Kasparov-Short Match 2015
The announcement of the match was made almost three weeks ago:
SAINT LOUIS (April 7, 2015) – World chess legends Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short will meet later this month for the first Battle of the Legends exhibition match, to be held in Saint Louis, the Chess Capital of the United States.
On April 25-26, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and famed English Grandmaster Nigel Short will play a series of blitz and rapid games at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL), rekindling the duo’s match at the 1993 World Chess Championship.
Kasparov is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all-time, one of the youngest World Champions in history who held the world’s No. 1 spot from 1985 until his retirement in 2005.
Hailed a chess prodigy at the age of 10, Short was one of the youngest grandmasters in the world, earning the title at age 19 in 1984, and later became the first Englishman to compete for the World Chess Championship in 1993.
April’s match at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will feature 10 total games spanning over two days of play, each featuring one game with a rapid time control, and four games with the faster blitz time control. The entire event will be broadcast live on www.uschesschamps.com, featuring live commentary and analysis from a world-renowned commentary team.
“We’re honored to host two of the chess greats for this exhibition match,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the CCSCSL. “Our work at the club is focused on raising awareness of chess and we can’t think of a more distinguished match-up to do just that than Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short.”
Format:
2 rapid games and 8 blitz games
Schedule:
Friday, April 24, 4:00 p.m.: Simul with Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, 20 boards each
Saturday, April 25, 2:00 p.m.: Rapid game, followed by 4 blitz games
Sunday, April 26, 2:00 p.m.: Rapid game, followed by 4 blitz games
Sunday, April 26, 5:00 p.m.: Autograph session with Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short
Time Controls:
Rapid - 25 minutes, with a 10-second delay; Blitz - 5 minutes, with a 3-second delay.
This will be an unrated event. No tiebreaks in case of a drawn match.
_________
Chess24.com says “The match comes shortly after the tenth anniversary of Garry Kasparov’s bombshell announcement that he was quitting chess, made after the final game of Linares 2005. Since then Kasparov, now 51, has played only exhibition games, redirecting his enormous energy into taking on the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Nigel Short, meanwhile, is 49, but has remained active in chess and is by far the oldest player in the world’s Top 100 – in fact he’s currently rated 2678 and world no. 64. It’s going to fascinating to see if we’ve finally reached the tipping point at which Short’s recent practical experience might outweigh Kasparov’s career-long dominance.”
_________
I thought that it was going to be a ho-hum event with very few watching. It is apparent now that the match was to take place coincidental with the announcement of The Grand Chess Tour 2015.
With Nigel embroiled in the controversy about women playing chess and Polgar-Truong, the public may find the contest interesting. If either player gets soundly drubbed, their many enemies will be thoroughly entertained.
The announcement of the match was made almost three weeks ago:
SAINT LOUIS (April 7, 2015) – World chess legends Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short will meet later this month for the first Battle of the Legends exhibition match, to be held in Saint Louis, the Chess Capital of the United States.
On April 25-26, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and famed English Grandmaster Nigel Short will play a series of blitz and rapid games at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL), rekindling the duo’s match at the 1993 World Chess Championship.
Kasparov is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all-time, one of the youngest World Champions in history who held the world’s No. 1 spot from 1985 until his retirement in 2005.
Hailed a chess prodigy at the age of 10, Short was one of the youngest grandmasters in the world, earning the title at age 19 in 1984, and later became the first Englishman to compete for the World Chess Championship in 1993.
April’s match at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis will feature 10 total games spanning over two days of play, each featuring one game with a rapid time control, and four games with the faster blitz time control. The entire event will be broadcast live on www.uschesschamps.com, featuring live commentary and analysis from a world-renowned commentary team.
“We’re honored to host two of the chess greats for this exhibition match,” said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the CCSCSL. “Our work at the club is focused on raising awareness of chess and we can’t think of a more distinguished match-up to do just that than Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short.”
Format:
2 rapid games and 8 blitz games
Schedule:
Friday, April 24, 4:00 p.m.: Simul with Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, 20 boards each
Saturday, April 25, 2:00 p.m.: Rapid game, followed by 4 blitz games
Sunday, April 26, 2:00 p.m.: Rapid game, followed by 4 blitz games
Sunday, April 26, 5:00 p.m.: Autograph session with Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short
Time Controls:
Rapid - 25 minutes, with a 10-second delay; Blitz - 5 minutes, with a 3-second delay.
This will be an unrated event. No tiebreaks in case of a drawn match.
_________
Chess24.com says “The match comes shortly after the tenth anniversary of Garry Kasparov’s bombshell announcement that he was quitting chess, made after the final game of Linares 2005. Since then Kasparov, now 51, has played only exhibition games, redirecting his enormous energy into taking on the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Nigel Short, meanwhile, is 49, but has remained active in chess and is by far the oldest player in the world’s Top 100 – in fact he’s currently rated 2678 and world no. 64. It’s going to fascinating to see if we’ve finally reached the tipping point at which Short’s recent practical experience might outweigh Kasparov’s career-long dominance.”
_________
I thought that it was going to be a ho-hum event with very few watching. It is apparent now that the match was to take place coincidental with the announcement of The Grand Chess Tour 2015.
With Nigel embroiled in the controversy about women playing chess and Polgar-Truong, the public may find the contest interesting. If either player gets soundly drubbed, their many enemies will be thoroughly entertained.
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