Chess Going Mainstream

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  • Chess Going Mainstream

    Posted on the Facebook chess discussion page of the Cooperative Chess Coalition (CCC), " CCC - Chess Posts of Interest" :

    Chess Going Mainstream

    CCC recently posted the link to the article about USA's Susan Polgar, and her hopes of increasing the popularity of chess ( posted originally by Jack Maguire on Chesstalk). In one of CCC's comments on another of our threads, the idea came up of a double round-robin exposition match of the World Champion (Viswanathan Anand - India), the highest-rated ( Magnus Carlsen - Norway ), the Women's World Champion (Anna Ushenina - Ukraine), and the highest-rated woman ( Judit Polgar - Hungary )!!

    Do you think a private sponsor would go for it?? Lots of advertising I would think - I bet it would even reach the mainstream press. Shades of Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King!!

    Do you think it would benefit chess world-wide??

    Bob Armstrong, CCC Coordinator

  • #2
    Re: Chess Going Mainstream

    Originally posted by Bob Armstrong View Post
    Posted on the Facebook chess discussion page of the Cooperative Chess Coalition (CCC), " CCC - Chess Posts of Interest" :

    Chess Going Mainstream

    CCC recently posted the link to the article about USA's Susan Polgar, and her hopes of increasing the popularity of chess ( posted originally by Jack Maguire on Chesstalk). In one of CCC's comments on another of our threads, the idea came up of a double round-robin exposition match of the World Champion (Viswanathan Anand - India), the highest-rated ( Magnus Carlsen - Norway ), the Women's World Champion (Anna Ushenina - Ukraine), and the highest-rated woman ( Judit Polgar - Hungary )!!

    Do you think a private sponsor would go for it?? Lots of advertising I would think - I bet it would even reach the mainstream press. Shades of Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King!!

    Do you think it would benefit chess world-wide??

    Bob Armstrong, CCC Coordinator
    With all due respect to Judit, I think that such a match-up is rather one-sided; Anna Ushenina may be the women's world champion but I don't think too many people consider her in the same class as Judit (and certainly not in the same class as Vishy and Magnus. A lop-sided match would be a disaster.
    ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

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    • #3
      Re: Chess Going Mainstream

      Originally posted by Kerry Liles View Post
      With all due respect to Judit, I think that such a match-up is rather one-sided; Anna Ushenina may be the women's world champion but I don't think too many people consider her in the same class as Judit (and certainly not in the same class as Vishy and Magnus. A lop-sided match would be a disaster.
      Hi Kerry:

      Is it really the chess here that is important? Will it be a "disaster"?

      The games between all four will be credible, though clearly the women will be at a distinct disadvantage. But is the chess the point?

      Or is the point making a statement that the top men and top women now can play chess against each other? That women's chess, while not equal, has progressed a lot.

      And does the promotion aspect of " battle of the sexes " much outweigh the negative factor of a lop-sided score?? Will there still be substantial chess promotion as a result of this exhibition, despite the lop-sided score.

      And how many will be aware of the difference, but will be involved to root for the underdogs??

      Bob

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      • #4
        Re: Chess Going Mainstream

        Originally posted by Bob Armstrong View Post
        Hi Kerry:

        Is it really the chess here that is important? Will it be a "disaster"?

        The games between all four will be credible, though clearly the women will be at a distinct disadvantage. But is the chess the point?

        Or is the point making a statement that the top men and top women now can play chess against each other? That women's chess, while not equal, has progressed a lot.

        And does the promotion aspect of " battle of the sexes " much outweigh the negative factor of a lop-sided score?? Will there still be substantial chess promotion as a result of this exhibition, despite the lop-sided score.

        And how many will be aware of the difference, but will be involved to root for the underdogs??

        Bob
        Many people remember Bobby Riggs vs Billie Jean King. How many remember its precursor Riggs vs Margaret Court? I think that's your answer.
        "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

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        • #5
          Re: Chess Going Mainstream

          Originally posted by Tom O'Donnell View Post
          Many people remember Bobby Riggs vs Billie Jean King. How many remember its precursor Riggs vs Margaret Court? I think that's your answer.
          He was also a senior player (55) and not one of the top players at the time, unless I'm mistaken.
          i rep back 3+

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          • #6
            Re: Chess Going Mainstream

            Lots of info here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_..._Sexes_(tennis)

            I don't think chess is comparable to tennis as a spectator sport

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            • #7
              Re: Chess Going Mainstream

              My point was that when dog bites man it isn't a story. If/when some female player becomes a serious candidate for the World Championship then it will be a story. Reading the Wikipedia page I noticed that the Williams sisters lost pretty badly to the 203rd ranked men's player in 1998. If they had beaten him then I'm sure it would have been more memorable, no?

              Does anyone think that Carlsen stomping Ushenina, for example, is going to provide positive press for chess (women's, men's, or anyone's)?
              "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                Imho, chess will never go mainstream until double zeros are 'awarded' for the type of 'GM' draws witnessed today in Aeroflot 13. The first 10 games I looked at at ChessBomb (scrolling up from the bottom) lasted all of 11, 2, 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 7 moves. Personally, I'd go further and suspend all the culprits from future FIDE play for a minimum of 6 months.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                  Originally posted by Jack Maguire View Post
                  Imho, chess will never go mainstream until double zeros are 'awarded' for the type of 'GM' draws witnessed today in Aeroflot 13. The first 10 games I looked at at ChessBomb (scrolling up from the bottom) lasted all of 11, 2, 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 7 moves. Personally, I'd go further and suspend all the culprits from future FIDE play for a minimum of 6 months.
                  You do realize that this segment of Aeroflot is just a Qualifying Rapid tournament - not real chess anyway... players are just jostling for 32 qualification spots into another knock-out tournament to follow. The *old* Aeroflot tournaments were something to watch; not so much any more...
                  ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re : Re: Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                    Originally posted by Kerry Liles View Post
                    You do realize that this segment of Aeroflot is just a Qualifying Rapid tournament - not real chess anyway... players are just jostling for 32 qualification spots into another knock-out tournament to follow. The *old* Aeroflot tournaments were something to watch; not so much any more...
                    Regardless of the time control (15 + 10), pre-arranged draws are an utter travesty to any sense of sportsmanship and should, again imho, be awarded double zeros. In any other 'sport' lengthy suspensions would follow.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Re : Re: Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                      Originally posted by Jack Maguire View Post
                      Regardless of the time control (15 + 10), pre-arranged draws are an utter travesty to any sense of sportsmanship and should, again imho, be awarded double zeros. In any other 'sport' lengthy suspensions would follow.
                      Jack I think you should stop comparing chess to other sports. Chess isn't a sport, it's a competitive activity that FIDE is trying to implement as a sport with their drug testing bullshit. There's nothing unsportsmanlike with accepting short draws. Haven't you ever heard of the good old days where the top Russian GM's would just draw with each other and then beat up on the rest of the field? If you try reinforcing ridiculous rules like double zero in any short draw what's to stop anyone from just playing a theoretical draw line or just play an early 3-move rep? I can understand that you want to see exciting chess with decisive results every time but you're a spectator. It's a whole different story for top level players to try to play like that every tournament. They will be worn out.
                      Shameless self-promotion on display here
                      http://www.youtube.com/user/Barkyducky?feature=mhee

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Re : Re: Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                        Originally posted by Jack Maguire View Post
                        Regardless of the time control (15 + 10), pre-arranged draws are an utter travesty to any sense of sportsmanship and should, again imho, be awarded double zeros. In any other 'sport' lengthy suspensions would follow.
                        These short draws are most probably not prearranged. When two players need a draw, no prearrangement is necessary.
                        In any case, hopefully this might teach a lesson to the organizers who should go back to a serious format. Fast time controls does not necessarily mean more "excitement" when draws are needed for qualification purposes, but it definitely means more forgettable games. I would be surprised if any of these fast games become a classic or find its way into a "best game collection". They might draw some attention, but only for a few minutes...

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                        • #13
                          Re: Chess Going Mainstream

                          There is nothing mainstream about this idea and it would garner zero publicity outside the chess press, while being mocked as stupid in the chess press. This is one of the silliest ideas I've ever heard in chess, and that's saying something.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Chess Going Mainstream

                            Originally posted by David Ottosen View Post
                            There is nothing mainstream about this idea and it would garner zero publicity outside the chess press, while being mocked as stupid in the chess press. This is one of the silliest ideas I've ever heard in chess, and that's saying something.
                            Are you new here? ;) Stay tuned...
                            ...Mike Pence: the Lord of the fly.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re : Re: Re : Re: Re : Chess Going Mainstream

                              Originally posted by Bindi Cheng View Post
                              Jack I think you should stop comparing chess to other sports. Chess isn't a sport, it's a competitive activity that FIDE is trying to implement as a sport with their drug testing bullshit. There's nothing unsportsmanlike with accepting short draws. Haven't you ever heard of the good old days where the top Russian GM's would just draw with each other and then beat up on the rest of the field? If you try reinforcing ridiculous rules like double zero in any short draw what's to stop anyone from just playing a theoretical draw line or just play an early 3-move rep? I can understand that you want to see exciting chess with decisive results every time but you're a spectator. It's a whole different story for top level players to try to play like that every tournament. They will be worn out.
                              While chess clearly isn't a 'sport' here in Canada, Bindi, it is in many other parts of the world. Have you ever checked out sports news in Armenia? Chess might even be considered the dominant 'sport' there. And look who just won the 2012 'Sportsman of the Year' awards in both India and Norway.

                              http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013...ards-sportsman

                              With all due respect, short draws are quintessentially unsportsmanslike. And yes, having recently read 'Endgame' I'm very aware of the so-called Russian problem you cited. Except it doesn't really make sense mathematically. Having all the Russians be +0 after a large series of games should decrese, not increase, the chance of a Russian winner. If the 'fix' was truly in, the Russians should have all been losing to the one Russian they wanted to win the tournament (:

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