Candidates – Last Five Rounds

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  • Candidates – Last Five Rounds

    Round 10 – Wednesday March 27, 2013

    The rules state that all photographs have to be taken in the first five minutes of the games. Even so the players go at it as if the dozen photographers are not there.

    Nigel Short and Lawrence Trent are the commentators again. Lawrence introduces Nigel as grandmaster, distinguished MBE, the lad from Bolton and Nigel says that he is also a gold Blue Peter badge holder.

    (Blue Peter was a popular BBC children’s television program).

    Aronian must push for a win against a slightly wobbly Ivanchuk. The latter plays the Budapest Gambit giving up a central pawn. Here Nigel quotes a verse from the musical My Fair Lady:

    Every time I looked around/ There he was, that hairy hound from Budapest/ Never leaving us alone/ never have I ever known/ A ruder pest/

    Nothing against Hungarians in general, just that you’ll remember Zoltan Karparthy was nosing around, trying to find out Liza Doolittle’s origin.

    The Budapest is not seen that often. Vassily just wanted to play it and he played it! Aronian did not play the best moves but was happy with his position. Vassily said that he had good compensation for the pawn.
    +++++++

    (Short) Vladimir told me once that he was on a mission to force people to give up playing e4 in the opening. If you play d4, the centre pawn is protected but e4 is not. He did the Berlin numerous times against Kasparov in the WC 2000 in London.
    ++++++

    (Nigel analyzing the Aronian – Ivanchuk game). Easy play for black but he is still a pawn down. All this has been seen before. I’ve seen the Dutch grandmaster Dimitri Reinderman play this. He has the funny hair – blue hair, or green hair or pink hair.

    (Trent) Why don’t you come in for the remainder of the tournament with different coloured hair each day?

    (Short) I did dye it blond at one time until I realized I looked like a total prat. I had long hair and was in to Heavy Metal then.

    (Trent) You are not anymore? (Short) Still am. My tastes are a little more sophisticated now. I have matured somewhat.
    Reindeer man has played this and it’s OK. Maybe Chukky is going to win with black. That would set the cat among the pigeons!
    ++++++++++

    (Analyzing Carlsen-Gelfand) I lost to Michael Krishinkov in Libya with a 30-second move increment and the toilet was far away. Normally you are close but we were playing in a colossal hall and you had to go outside the hall and then walk 200 metres outside of the flipping hotel. I was suffering and I dropped a piece because the toilets weren’t closer. From move 17 for the next 50 moves I was stuck there and it was terrible. I would make my move and couldn’t get up because he would reply immediately. A nice chap but but he plays against your bladder.

    (Can anyone help here? I simply cannot find the spelling of Michael’s last name)
    ++++++++

    The guys talk for almost half an hour on and off about what syllable to accent in Radjabov and are told finally by Maria offstage that it is RadJAbov.
    Nigel says that he once walked in his sleep and terrified his brother. The expression “in like flint” is used and this leads Nigel to ask where Errol Flynn was from. He says it was Tasmania. The great actor was no good at chess but did play cricket! He talks about a band called Stealers Wheel, which I have never heard of so will not comment on.
    +++++++++

    (Grischuk-Kramnik) There was a game with the Berlin, Harmonist vs Tarrasch in the 19th century. It is in My Great Predecessors. Who has a copy? (Nigel) I just think it is one of the great unread series of all time. It sold tens of thousands of copies because it looks very good on your shelves. It has a lot of analysis and no one reads them. Harmonist was a ballet dancer.
    ++++

    (Radjabov-Svidler) Radjabov is offering a draw. There is a lot of pressure on him because his country’s oil company is sponsoring the tournament. You want to put in an effort with the white pieces. But he has lost games against Aronian, Carlsen and Vassily - tough games and is depressed. We have all been there. We are human.
    +++++++

    (Carlsen-Gelfand) Gelfand has a queen looking down at the pawn on b2. That is a poisoned pawn. Nigel says on that subject that he remembers playing in historic Novgorod in the 1990s. It has the oldest Kremlin in Russia and they opened by the river what they called a “wedding embankment”. They had a young couple of newlyweds there and they asked chess players from the tournament to speak at the celebrations. Ivanchuk spoke and said that getting married was like taking the pawn on b2 in the Sicilian. The famous poison pawn variation! It was quite funny. There were two newly wed couples. I met one of the girls at the wedding next year and she was had got a divorce. Queen takes b2 is like getting married.
    +++++++

    Nigel has colourful phrases, which he uses in his verbal annotations. A position can be Angela Murky (after Angela Merkel). A knight is called Harry the Horse (after a Damon Runyon character), getting married is taking the poisoned pawn on b2 and the a pawn is Alfred the pawn, and any old move is “any old iron” – from a music hall song, I believe.
    He told a story about himself and a dog, which is too long to give here, so I will put it in another thread called Dangerous Chess.
    ++++++++++++

    (On Ivanchuk’s time-trouble) When he was playing his match against Kasparov in 1993, Nigel said that he used up incredible amounts of time on nothing moves. He wonders now what on earth he was thinking about. It is a question of rhythm. He had a good second half playing much faster but was wiped out in the first half. It is indecision and lack of confidence and questioning your own ability. Some also suffer from perfection: they see a good move and spend lots of time looking for a better move. What is it they say, “Best is the enemy of good”. And in chess, it is more important to play good moves fast than to look for the best move.
    ++++++++++

    Trent thinks that whoever wins the most games – Aronian? should win the tournament. They will talk about the tie-breaks another day.
    ++++++++

    Carlsen is just too good a player. It’s really unfair. Perhaps he should be handicapped like in golf. He could stand on his head. A horse tranquilizer might be an idea just to make competition fair.
    Nigel said, “Did you ever see the video of The Who concert where Keith Moon took some horse tranquilizer? He collapsed. They got someone from the audience to take his place.
    Carlsen is a machine. World champions play like machines. Karpov was a machine. Was Alexander Khalifman a machine? Capablanca was a machine. Because they were good. The Turk was a machine until they found out that he wasn’t a machine but a man in a machine.

    (I would appreciate help with the spelling of Nigel’s bladder opponent above and the town with the wedding embankment. I am sure I misheard them) WK

  • #2
    Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

    Novgorod is the town, I think I heard him say.

    Probably the player is Michal Krasenkow.
    "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


    • #3
      Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

      I am thankful for the help, Tom.

      My experience is in chemistry but there are no chemical names as difficult as some chess players’ names. And some Russian cities, evidently.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

        The players are tested for doping during the tournament. This makes the most ridiculous argument that chess is a sport :-)
        What is on the list of forbidden substances? Same stuff that is on Isaiah Bolt or Michael Phelps or Lance Armstrong's list? Maybe Chucky will be found positive, so we can explain his losses on time :-) Seriously, what are the officials looking for?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

          When Lawrence and Nigel were joking about giving Carlsen a horse tranquilizer, they exchanged a remark or two with Dr. Jana Bellin, who was off camera. She is the chairman of the FIDE Medical Commission, which supervises the drug testing.

          Chapter 14 of the FIDE Handbook says that the Commission will be responsible for the Anti-Doping regulations and their execution.

          The list of Prohibited Classes of Substances is in Appendix B of the FIDE Antidoping pdf at:

          http://www.fide.com/download/antidoping.pdf

          For caffeine the prohibited amount is a concentration in urine greater than 12 micrograms per millilitre.

          I seem to remember when Nigel was talking about Red Bull the other day that someone said that caffeine was off the list. I am not sure of this, so perhaps it would be better though not to down several cans of the stuff during an FIDE-rated game.

          I think the regulation is silly.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

            Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
            When Lawrence and Nigel were joking about giving Carlsen a horse tranquilizer, they exchanged a remark or two with Dr. Jana Bellin, who was off camera. She is the chairman of the FIDE Medical Commission, which supervises the drug testing.

            Chapter 14 of the FIDE Handbook says that the Commission will be responsible for the Anti-Doping regulations and their execution.

            The list of Prohibited Classes of Substances is in Appendix B of the FIDE Antidoping pdf at:

            http://www.fide.com/download/antidoping.pdf

            For caffeine the prohibited amount is a concentration in urine greater than 12 micrograms per millilitre.

            I seem to remember when Nigel was talking about Red Bull the other day that someone said that caffeine was off the list. I am not sure of this, so perhaps it would be better though not to down several cans of the stuff during an FIDE-rated game.

            I think the regulation is silly.
            How much would one have to drink to have a concentration of 12 micrograms per millilitre in the blood-stream (and how long before the testing takes place? ). I've had a few cups of coffee and a rockstar at tournaments before (but the tournaments were not fide-rated).

            And do they have data that all the things prohibited actually improve chess performance, they seem to exclude both cannabis and alcohol (unless specifically asked by the Fide Medical Commission) I'm assuming under the assumption that it doesn't improve your chess playing abilities.
            Last edited by Adam Cormier; Thursday, 28th March, 2013, 09:51 AM.
            University and Chess, a difficult mix.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

              Originally posted by Adam Cormier View Post
              And do they have data that all the things prohibited actually improve chess performance
              Somewhere read that there are no proves that any substances really help chess play. Mostly they keep you awake. :D

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

                Round Eleven

                Thursday, March 28, 2013

                Trent and Short again as commentators. Today is a left-handed day – all white players opened with d4. Svidler-Aronian is a Nimzo-Indian. With a3 it’s quite topical, a Saemisch. Peter plays the KID with the Saemisch variation too. Has Peter Svidler been paid by the Saemisch family? Svidler has chosen a slightly risky but antiquated variation. We shall see what happens.

                Grischuk-Carlsen is a Grunfeld with h4 for white. Short has played that several times in blitz because it is not for a serious game. Simon Williams plays h4 whenever he can. h4 doesn’t work at the best of times. It’s wonderful. What do they teach you about an attack on the wings?

                (Trent) An attack on the wings is best met with a thrust in the centre!

                (Short) It may be that h4 is best met with a non-Grunfeld response. (Trent) We’ll see how the boy defends against this.

                (Kramnik-Radjabov) – One transposition of this opening is to the Benoni. (Short) As we all know this means “son of sorrow” in Hebrew, and anyone who has ever played this opening with black understands why it is called that. (Trent) I played it in Gibraltar against the women’s world #4 and she crushed me.

                (Ivanchuk-Gelfand) This is another Grunfeld. It’s Grunfeld season. We’ve got a standard position. (Short to Trent) What was Grunfeld’s nationality? (Trent) German? (Short) No, Austrian.
                (Trent) Well, the point is that he is no longer with us. He can’t contradict us.

                (later on..) Gelfand has played Qxa2. (Nigel) Do you remember that famous game between Petrosian and Fischer from their Candidates Match? Queen takes a2 and Fischer gets wiped out. There are similarities and differences with this game. I get nervous when I am black and white has more central pawns.

                (Petrosian-Fischer, 2nd Match Game, Buenos Aires, 1971 – Fischer’s 9th move)
                ++++++++++

                (Nigel) A general point but I make it often. If you want to improve your chess, then improve your tactical skills. People always say, “My openings aren’t very good”. All these things are half tactics.
                (Trent) I was commentating at a Chess Classic. Etienne Bacrot was playing. A grandmaster at 13. We were at dinner one night and he was reading a tactics book. Rating of 2720. “Just brushing up on my tactics because you always need them.” World Number 25 reading a tactics book..
                I do my tactical exercises every day (Nigel) Just a few. You do your pushups and I do my tactical exercises. Just do a few, half a dozen positions. I think this is how the Polgars used to work. Their father put up these demonstration boards and they had to solve these before they got their breakfast.

                (Svidler–Aronian) (Nigel) One of the maxims of chess is not to move the same piece twice in the opening. (Trent) But I play the Trompowsky and you have to move your bishop three times in the first four moves. (Short) And I play the Spanish and they play a6 and you have to move your bloody bishop away. What are you going to do?
                +++++++++

                Nigel with Professor Jonathan Mestel.

                (Mestel) You fought your way through a Candidates series and became a challenger.. Would you have preferred to have a tournament like this? (Short) I am a traditionalist – I prefer matches in the run-up to the world championship final. I must say that this event has been very exciting with a lot of interesting games. Ƒischer’s objection to the Candidates Tournament was the possibility of collusion between the various Soviets. Here there are basically seven from the Soviet Union and Magnus Carlsen. I don’t think you have any collusion here at all. I don’t think Fischer was wrong at the time and it probably needed to be changed in those days. It’s a great event.

                (Mestel) I agree. But if I were either Aronian or Carlsen and which of them gets through, assuming it is one of them, it may be decided by a game over which neither of them has any control, whereas if they had a head-to-head match, then whoever won would feel that they had won.

                (Short) If Aronian and Carlsen tie and Aronian sneaks an extra win in the remaining games. To have Carlsen going out on the tie break, then there is something very, very wrong with the tie break, with the title going to the person who loses the most games.

                (Mestel) For the spectators a win and a loss is better than two ties but is that what chess is all about? You would like a playoff match, wouldn’t you?

                (Short) Even quick play is better than a lottery of the tie breaks. Wasn’t it Smyslov-Hubner that was decided on the spin of a roulette wheel?
                +++++++

                Jonathan Speelman and Lawrence Trent

                (Trent) We’ve got rid of the amateurs and brought in the big guns. What games have impressed you so far?
                (Speelman) Boris said at the press conference that Magnus’s game against him was the best of the tournament so far*. And Svidler-Grischuk with the pieces strewn all over the board was a chess columnist’s dream.
                In the game with Radjabov today, Vladimir is an hour ahead on the clock. Kramnik is the best prepared player in the world. His preparation is fantastic.
                +++++++

                (Trent to Short) Grischuk is getting into time trouble, but we should be used to that. He should play a bit quicker. There’s that one moment, that critical moment, when you say I am going to take that knight or play another move. One of them is going to win and one is going to draw and he chose the wrong way. The blue pill or the red pill. It actually happened in the film. The red pill is the truth.
                (Short) What are you talking about? (audience laughs)
                (Trent) The Matrix.
                (Short) I never really understood that film.
                +++++++

                (Svidler-Aronian) Lev plays g5 and nobody can believe it. (Trent) This moves goes against all the principles of chess. (Short) That move smacks of desperation.
                Aronian plays b5. (further sensation)
                ++++++++++

                Commenting on Kramnik-Radjabov ending. (Trent) That is the worst feeling in chess, when it dawns on you that you are losing. You’ve defended, defended and are just getting out of it and suddenly..
                There is another worse feeling - when you think he has to resign, he plays a move and you have to resign.
                (Short) There is another bad feeling, when you have resigned a game and someone comes up to you and says, “Why didn’t you play this, winning?” (laughter)
                +++++++

                Peter Svidler joins the guys at the end. He is wearing a big scarf wound around his neck, which he says is not a fashion statement – he is just ill. He has been for weeks. He has a gold earring on. He is fast becoming my second favorite after Ivanchuk.

                Nigel Short is always interesting to listen to. On-line I bought a used copy of Cathy Forbes’ book: Nigel Short: Quest for the Crown (1993). Perhaps there will be some more good stories in there.

                * game link http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=oQGZAfl1_dY
                Last edited by Wayne Komer; Friday, 29th March, 2013, 12:40 AM. Reason: added game link with commentary

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

                  Round Twelve

                  Friday, March 29, 2013

                  Lawrence Trent and Nigel Short are the commentators again. Nigel won’t be here for the remaining games. The clocks in Britain will be put forward one hour on Sunday night to summer time.

                  Ivanchuk has turned his back to the photographers so they won’t take his picture. Kasparov used to do the same.

                  Carlsen-Ivanchuk started as a Sicilian, Rossolimo Variation, avoiding a Sveshnikov. This could turn into a Taimanov. (Short) Taimanov is a very respectable opening. Named after the great pianist, Mark Taimanov. I actually have the CD that he is on, the Deutsche Grammophon album of the 100 Greatest Pianists. He is a jolly good pianist and has a very much younger wife.

                  Aronian-Kramnik is a Queen’s Gambit, Semi-Tarrasch. A modest line.

                  Radjabov-Grischuk is a NimzoIndian with Qc2, a Capablanca favorite. Wang Hao plays this way. It’s quite pleasant for white. (Short) If I am not mistaken, it was in the game Petrosian – Botvinnik from 1963, which I looked at in bed this morning. (Trent) Why did you do that?
                  (Short) I just received a three-volume edition of Botvinnik’s games in Russian. I just opened at this page (a coincidence), anyway Petrosian got a miserable passive position and got wiped out. So probably Radjabov will be seeking to improve on Tigran Vartanovich’s play!

                  Gelfand-Svidler. Gelfand is adopting an anti-Grunfeld system. They are both Grunfeld specialists. (Trent) I was discussing this system with Veselin Topalov over several pints once. He was saying Qc2 was a novelty when he played it. You can play Qc2, Qb3 or Qa4+. Gelfand has now moved the queen to e4. What has happened to opening development.
                  (Nigel) Gary Kasparov wrote two or three years ago that the only principle in this computer age is that there are no principles. A move is either good or not good! Whether it breaks these old guidelines is completely irrelevant.
                  +++++++++

                  (Analyzing Radjabov-Grischuk) (Short) If black plays his pawn to c4, we have a passed pawn. What does Nimzowitsch say about passed pawns? (Trent) I don’t speak German or Latvian. (Short) He said that the passed pawn is a criminal, which must be kept under lock and key. And here he is escaping.
                  +++++++++

                  (Trent) That makes no sense at all. After 12 rounds (of commenting), my brain has shrunk two-thirds. (To the producer) There is only one-third to go, McCauley and then you might as well get a vegetable, a large courgette, and just put him here.
                  +++++++++

                  (Trent commenting on white’s position in Gelfand-Svidler) Only grandmasters can put their bishops on the back rank. What can’t grandmasters do? Some of them are not very good at football.
                  (Short) I’ll tell you what grandmasters are not very good at. Driving – A lot of them can’t drive, especially the older generation. I know with Ivanchuk, he took his test and apparently, the instructor said, “Here you are Vassily, here is your license, but you must promise me that you will never ever drive a car.”
                  (Trent) If Ivanchuk is in a traffic jam on the M25 and he goes off and starts to think about a variation, he could cause mayhem.
                  (Short) He could, he could. And there is another thing that grandmasters can’t do and that is tying ties. I went to a tournament, Sarajevo 2000 or whatever and I did a survey and I asked all the players if they could tie a tie and the result was about 50%. Korchnoi can’t tie a tie. But Barayev, can, I taught him. I gave him instructions.
                  (Trent) I think all grandmasters, before getting the title, ought to be able to do that..(Short) and be able to put up a deck chair.
                  (Trent) Not only that, they should go in for military training, before they get their grandmaster title.
                  (From the audience) There are 78 ways to tie a tie.
                  (Short) One way is beyond most of these people!
                  (Trent) One thing that grandmasters can do is to put their pieces on the correct squares and that is really all that matters, isn’t it?
                  (Short) Lawrence, you can drive a car and tie a tie and that’s why you are not a grandmaster.
                  (Trent) I will be next year at this time.
                  (Short) You will be after you lose to some of those Georgian women. They are very good at chess, those Georgian women.
                  +++++++

                  (Aronian-Kramnik) Aronian has just lost a piece! (after Bxh7) Perhaps we are trivializing it because he hasn’t lost a piece for nothing. He thought for a good 15 minutes for that, so there is a reason for it.
                  ++++++++

                  (Carlsen-Ivanchuk) Black is on top. This position is thoroughly unpleasant for Magnus. He is suffering. If Chucky wins we could have a new leader. We have to watch the times here, if Chucky doesn’t lose on time, he has great chances.
                  ++++++++

                  (Trent) Carlsen just lost two games in classical chess in all of 2012 – one to Karjakin at Tata Steel and one to Caruana at Bilbao. (Short) And how old are those guys? (Trent) Caruana is 20 and Karjakin is the same age as Carlsen, 22. So he only loses to kids.

                  (Short) I almost killed Karjakin. Have you seen that the photo of my car turned upside down and off the road?
                  A few years ago, he came to stay with me and we got hit by a Greek driver and they are the worst.
                  (From the audience) Grandmasters can’t drive!
                  (Short) It wasn’t my fault at all. It was a nasty accident. He came with his mom. And we were in the Peloponnese and I was driving them back to the airport in Athens, and it started raining and I said, “It’s typical, when it is raining, the Greeks are not used to it and they keep driving at the regular speed. In Britain, it rains all the time and people understand that they should slow down”. I was going on about this and about five minutes later somebody just spun off the bend coming straight at me and we were heading for a collision when I just managed to get out of the way and was hit on the side and knocked off the road. There is a photo of it in ChessBase. Fortunately no one was inured – just the car. I thought that that was it, I have almost killed the future world champion. He is number 4 or 5 in the world ranking lists.
                  +++++++

                  Carlsen, after seven hours of play, has lost with white to Vassily Ivanchuk!
                  Last edited by Wayne Komer; Friday, 29th March, 2013, 06:07 PM. Reason: spacing

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

                    Round 13, Sunday March 31, 2013

                    In the comments after Round 12, Chessbase, on its website, said:

                    Anyone watching the round on the World Chess live broadcast, with IM Lawrence Trent and GM Nigel Short doing a splendid job, found it difficult to turn away from the screen.
                    And gave a six hour summary tape.

                    But Nigel is not here today and is replaced at the first by Robert Fontaine – so we don’t have the colourful anecdotes that we have enjoyed before.
                    Some snippets:

                    (Kramnik-Gelfand) Boris Gelfand is 40 minutes down on the clock after 6 moves. I am surprised he has spent so much time.
                    Now neither player is at the board.
                    (Trent) What is that on the board with Vladimir? – a kettle?
                    (Fontaine) It is a teapot. He is ready for 6 hours play. Each day he comes with water &c saying I am here, to his opponent, for six hours.
                    Actually behind, you cannot see, Boris comes each day with a blue bag with dried fruit. It is old Russian school, come with the tea and fruit and..
                    (Trent) Healthy mind, healthy body.
                    (Fontaine) He comes each day with his blue bag. We try to hide it for the cameras.. These guys are very professional and consulted their doctors before the tournament and know what to eat and when to eat; they have their rhythm and take it very seriously.
                    +++++++++++++

                    John Nunn joins Lawrence Trent

                    Gelfand has made a move that states he will not just lie down and remain passive for the whole game.
                    In fact, John, that is in books you yourself have written…
                    (Trent) John is the author of many books but one my favorite of all time is his new book understanding chess middle games with lots of recent examples. You use examples from 2010, 2009 and all these guys (indicating the matches in progress) are featured in your books.
                    (Nunn) I think they do. I don’t like to use time- worn examples, I choose recent games as they are unlikely to have been published many times before and you’re able to make new discoveries.
                    (Trent) John is not a bad endgame specialist either. Check out his books on the endgame. Even top guys in the world also read them, in fact Lev said they were some of his favorite books. (Nunn) Having made an error in the endgame two days ago, he should have read my book a little more carefully.

                    (Understanding Chess Middlegames [Gambit](2009))
                    +++++++++++++

                    Jonathan Speelman joins Lawrence Trent

                    (Radjabov-Carlsen)
                    (Trent) After 20 moves Teimour has only got 23 minutes left with white. You want more time against Carlsen. Radjabov had an advantage and it has slipped.
                    (Trent) John, Magnus suffered a horrible loss the day before last.
                    (Speelman) He had gone 41 games without a loss, had he? That is quite extraordinary.
                    Do you think the rest day will have helped Magnus or do you want to get right back in there?
                    (Speelman) It looked to me like several of the boys were really dead on their feet by the time six hours had been completed. They were doing things that they normally wouldn’t have done. They didn’t resemble themselves. They were walking dead.
                    The chess here is an absolute shattering both mentally and physically. When he came into the press conference Kramnik was saying things like, “I can’t analyze this, I’m too tired.”
                    (Trent) I think the rest day was important for everyone.
                    +++++++

                    Robert Fontaine and Lawrence Trent

                    At this point, three and a half hours in, some of the players might be getting into time trouble – Radjabov, Gelfand and Ivanchuk are getting close, with each to make 10 or more moves to control.

                    Ivanchuk loses to Svidler on time; last move was Chucky’s 36th. He has lost five times on time in this tournament. He is not at the press conference.

                    (Anastasiya Karlovich) It is obvious that you are not fighting for first place, so how did you find the motivation to play today?
                    (Svidler) I am guaranteed a non-negative score. This is very important.
                    (Karlovich) Was it difficult psychologically to play against Vassily, when he was short of time?
                    (Svidler) A short story. One of my first games with Vassily was at Linares, before time increments. I was lost for the majority of the game and then I got some chances and with time control I had five seconds for the last three moves and I had two moves – one was objectively the best and the other contained a trap, a reasonably difficult trap. And I chose the second one because I had five seconds for three moves – why not? And of course, nothing good came out of that and I proceeded to lose the game.
                    After it, Gary Kasparov came to me and said, “What were you doing?” and I said, “Well, yeah, there is this trap there.” and he said, “ You’re playing Ivanchuk, what trap?” You play the best moves. I like to think I am way past the mistake of playing against his time.

                    Kramnik-Gelfand has made the control with K’s rooks on the 7th rank.

                    Aronian-Grischuk is a draw and it is unlikely that Lev will be contesting the championship.
                    +++++++

                    In the sixth hour:

                    Kramnik-Gelfand will probably be a draw.

                    (Trent) It looks like Radjabov-Carlsen will go on into the night. I wonder if they have pizza delivery to this place?
                    ++++++

                    Teimour loses in 89 moves to Magnus but is surprisingly upbeat at the press conference:

                    (Radjabov) Well, losing this position today, I prefer to lose this than in all my previous games because now there is an intrigue in the tournament and it might be an historical loss for me instead of all the upsetting losses for me in the previous rounds.
                    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 31st March, 2013, 05:36 PM. Reason: added final result, corrected logic error

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

                      Round 14
                      Monday, April 1, 2013

                      The last round. If Carlsen and Kramnik tie, then Carlsen goes through as the winner on tie break. Kramnik has to play for a win.

                      Everybody is wondering how Ivanchuk will do today.

                      Robert Fontaine and Lawrence Trent

                      (Ivanchuk-Kramnik) (Trent) We want Vassily to play moves today, we don’t just want him to think for two hours and lose on time for that would cause all sorts of outcries. If he lost on time in a good position..I don’t even want to go there.

                      (speculating) Kramnik might give Ivanchuk a better position just to make him think!

                      Genna Sosonko joins Lawrence after the first break

                      (Sosonko) I expect two draws today, in the main games. I spoke yesterday with Gary Kasparov and I absolutely agree with him that if they will finish in first place – both of them – it is ridiculous that the main point is the number of wins. It is regulation but it would be silly for somebody who had won less games to be only second.
                      (Trent) There has been a lot of controversy about this. I think if we have to players finishing equal first, there should be a playoff – a rapid match – but just play! The tie break is regulation though, and everybody knew that coming into this tournament. It is not as if the rules had changed.
                      As long as Carlsen gets the same number of points as Kramnik, he will win the tournament.
                      (Sosonko) The struggle is very sharp. There are a lot of mistakes and time pressures because the younger generation have grown up with increments from the very beginning of the game.
                      All of us are witnesses to chess history today because it is not just a question between Carlsen and Kramnik but it is also a question as to the future. They are two brilliant players, completely different in their approaches.
                      (Trent) Carlsen will be the youngest contender since Gary. Tal was 23, Kasparov was 21 and Carlsen 22. He can’t become the greatest ever until he gets the World Championship and holds it for some time. Can you tell us what you are doing now for a day job?

                      (Sosonko) I don’t play anymore. I comment and I write about chess. In this tournament my duty is to give comments for Russian Chess TV. They say they have 24 hours a day transmission. I don’t know how they do that but they do. In the centre of Moscow, a couple of grandmasters sit there and observe the games and I give my impressions from London.
                      In my opinion Ivanchuk today feels his responsibility to the chess world. Gary said yesterday that in Ivanchuk’s games there could be not a 50-elo point spread among them but 500!
                      (On Aronian-Radjabov) In Baku and Yerevan there are people who look at the games not through chess eyes but through political ones. The two countries have no relations and are at war with each other on paper. These are two very nice friendly guys here, it is a pity that the situation in politics isn’t as it is in chess.
                      33 years ago, in London, in 1980, I played one of my best tournaments. Korchnoi, Larsen, Timman and Ljubojević were there. I was leading in the tournament and in the two last rounds I had to play against two, what I thought were, weak Englishmen - Jonathan Speelman and Michael Stean, (speaking to Speelman in the audience) who stopped with chess already, long ago – is that correct? I didn’t lose any games before but I lost to Jonathan and to Stean as well and didn’t win the tournament.

                      [Philips & Drew Kings 1980]

                      Viktorija Čmilytė joins Lawrence Trent

                      She is a Lithuanian chess player with the titles of Woman Grandmaster and Grandmaster.
                      (Trent) You are rated at over 2500. Do you still learn anything looking at these games?
                      (Cmilyte) I look at the games and try to figure out what should be done. I look for the most forcing lines.
                      (Trent) When I play women they always beat me up. Nana for example. Do you find a difference when you play men?
                      (Cmilyte) Usually it is the strength of the opponent. There is also the glass ceiling deal - I always feel as if I have to prove something, that you are actually strong enough to play.
                      [Nana Alexandria and Georgian women chess players seem to be a running joke against Lawrence. I wish I knew the whole story]

                      Note added: The Nana referred to is most likely Nana Dzagnidze and the game Dzagnidze-Trent, Gibraltar 2013, a Benoni that Trent lost.

                      Malcolm Pein joins Lawrence Trent

                      (Trent) Malcolm was with me at the start of the tournament and is making his comeback now. Why can’t you be tall and blonde? (like Victorija.)
                      +++++++

                      (Malcolm) I did a radio interview this morning and the interviewer said, “Did you think when the computer beat Gary Kasparov that that was the end of chess?” And I said, “ When the Ferrari went faster than Usain Bolt, did you think that was the end of physics?” Not really.

                      (I have listened to the Pein quote several times over and I concluded that the word is “physics”. If you heard another word or can furnish one that is better than “physics”, I would be so glad to hear it. A small chess book prize? WK)

                      Note added later: Pein probably said "fitness".
                      ++++++++

                      Simon Williams joins Lawrence Trent

                      (Trent) In the two games that don’t affect the final standings at the top, we have a result. A draw between Gelfand and Grischuk and Aronian has a win against Radjabov.
                      (Williams) Carlsen is annoying. He is such a good player at 22. What is he going to play like at 30? He will be a worthy champion.
                      Ivanchuk is such a great player; he’s going to beat the top two players. But he is too unstable. Against Yusupov, at his last Candidates, he played one of the greatest games ever, the one with all the knights and sacking his queen and then went out in the street and screamed.
                      (Trent – drinking a Red Bull) I’ve enjoyed this tourney immensely – the broadcast has had record viewership - fighting chess and drama and we have to hope that Vassily doesn’t…
                      (Williams) Svidler-Grischuk was a great game.
                      (Trent) Looking at the positions now – Carlsen looks completely lost.
                      (Williams) It looks like Ivanchuk will win, unless he freezes.
                      ++++++++

                      Svidler beats Carlsen. Ivanchuk-Kramnik still goes on.

                      (Carlsen-Svidler press conference) – (Carlsen) I was spending too much time in the middle game. I just couldn’t calculate too well today. From early on there were lots of things to calculate at every move.
                      (Svidler) It is nice to finish with two wins. We all aspire to beat Magnus, who is the best player in the world. Beating him with black is something I will treasure in a calmer state of mind. There is a slight feeling of missed opportunity.
                      ++++++++

                      (Trent) Ivanchuk-Kramnik is over. It’s a win for Vassily.
                      Magnus Carlsen will be facing Vishy Anand for the world championship title later on this year.
                      ++++++++

                      (Ivanchuk-Kramnik at the press conference) (Kramnik) The position at that point was terribly complicated and I didn’t know what to do – to play for a draw? It was not clear if Peter was going to win or not. I got a bit lost watching that game. Then I made a few bad decisions. (Ivanchuk) It was a very complicated fight today. It seemed to be a draw but later on my opponent started taking risks and gave me some chances, which I could use.
                      ++++++

                      Post-match Press Conference

                      (Carlsen) I only watched a bit of the other game but I was disappointed with the loss but I didn’t want to resign until I was sure Ivanchuk was going to win. The last three games in this tourney were very difficult for me. Before that I played my best chess with few mistakes. At the end everyone got tired and anything could happen. It is like “last man standing”.

                      I slept last night but couldn’t sleep the night before.
                      I think the match with Anand will be interesting and a great event.
                      As for location, I would like someplace nice.
                      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Tuesday, 2nd April, 2013, 12:43 PM. Reason: Adding a note

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                      • #12
                        Re: Candidates – Last Five Rounds

                        Candidates – The Last Interview

                        There is very little chessic content here but this conversation finishes up the very interesting transmission of this tournament. If you record the big things, maybe some of the small things should be documented for history as well.

                        Lawrence Trent with Magnus Carlsen

                        (Trent) Good evening everyone, well, when you thought I signed off, I came back, it is really the resurrection – Easter weekend. On a more serious note, I am delighted to be joined by Magnus Carlsen. Congratulations – an incredible tournament and an incredible day. First, let me ask you a most important question – Was it all an Easter April Fool’s joke? Because what I think happened was that you both agreed draws in 30 moves each and there was no drama. This was all a big joke, right?

                        (Carlsen) (laughing) You could say so.

                        (Trent) No, nobody expected this. Not even you expected this.

                        (Carlsen) No, definitely not.

                        (Trent) How are you going to celebrate your victory?

                        (Carlsen) I don’t know. My thoughts haven’t got any further than getting back to my hotel and lying down.

                        (Trent) Are you more exhausted physically or emotionally?

                        (Carlsen) It’s a lethal combination right now.

                        (Trent) A bit of both? World Championship qualifier – I think you are the youngest since Gary..?

                        (Carlsen) I suspect so.

                        (Trent) There are a lot of youngsters out there, starting to play chess, getting involved – how do you feel about being their idol and essentially the future of chess – no pressure! – the future of chess is now genuinely in your hands.

                        (Carlsen) It’s great, I think. But young people should not take everything I do as gospel. Like playing too riskily and using up all your time, (laughter from audience) in a decisive game you essentially only need to draw. That’s something you cannot do, even if you have played as much chess as I have.

                        (Trent) Well look, if all of us could play chess like you could, I would give the odd game on time. I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself. What game are you most proud of in this tournament?

                        (Carlsen) I think my second game against Gelfand was really good, I put pressure on him from the start and calculated a lot things very well there. It also took a lot of energy which came back to haunt me later on. I was also happy with the fact that I managed to save a difficult position against Kramnik – that turned out to be very decisive.

                        (Trent) I am not one of those guys who is superstitious but clearly you have been in London a few times and you won four out of five tournaments, why don’t you just live here? (laughter from audience) You could naturalize and I am sure that Mickey and Nigel wouldn’t mind you playing for England. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind going down a board. Doesn’t that make perfect sense? You win almost every time you come here.

                        (Carlsen) I’m happy to be here. It’s nice to have more than one place to go out and eat, for instance.

                        (Trent) Let’s face it, you’ve won a bit of cash – you can treat yourself.. What are you going to eat? Are you going to have a nice steak? A bottle of champagne with it? Invite me.. I’m not angling for an invitation here..

                        (Carlsen) It’s a tradition here, probably a bad tradition, but (my second?) and I would go and get burgers and a milkshake before every free day and to celebrate as well. That’s one plan.

                        (Trent) That’s one plan, sounds like a good one to me. How long are you here for? - are you back in Norway? I imagine you will be very busy now with lots of press..

                        (Carlsen) I don’t know. There are people who take care of stuff like that for me. When I get home hopefully people are going to care.

                        (Trent) I went on your big Norwegian VG homepage. You are on the first page, so people do care. I think everybody in your country will be proud of you. We are all proud of you here because you’ve shown that you are a real fighter, you’ve had some positions which didn’t look good – the one against Radjabov comes to mind, but you stuck in there and it proved decisive and you won the tournament and I can’t wait for you to play Vishy. I am honored to see history taking place and congratulations (they shake hands and Carlsen unhooks his microphone and leaves).

                        I think that really is a wrap. That’s all from me, It’s been a pleasure.

                        [I could not make out who Magnus was going out for burgers with. It sounded like "bitterseye" but whether it was family, second or manager, I could not tell] WK

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