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The first game was a draw. Gelfand played on the Black side of the Exchange Variation of the Grünfeld. I dunno if Anand was expected to play 1.e4 or 1.d4. but it's interesting to see the Champion play a line that Gelfand is famous for.
The little vignette at the end of the video coverage of the post-game press conference was gorgeous. They are really emphasizing the artistic connection of the venue and the web site has all sorts of links to virtual tours of the Tretyakov Gallery. Mikhail Sergeivich (Gorbachev) was even at the Opening Ceremony.
note: The web site is very busy. If you don't mind listening to some Russian commentary, it seems to be a whole lot faster to load the Russian language video than the English language coverage. They have Lev Psakhis and Sergei Rublevsky commenting. The two were having great fun.
Otherwise, just wait a bit for the English, I think.
Last edited by Nigel Hanrahan; Friday, 11th May, 2012, 10:54 AM.
Reason: add some links and note the Russian language coverage.
Dogs will bark, but the caravan of chess moves on.
Nigel Short is also here commenting for a few days. I managed to meet Gorbachev last night. He looks different now. The opening ceremony was quite nice. As one reporter commented, "Moscow has waited 25 years for the World Championship to return here."
Lots of known GMs were in attendance. I had a chance to catch up with Karpov, Karjakin, Bareev, Rublevsky, Short, and a surprise visit by retired GM turned merchant banker Joel Lautier, whom I had not seen since the 2005 World Cup.
We were at the hall by 11:15 today going over some last minute preparations. Then we rushed back to change and return for 2:15. Somehow everything was ready by show time. The glass surrounding the stage soesn't really block enough sound in my opinion, and you can easily see people in the 6th row despite the reflection from the lighting. The players agreed to this however, and the organizers are prepared to take further measures if it proves unsatisfactory.
Today was another quiet round as Gelfand also tried 1.d4 and got no significant advantage from the opening. Tomorrow is a rest day.
I started the clock today. A small detail but a first for me. In Bonn the chief took care of the clock while the two deputies shadowed the players when off stage. My first fear was that the clock would not start, as had happened several times in Khanty Mansiysk. The second concern was my wing span. The table is rectangular and it's a bit of a reach along its length. I checked my angles before the players arrived and it was ok - I would approach from Anand's side of the board since he played Black, encroaching slightly on his air space. Then he arrived with a bottle of water and a glass which he placed right in my flight path. Do I topple the water or knock Anand over? Either way the act must remain visible to the audience. Somehow I became tall enough just long enough to execute the strike and the match was on. I wanted to take a bow!
Hal. congratulations for doing the honors at such an event. Maybe you can bring home some posters from the match, I guess they will be a good sell for Olympiad fundraising that is coming up shortly.
I had the chance to be in Bonn in 2008 and got few posters and the unique wood chess set with the board signed by Anand and Kramnik.
Gelfand seems to get his way in the first two games. Very interesting to see how the opening will change as the match progresses.
Today was another quiet round as Gelfand also tried 1.d4 and got no significant advantage from the opening. Tomorrow is a rest day.
I started the clock today. A small detail but a first for me. In Bonn the chief took care of the clock while the two deputies shadowed the players when off stage. My first fear was that the clock would not start, as had happened several times in Khanty Mansiysk. The second concern was my wing span. The table is rectangular and it's a bit of a reach along its length. I checked my angles before the players arrived and it was ok - I would approach from Anand's side of the board since he played Black, encroaching slightly on his air space. Then he arrived with a bottle of water and a glass which he placed right in my flight path. Do I topple the water or knock Anand over? Either way the act must remain visible to the audience. Somehow I became tall enough just long enough to execute the strike and the match was on. I wanted to take a bow!
Nigel Short had some amusing comments when he said, noting the early draws, that "it's a draw at move one, anyway, isn't it?" or something like that. "Why bother?" etc. Of course it was all tongue-in-cheek but he was clearly a bit disappointed and was looking for some fireworks or something memorable from the two super-GMs.
Dogs will bark, but the caravan of chess moves on.
Kind of still waiting for it to start based on the first two games
I think a problem with the qualifier (2011 Candidates Tournament) is that since tiebreak games were used, the player who wins is more likely to be one that loses the least and not the one that wins the most. Gelfand won 2 regular time control games in the Candidates and he gets to play for the world championship? Sorry, but that strikes me as crazy. The format benefits players that mitigate risk. The various knockout tournaments do the exact same thing, the winner is traditionally someone who loses the least and is good in the tiebreaks. Exciting? maybe. From a sporting perspective there is no way these formats reward the players who fight the hardest and take the biggest risks.
Chess doesn't have to die a "draw death", the formats just need to be tweaked so that the players who win tournaments and matches are the ones that are the most aggressive and fight the hardest. The traditionalists will argue that the various methods that can be used to do this are unnatural and unnecessary, and that draws are a natural and unavoidable result of a chess game.
The second point is true, but the reality is that if chess is to remain viable as both an amateur and professional endeavor it needs to appeal to people, and when professionals can't be bothered to engage in a real fight, it has the opposite effect. Just because the technique of the best players is so highly refined doesn't mean that they should have the luxury of not having to use or display it.
This has been recognized and the next candidates match will be a double round robin, and I think it is safe to say that +2 won't be enough to win that tournament.
That was an impressive game today. Boris was Black and was unafraid in a very aggressive game by both players. He was ahead on the clock the whole way.
What a difference a pair makes! These gentlemen agreed to two way glass, minimal sound reduction and the audience can have headphones listening to the GM (with Houdini) commentary. In other words, practically no anti cheating measures at all. The audience experience is wonderful and the players are cool.
Now Anand will play Black in the next 3 of 4 games.
This gives me a wicked idea for a YouTube viral sensation: during game 12 you or Ashot could release a fly into the players' aquarium; then release Rowan Atkinson to "inconspicuously" swat the fly. Mayhem and world fame result.
Kind of still waiting for it to start based on the first two games
In such a short match, a loss by either player likely will be decisive - after 4 draws, there is even less time available to make up any lost ground.
I think these short matches are absolutely not the proper format for a World Championship - I think we should go back to double round robin (or quad perhaps - depending on the number of qualifiers one wants to admit).
Perhaps the current champion + 4 challengers in a quad round robin ... one player gets a pass every round.
In such a short match, a loss by either player likely will be decisive - after 4 draws, there is even less time available to make up any lost ground.
I think these short matches are absolutely not the proper format for a World Championship - I think we should go back to double round robin (or quad perhaps - depending on the number of qualifiers one wants to admit).
Perhaps the current champion + 4 challengers in a quad round robin ... one player gets a pass every round.
Imagine the catastrophe for the Chess World if a player not even close to the top ten such as Gelfand wins a game and then hang on to win the match, or even worse, wins the title following a tie-breaker. What credibility would the FIDE world championship have after that ?
Imagine the catastrophe for the Chess World if a player not even close to the top ten such as Gelfand wins a game and then hang on to win the match, or even worse, wins the title following a tie-breaker. What credibility would the FIDE world championship have after that ?
That is the exact problem I was alluding to: if either player wins a single game, I should think it might be hard to defeat him 'at will' - both Anand and Gelfand are strong enough (!) to ride out the rest of the match. A tie-breaker would also be a circus in my opinion (although I haven't bothered to read the specifications for the tie break process... I hope it wouldn't end up in an Armageddon finish, but perhaps that is the case - that would be a real travesty.
We are all travelling on IllusionOf's space ship at the moment, so I guess he is the captain.
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