Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

[Paul Bonham]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

I’ll buy a viewing membership with Agon in a New York minute if I could be assured of watching Hillary and Donald in a front row viewing the match!

This would make a great Saturday Night Live skit. Alex Baldwin and Kate McKinnon playing Donald and Hillary. Perhaps pre-match, Karjakin (being Russian) would be favoring Trump and Carlsen (just to make it interesting) would favor Hillary. So here's how it could go....

Trump : (whispering) I understand we must be very quiet during this game, so I'm talking in my quiet voice. Baby Trump.

Clinton : Well, I just--

Trump : Excuse me! My turn! It's my guy thinking at the board, so I get to talk. My guy is thinking about how to Make Russia Great Again in chess, just like I'm about to Make America Great Again in nuclear war. And yes, there will be casualties, because I don't like people who get captured, ok? Just so you understand. I don't even like this game chess. Pieces get captured, reminds me of McCain. Not a hero, by the way. And if my guy loses this game, just putting it out there, this match is RIGGED. I may not accept the match results. I will keep you in suspense.

(Karjakin moves, Carlsen is now thinking)

Trump : I'm ahead! We're winning, folks, we're winning.

Clinton : Well... let's look at the facts. We're in the fog of war, so anything can happen. That last move was a response to a movie that was made, but I'm going to lean over to Chelsea sitting here beside me and whisper in her ear that it was actually an act of terrorism. That way I have a public position and a private position. (Leans over and whispers to Chelsea, who looks shocked.) Ok, now I'm going to get on my Blackberry and send an email about the move that was just made. Yes, I know we signed an agreement with the chess organizers just before coming in here that only they can transmit the moves of the game... (starts typing on her Blackberry... as she types, she looks up at the camera) ...but since nothing is marked classified at the time I am sending it, the FBI will not prosecute.... (looks with puzzlement at her Blackberry) ... Huh, I wonder what that big letter "C" means? (Puts her Blackberry away) Ok, I just wanted to mention off the top that we are watching two men playing for the world chess championship, and that there is a separate womens world chess championship for which the prizes are much, much less. I will fight for legislation that rewards the women equally for doing equal work!

Trump : (turns to the man next to him, Billy Bush) Speaking of women, Billy, where are the cheerleaders? This is like watching paint dry. Where's the scantily clad women for me to grope after the game? (He looks up at the seat above Bush and sees Rosie O'Donnell.) Not my first choice, believe me! I don't think so!

(Suddenly Trump realizes he has been heard)

Trump : It figures, they trick me into thinking the mic is not working. (Takes a deep, sniffling breath) This is the left-wing media, folks! (sniffle) This is what they do!

(Carlsen moves)

Trump : What a loser move. What is this, the Sicilian Surrender? Very passive, you can tell our opponent is a socialist. (He starts acting like a disabled man) "Agh, what do I do now? I don't remember!"

(Suddenly there is a flurry of quick moves, ending with Carlsen stopping to think)

Clinton : Actually, Donald, we have taken the game into a Kings Indian Defense, a very aggressive line for our side. This is very much like when I was in the Operations Room serving coffee-- er, I mean, helping make decisions as our special forces were closing in on.... (the following words are spoken with great flourish) "Osaaaaaaaaammmmaaaa...... binnnnnnn...... Laaaaaaaaaaaden!"

Trump : Shouldn't that be the 'Secretary of State's Libyan Defense'? As in no defense at all?

(Carlsen moves, and Karjakin replies right away, capturing a Black piece)

Trump : Look at that, African-Americans, another brother murdered. What's she doing, folks? What has she been doing for the last 30 years? Your chess army is in a shambles, you have no hope, no jobs, no education... why not give me a chance? What the hell have you got to lose?

(The chess game is briefly interrupted by a contingent of Black Lives Matter protestors, protesting the death of the defenceless black Pawn at the hands of a White Knight. Symbolism!)

Clinton : I promise we'll get to the bottom if this, but this wouldn't be happening if DONALD TRUMP HAD BEEN--

Trump : Wrong.

Clinton : PAYING FEDERAL--

Trump : Wrong.

Clinton : INCOME TAX--

Trump : Wrong.

Clinton : FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS!

Trump : It would have been squandered, folks.

Clinton : You mean, like on a fake University with a Master of Sucker degree? Or maybe on hotels for the ultra-wealthy, built with CHINESE STEEL and using UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS?

Trump : That makes me smart. In fact, I know more than the generals fighting ISIS. I'll even say I know more about winning in chess than Magnus Carlsen. It's what I do. I win. I can teach anyone about winning, believe me.

Clinton : Well.... we'd all like to see your plan for ISIS, and see you play the rest of this chess game against Magnus. But you don't HAVE a plan!

Trump : The first thing is to make sure all our pieces have pieces. That's guns, folks. She wants to eradicate the 2nd amendment, take everyone's guns away. My administration is going to put an AK-47 in every home and in every student's backpack. It would have been a different story in France if those concert-goers had all had guns, believe me.

(Magnus makes his reply, announcing check.)

Clinton : Well.... you just heard Magnus say "check", and that's what my plan involves. I'm a supporter of the 2nd amendment, but we do need background "checks", Donald.

Trump : They should have checked your background, and if they did it properly, you'd be IN JAIL! Everything from your Foundation's pay for play to your deleted emails to your dealings with the women your husband abused--

Clinton : What's the count on the number of women YOU abused?

Trump : It never happened... never happened. After the election those liars are going to be sued. And I'm going to have a special prosecutor go after you. We're going to bring back law and order.

Clinton : I've apologized for the private email server, I would not do it again, the FBI found no evidence of wrongdoing and I survived 11 hours of grilling over Benghazi. So Donald, you don't scare--

(There is a controversy on the chess board as Karjakin touches a piece, lets it go, then attempts to move another piece.)

Clinton : You see, people, right there is evidence of how dangerous Donald would be. We can't allow his finger on the nuclear button! There's no "j'adoube" when it comes to nuclear weapons!

Trump : J'adoube? What is that? My hair is REAL, if it's about that.

Clinton : Yes, Donald, everything's about you. I don't doubt your hair is real, it's what's between your ears I wonder about. (Big smile, starts her trademark cackling laughter.)

(Audience applauds)

Trump : You should be ashamed what you did to Bernie Sanders. What they just did there in the chess, making him move that piece he touched, that's what you did to Bernie. You made him sign a deal with the devil.

Clinton : Maybe you should ask Bernie why he's supporting me in this election, and calls you the most dangerous candidate in modern history.

(At the chess board, Carlsen looks almost sick as he struggles to find a winning plan. He fidgets and squirms in his chair.)

Trump : Looks like your guy just found out his new Obamacare premium.

Clinton : Actually Donald, what he just found out is how big the U.S. deficit is going to be under your tax plan.

(The chess game ends as the two players shake hands, having agreed on a 12-move draw.)

(Clinton and Trump rise from their seats, glaring at each other. The Trump family comes up to Donald, and he turns and hugs each of them in turn, while Bill and Chelsea Clinton approach Hillary and get hugs from her. Then they all turn to the camera, and say in unison: "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!")

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

October 31, 2016

From:

http://www.vg.no/sport/sjakk/carlsen...ng/a/23834184/

Carlsen team has introduced additional security measures to thwart Russian hacking

Carlsen’s manager Espen Agdestein has told VG Sports that no unauthorized person can get access to their prematch analyses and opening preparations. He is working with Vibeke Hansen of Microsoft Norway to guarantee security for the WCC Match with Sergey Karjakin, which starts on November 11.

Russian hackers are known for their abilities to get into the most advanced computer systems. In sport, it happened most recently by a group calling itself Fancy Bears, who managed to get into the WADA system and revealed information about athletes who have received exemptions for the use of otherwise illegal substances.

During the Match Magnus Carlsen and Peter Heine Nielsen will be in New York City, while their assistants will be elsewhere in the world.

Vibeke Hansen tells how they will ensure the safety of their files:

Our cloud technology is encrypted at all levels. Cloud computing enables secure identification of both people and tools (PC tablet and mobile) they use to gain access. It is also important that technology supports the established way of working for Carlsen’s team. They must communicate and interact easily and undisturbed from different parts of the world.

The team interacts through Skype, email and document sharing. Microsoft has made sure that they have completely secure data storage and sharing. Magnus Carlsen and his people can also access the computing power that enables them to analyze especially large amounts of data.

Peter Heine Nielsen says that access to extra computing power is important. But, at the same time, it can’t be decisive in itself. Veselin Topalov had access to extreme computing power in connection with the WCC Match against Viswanathan Anand but it didn’t help him. One must seek other aids.

The number of helpers around the world is confidential. Jon Ludvig Hammer is going to be the expert consultant to VG so, obviously, he will not be working with Carlsen’s team.

Tweets

Tarjel J. Svensen - Carlsen's manager calls the measures they've taken "Pentagon security".

Andy Howie - Why would you go to Microsoft??? It's the holes in their code that allow the hacking!

Teymur Radjabov - If they want, it won't help.

Tarjel J. Svensen - Right, but there is no accusation against Karjakin's team here. Russian hackers can do a lot of damage. Putting it online?

Teymur Radjabov - No, certainly right by the manager and the team, just sounds funny and the chance is 0.00001 per cent of Sergey's team doing that.

Tarjel J. Svensen - Correct. Even if the chance is limited, why not rule it out completely, if you can?

Teymur Radjabov - But from manager's point of view, good decision, 2 things : brings attention to the match and influences Carlsen's peace of mind. But funny.

Teymur Radjabov - To protect Carlsen's computer, it's easier to cut access to the internet. Rather than hire a team of Pentagon Security level IT guys

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

Prospects for the Carlsen-Karjakin Match

November 6, 2016

In an October 26 posting it was stated that Kirsan had said that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg intended to make a visit to the match.

Today, this at the ChessBase site:

A reply from the private office of Bill Gates denied this. “Mr. Gates will not be attending the World Chess Championship in New York City this month.”

Oh well, if Zuckerberg, Clinton, Trump and Obama all come, that will be sufficient.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/bill-ga...d-championship

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

Prospects for the Carlsen-Karjakin Match

November 8, 2016

Well, it seems that the Moscow ruling has indicated to some websites that they can transmit the moves of the match the way they used to.

This from Reuters today:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ch...-idUSKBN1322PE

World Chess Championship officials sue to stop pirating of match

Organizers of the World Chess Championship sued on Monday to block a trio of website operators from broadcasting chess moves at the Nov. 11-30 match in New York, which is expected to draw millions of online viewers.

The lawsuit, filed by World Chess U.S. Inc and World Chess Events Ltd in federal court in Manhattan, seeks to limit the operators from transmitting the moves from the 12-game contest between world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

Instead, the tournament organizers want to protect their exclusive rights to news of the moves, and air the event run under the auspices of the International Chess Federation, or FIDE.

"These entities expend no time, effort, or money of their own in organizing, producing, or hosting the chess events for the World Championship and instead reap economic benefit from free-riding on the work and effort of World Chess," the lawsuit said.

Daniel Freeman, owner of Chessgames Services LLC, rejected the allegations, arguing that news of chess moves become open to the public once the plays are made.

[Ben Daswani]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

"These entities expend no time, effort, or money of their own in organizing, producing, or hosting the chess events for the World Championship and instead reap economic benefit from free-riding on the work and effort of World Chess," the lawsuit said.

Daniel Freeman, owner of Chessgames Services LLC, rejected the allegations, arguing that news of chess moves become open to the public once the plays are made.

Sounds very familiar. I'm thinking International News Service v. Associated Press, a 1918 Supreme Court case. Still good law though. To be brief, the Court held that the news is quasi-property: property between competitors but not between a company and the public. So, what are these three websites? Are they competitors or are they representative of the public? I believe if they are merely reprinting the moves of the game, sans commentary, sans analysis, they would be considered the public. That is to say: Chessgames.com can update their database live. But those websites like chess24, providing the exact same service--live streaming with commentary and analysis--as the organisers of the World Championships? Pretty obviously competitors. Clear property right.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

... But those websites like chess24, providing the exact same service--live streaming with commentary and analysis--as the organisers of the World Championships? Pretty obviously competitors. Clear property right.

What is the wait time period when journalists can start to comment the event? A move or a finished game?

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

Sounds very familiar. I'm thinking International News Service v. Associated Press, a 1918 Supreme Court case. Still good law though. To be brief, the Court held that the news is quasi-property: property between competitors but not between a company and the public. So, what are these three websites? Are they competitors or are they representative of the public? I believe if they are merely reprinting the moves of the game, sans commentary, sans analysis, they would be considered the public. That is to say: Chessgames.com can update their database live. But those websites like chess24, providing the exact same service--live streaming with commentary and analysis--as the organisers of the World Championships? Pretty obviously competitors. Clear property right.

Wasn't that case made less relevant by later U.S. Supreme Court decisions which moved such decisions back to the individual states and by changes by Congress meant to clarify property rights in these similar situations. If the moves are in the public domain then I would think that freedom of expression and freedom of the press would allow these other websites to comment on them as they will.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

November 9, 2016

From the Seattle Times

http://www.seattletimes.com/news/che...t-on-thursday/

Chess lawsuit set for moves in federal court on Thursday

NEW YORK (AP) — Arguments over a lawsuit aimed at restricting who can instantly reveal moves at the World Chess Championship will be heard on Thursday, a day before the games begin.

A federal court judge set the hearing to decide whether to block some websites from immediately relaying players’ moves when they begin Friday in New York.

World Chess US Inc. and World Chess Events Ltd. sued three websites on Monday, saying they will take advantage of a $15 live feed of the 12-game tournament to relay word of each move over the internet. Magnus Carlsen, of Norway, and Sergey Karjakin, of Russia, are competing for at least $1 million.

Daniel Freeman, owner of Chessgames Services LLC, which runs one of the sites, said Wednesday he’s doing nothing wrong as he relays moves that he learns about through others on social media or elsewhere. He said he does not view the live feed.

“Chess moves have been demonstrated over and over again to be in the public domain,” Freeman said. “World Chess thinks they can create an exception.”

He said the internet immediately lights up with each move during the games.

“Every move will become public information seconds after it’s played,” he said. “And that will happen whether they succeed in getting an injunction.”

The lawsuit also seeks $4.5 million.

[Ben Daswani]

Re: Prospects for the Carlsen – Karjakin Match

What is the wait time period when journalists can start to comment the event? A move or a finished game?

Following INS v. AP, I would say at any point when their commentary (I mean analysis, not mere comments about the event) no longer functions as competition of the organisers of the World Championships. Pretty hard to give an exact moment.

Wasn't that case made less relevant by later U.S. Supreme Court decisions which moved such decisions back to the individual states and by changes by Congress meant to clarify property rights in these similar situations. If the moves are in the public domain then I would think that freedom of expression and freedom of the press would allow these other websites to comment on them as they will.

Yeah, Erie strips INS v. AP of its precedential power but the rationale in the case is still followed (fairly but not 100% certain on this) by a majority of states. The moves may be in the public domain but that doesn't necessarily give anyone the right to provide real-time analysis of them. A simple similar example: it's surely illegal to open up a radio station and provide live play-by-play of a hockey game, in direct competition of the radio station which has licensed the right to broadcast the game.

But then again, chess24 is streaming and Eric is commenting live, right? So clearly they had an argument up their sleeve as to why this is different. I'd be interested to hear it.