Kavalek on London

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  • Kavalek on London

    GM Lubomir Kavalek writing in The Huffington Post:

    Magnus Carlsen doesn't have to worry. According to the rules set up by the London organizers, the 20-year-old grandmaster from Norway finished first and will collect 50,000 Euros for his efforts. He benefited from the soccer scoring system – 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no points for a loss – favoring players who fight and win. Carlsen scored 13 points, two points ahead of the world champion Vishy Anand of India and Luke McShane of England. It was a great recovery by Magnus who started with two loses in the first three games.

    But ask the traditionalists, who for several centuries counted one point for a win and a half point for a draw, and they will tell you that in the year 2010 three players shared first place in London: McShane, Anand and Carlsen.

    In the annals of chess history the final results will be noted as follows:

    Carlsen, Anand, Luke McShane - 4.5 points in 7 games
    Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and Hikaru Nakamura (USA) - 4 points
    Michael Adams (England) - 3.5 points
    David Howell (England) - 2 points
    Nigel Short (England) - 1 point
    I must respectfully disagree with the famous grandmaster. The scoring system was known to the players in advance, and they played to that system. In particular Magnus Carlsen played for a win in every game. Had the traditional scoring system been in effect, he surely would have taken a different approach.

  • #2
    Re: Kavalek on London

    Originally posted by Dan Scoones View Post
    GM Lubomir Kavalek writing in The Huffington Post:



    I must respectfully disagree with the famous grandmaster. The scoring system was known to the players in advance, and they played to that system. In particular Magnus Carlsen played for a win in every game. Had the traditional scoring system been in effect, he surely would have taken a different approach.
    Well.... Yes and no. The person who wins the tournament should be the player who played the best. Kavalek is simply making the argument that Carlsen did not play better then Anand or McShane, he only had more decisive results. The organizers are rewarding aggression, but don't mistake that as any sort of cogent arguement that Carlsen played better then the other players with the same number of points (under the conventional scoring).

    It seems a bit silly that Anand and McShane both beat Carlsen and finished with the same number of points as him (once again, under the normal scoring system), but Carlsen wins the tournament.

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    • #3
      Re: Kavalek on London

      Originally posted by Nic Haynes View Post
      Well.... Yes and no. The person who wins the tournament should be the player who played the best. Kavalek is simply making the argument that Carlsen did not play better then Anand or McShane, he only had more decisive results.
      carlsen did play the best as (in this particular tournament) a win and a loss is better than two draws
      everytime it hurts, it hurts just like the first (and then you cry till there's no more tears)

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      • #4
        Re: Kavalek on London

        Dan and Ben are right. Nic is wrong. :p

        Best is defined by the rules of the tournament, not by the rules of the 10000 tournaments that preceded it. Carlsen played to win the tournament by risking more than his opponents. He succeeded.

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        • #5
          Re: Kavalek on London

          Carlsen is persistent, well prepared, motivated...and a notch down from Anand. Really he plays computer-like and I highly doubt that 10 years from now he will be playing chess at the highest level.

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          • #6
            Re : Re: Kavalek on London

            Originally posted by Alan Baljeu View Post
            Best is defined by the rules of the tournament, not by the rules of the 10000 tournaments that preceded it.
            "Best" is a subjective assessment. We often see reports stating that player X played the best chess but came second or even further down. Getting the most points is objective. Sure Carlsen won according to the man made rules in this tournament. The question is about the wisdom of that special 3-1 rule. In a short 7 round tournament with a few outsiders (Short, Howell and McShane) it is hard not to produce fighting chess, whatever the scoring system.

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