12 against Taimanov and Larsen.
CO
The scope of "records" here should probably be limited to Amber, as the results in this blindfold/rapid combo aren't really comparable to anything else IMO. :o)
Carlsen's Broken Berlin Wall came tumbling down, so it's 13/13 decisive now, 9-4 ...
Carlsen has a reckless-teen attitude on occasion that gets him into real trouble. I feel like his losses to Chucky were like the Gashimov game. "King on d5? hey, no problem I can figure a way out of any bind. I mean, look at most of my last victories...Hey, Vugar, now's the time you blow your advantage and/or crak under time pressure...Vugar, are you listening?....Vugar?"
It's not recklessness, it's calculated risk. It's not like Carlsen has an advantage in class over this field to win on technique alone. If you want to win a lot, you've got to go for unbalanced positions, thus taking a risk. That's what Carlsen is doing. Sometimes he gets punished like in the games against Chucky and Gashimov, but more often it works out. His today's loss is just a flip side of his winning streak.
I see Kramnik's resolution to play a bit less riskily with black is going well!! :)
Totally crazy game - fantastically complicated, "blunders" all round, but at the death Kramnik found a way to lose. It's odd as before both of his serious blunders (one going from -5 to under -1, the other from -0.8 to mated) he'd done the hard part and found the really tricky looking moves.
Fantastic game. Bravo to both Aronian and Kramnik.
2 video interviews with Kramnik here http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6200
Where he talks about his play in Amber and Karpov´s candidacy and stuff...
Please note the phrase ¨i wouldn´t say that im against Illumzinov(!?!) ¨ , i guess eventually some favours need to be paid somehow.
Another highlight would be his explanation about how he is against changes during cycles (!?$%! im runnin out of symbols here)....
Anyway , enjoy.
You're just a relentless fanboy aren't you? Tell me, who exactly is the current beneficiary of FIDE favouritism? I can only think of one player who receives a championship match on account of having lost his previous match, in scandalous fashion to boot.
http://www.europe-echecs.com/actualites/actualites-interview-de-kramnik-2180.html
--Kramnik slams Kirsan/FIDE.
Anand-Topalov.com
--Aruna Anand discusses the pleasant reception she's received in Bulgaria.
--Topalov a) blames Anand for the fact that the prize fund is only $3,000,000 and b) talks about the disadvantages of being forced to play a world championship match in one's own country.
Generally agreed, that's why I said "on occasion." From Carlsen's blog (about Kd5): "...but then I became too ambitious, and grabbed a pawn, which turned out to be a huge mistake after I had missed his strong answer..." That's close enough to reckless for me.
I´m just as shoked as you , i thought Kramnik would be a lot more discreet about his relationship with Kirsan ...
Dont be blind and jugde so rapidly. Be nice. Listen to a melody. Like MC Hammer.
Well, he is in a race. Chucky took a huge risk today playing on and winning an inferior position instead of taking a draw. Had he lost we would call Chucky reckless and Carlsen brilliant. Now it's the other way around.
"His today's loss is just a flip side of his winning streak."
A novelty in modal logic! Whoever thought that a loss could be the "flip side" of winning? Osbender is out to destroy limits for his fast-growing Carlsen cult. Very nice start here too: according to the above post, even Carlsen's losses are at a higher level than other super-GMs.
The next logical step is Carlsen's demand of a half-point for his losses: "This is just a request for proper compensation on days when I'm slightly off form. I think it's perfectly reasonable -- after all, I recently sacked Kasparov, so a loss for me is a fluke for which I should not be made to suffer in the points column."
Arctic securities is planning on giving him an sponsored hood so no one can take a picture of the face he makes while resigning.
"The next logical step is Carlsen's demand of a half-point for his losses"
That just about made my coffee spurt out my nose.
To be fair to Carlsen, I think thats an idea favored by a certain segment of his fan base rather than himself. He seems to be pretty honest in evaluating his play when it is bad. Yesterday it was bad, and no amount of spin can make it other wise.
It doesn't matter if Carlsen wins five in a row, many here will still only appreciate his losses and consider everything else blind and fanatical cult worship. He does lose now and then, such things happen, and some are happier when it happens than others.
"Osbender is out to destroy limits for his fast-growing Carlsen cult."
Clubfoot, you made my day. Here is a little news flash for you, buddy. Thankfully, world is not revolving around Carlsen and people are not divided in Carlsen fans and haters just yet. Funny enough, I'm rooting for Ivanchuk.
Coming back to the topic, criticizing a player for a risky play when he won 7 in a row with that approach is totally unreasonable. If you need to find somebody to criticize for reckless play, Kramnik is a better target. Now let's wait for some clubfoot calling me Kramnik-hater.
You are correct that Carlsen's adventurous play accounts for his successes in this tournament. I said that on occasion he makes moves that go beyond adventurous and into recklessness. Again, I quote from his blog: "but then I became too ambitious, and grabbed a pawn, which turned out to be a huge mistake after I had missed his strong answer." To do something without proper regard to its consequences is the very definition of "reckless." Now, if you're saying that I can't criticize Carlsen for a move (Kxd5 in this case) that he himself has criticized, it smacks of sycophancy. By saying that "if it had worked we would have called if brilliant" is like sports fans who say "if he wouldn't have stepped out of bounds he would have scored." Well, it didn't work because it didn't take into account the immediate consequences of Gashimov's Rd1. I am not criticizing Carlsen's general play or style. Unlike you, I AM rooting for Carlsen. I'm saying moves like Kxd5 are reckless, and I hope that he can further refine his play and make fewer reckless moves like that in the future. Adventurous play without reckless moves? Well, he'd have to be a truly great player (top 10 all time) to pull it off. Not yet but I'm hoping.
Clubfoot's reference to the "Carlsen Cult" is not something he made up out of thin air. There is a vocal group of fans who have canonized Magnus and attribute him with supernatural powers. They are touchy and highly sprung whenever intimations of anything less than chess sainthood is suggested for Magnus. In contrast are the noxious detractors who can't even bring themselves to call Carlsen by his name. They come in many varieties: Kasparov haters who use Carlsen as his proxy, the old guard who see Carlsen and his fans as the chess nouveau riche, and those who are driven to despisement by his fawning followers.
In reality I think that the vast majority of chess fans are some gradient between the two extremes. Unfortunately, we spend a lot of time trying to fit other fans into one of the above mentioned boxes.
Surely you can criticize Carlsen for whatever you see fit, I just disagree with your criticism in that particular instance. If Carlsen is going to play interesting chess, he is bound to miss strong replies from his opponents from time to time. That's not reckless, that's the essence of human play. Federer doesn't always hit in bounds as well. Speaking of reckless, 1.a3 against Chucky, or unprepared pawn sac against Vlad still in Vlad's home preparation are far better examples.
The line between reckless and enterprising is very thin. So thin in fact, that usually we make that distinction based on the game outcome. Hindsight is 20/20. But one should look at statistics rather than at the result of one individual game.
That reminds me one old story. Somebody asked Larsen why is he playing such crazy chess. He answered something to the effect "Imagine me and Petrosian playing against 3 average GM's. Petrosian would play solid and make 3 draws. On the other hand against me one of these GM's will find a refutation and score a win, but two others will mess it up. As a result I will score 2 points, while Petrosian only 1.5.
Carlsen plays like everyone wishes Leko to play, and now many of you are criticizing it??? It looks to me that people just like to criticize, and how can you criticize such an entertaining tournament. It has been a joy to follow and though I root for Carlsen, he has the desire to win as Fischer, though Fischer was praised for it and Carlsen less so, whoever wins will be worthy and remembered for winning such an entertaining tournament. Thx Magnus, Chucky, Vlad, Grishy, et all.
lmao, Manure you know about as much as a fly on your head. Naka??? Yes no top event is legit without his EARNED presence!?!?, and Moro, well maybe he should win a couple games against the competition he would have been facing, or is that why he DROPPED out.!!
lmao, Manure you know about as much as a fly on your head. Naka??? Yes no top event is legit without his EARNED presence!?!?, and Moro, well maybe he should win a couple games against the competition he would have been facing, or is that why he DROPPED out.!!
lmao, Manure you know about as much as a fly on your head. Naka??? Yes no top event is legit without his EARNED presence!?!?, and Moro, well maybe he should win a couple games against the competition he would have been facing, or is that why he DROPPED out.!!
lmao, Manure you know about as much as a fly on your head. Naka??? Yes no top event is legit without his EARNED presence!?!?, and Moro, well maybe he should win a couple games against the competition he would have been facing, or is that why he DROPPED out.!!
Mmm well , first things first: When your ridiculous attempt to attack a fellow blogger wont show up immediately hit refresh instead of clicking submit 1oo times like an imbecile on steroids.
This will also give you more time to actually reed the posts you criticize and notice details like "at this time controls" , or that they are answers to other comments , which you should also read to have a better grip on what the conversation was about.
You are welcome .
Maybe not at home , but here , Why not?
Manure, you have proven my point, please continue posting your B.S. as I am sure people cant wait to hear your astute comments, lmao.
BnBank blitz similar to Amber?
What a joke.
Carlsen has 12 wins so far. Kramnik is next with 9. They have 5 losses each.
Ivanchuk has 6 wins and a gazillion draws. And ZERO losses.
Gashimov is the only one except Ivanchuk with fewer losses than Carlsen. The Azeri has 5 wins and 4 losses and nearly a gazillion draws.
In the less serious and very entertaining Amber event, it's strange if suddenly SOLIDNESS has become the greatest of all virtues! I would trade 11 draws for 6 wins and 5 losses any day. :o)
Carlsen has 3 draws in 20 games. Again Kramnik is next with 6. I think they should get thumbs up for their fighting spirit.
And by all means: Ivanchuk has played very well, of course. But a bit more conservatively than Carlsen and Kramnik, for sure.
Sorry kid don't have no time for this , nice try.
Well the time controls are "similar":
BnBank: 3 minutes with 2 seconds increment
Amber: 25 minutes with 10 seconds increment (20 seconds for blindfold games).
"Nuff said"
Further comments on the tournament table:
- Carlsen is sort of doing "the Corus Shirov": he lost his mini-matches against both Ivanchuk and Kramnik, but had 2-0 wins against numbers 5 and 8-11. Of course, unlike Corus, the players in the lower half aren't (much) weaker - with the exception of Smeets - but maybe not as good in blindfold and rapid or (Aronian) out of form.
- By comparison, Ivanchuk wins when he can and draws the rest. Kramnik's game losses are spread rather evenly across the table, including a loss against Smeets.
- Maybe Gelfand is doing "the Corus Anand" spoiling other people's tournament: 2-0 against Kramnik, 0-2 against Carlsen, (playing Ivanchuk today). And Ponomariov: 0-2 against Kramnik and Carlsen (and _how_ he lost the rapid against Magnus ...), 1-1 against Chucky
I just want to see the best rapid players play each other.if that's ok with you.
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I just want to see the best rapid players play each other.if that's ok with you.
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