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Round Six
Sunday, April 28, 2013
The matches today are Fressinet-Vitiugov, Aronian-Adams, Vachier-Lagrave-Gelfand, Ding Liren-Svidler and Kramnik-Anand.
With the time difference, the games are starting at 6 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time. The commentators are Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Judit Polgar. She became a grandmaster at the age of 15 in 1991.
(Dirk Jan) I saw you this morning at breakfast and first there was just you and your mother at a table for three and then more people came and then you had to go to a bigger table because so many people wanted to see you. You were the center of attention. They are surprised to see you in your role as commentator.
(Judit) We had a nice breakfast with Aronian. The players are very tense right now. (Dirk Jan) You look very relaxed. You are relieved that you don’t have to play. (Judit) Yes, this is a different story. At a tournament, I usually rush from breakfast to my room to check all my notes to be focused for my game. Now I get to watch my colleagues.
(Dirk Jan) We are the Mikhailovsky Palace, part of the Russian Museum. It is one of the biggest museums in the world with 400,000 artifacts with wonderful paintings and many more things. It is a complex of buildings and the Mihailovsky Palace is one of them. The chess tournament takes place here. We had a tour yesterday. If you take a wrong turn, you may suddenly find yourself among the paintings and there are ladies there who will direct you the right way.
+++++++
(Judit) For a professional, this is the tensest part of the game, the opening. Lagrave appears to have prepared something for his game against Gelfand. Surprise has a great value against a higher rated player. All the preparation that Gelfand made before the game is gone.
Yesterday was a free day and most players took it as a rest day but also everyone spent a couple of hours to work on expected lines for today.
(Dirk Jan) There were two starting times for the excursions at 12 or at 3 and Boris went at 12 to have enough time to do some work later on in the day.
(Judit) Boris is a professional, a serious worker, spending many hours a day working and preparing for games because it is his life.
(Dirk Jan) And while he was walking around in that museum, he must have had some variations in his head.
(Judit) That happens with chess players. An idea can come to you at the most unusual times. The most popular sport of chess players is walking. Usually before the game I walk, coming with my mom or my husband, walking to the tournament. And also to have a walk before sleep, it is relaxing.
++++++++
(Judit) Of my two other sisters, Susan was the most solid, the most classical. Her style is like that and her teachers and coaches were solid. Sofia was very artistic and liked the beauty of chess but not so focused on the preparation part. She is a very tactical player, like me, not like Susan. I like fireworks and to sacrifice as many pieces as possible and then to look around to see the effect.
(Dirk Jan) So you must have been following Laurent Fressinet’s attack on Vladimir Kramnik with a lot of pleasure?
(Judit) Well, that was amazing. When I met Laurent the other day I complimented him and told him that I envied that he played this game. I enjoyed every move of it and can I suggest to the audience to go back and replay that game. You don’t see many like that where Kramnik is beaten that way.
(Dirk Jan) You have beaten almost everyone in classical chess except Kramnik?
(Judit) Yes, I have beaten him in a blitz game.
+++++++
(Judit) You have to be very careful in an endgame. Strong players don’t pay enough attention to endgames. I always suggest to amateurs to spend time on endgames. It is part of the game when you are very tired, you are in time trouble and your knowledge can be very useful to you.
Now we don’t have adjourned games any more but it is still important to know the theoretical endgames and it helps build your understanding of the game.
(Dirk Jan) Was there one coach who helped you with endgames?
(Judit) When I was nine, Sophia and I had training sessions. We worked on endgames from a very old book, Levenfish and Smyslov. Those times were very important. We found mistakes in the book but it was very important for our understanding of rook endgames. We learned the basic rules. Pal Benko came over when I was ten and he made me love endgame studies. It is incredible how beautiful he can make studies.
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) Anand and Kramnik played each other for the first times in the late 80s – 1989 at the GMA Open in Moscow. They had a draw. Kramnik was a 14- year old boy. It reminded me of a story from Boris Gelfand. He said one of his biggest achievements was at a GMA tournament at Palma de Mallorca. He played a young Russian boy, Kramnik, in a blitz match. Boris had three minutes and Vladimir five and managed to keep the balance. It was one of the biggest achievements of his life.
(They talk about Magnus Carlsen’s early days.)
(Dirk Jan) What do you think of Maxime Lagrave leading the tourney?
(Judit) He is a very talented young man who is very much focused on chess. He works on chess seriously and likes these tense situations. It is important that you are not only good in theory but also for what you can show at the board at the right moment. He is very fit to play here. For guys like Kramnik and Svidler it is just a tournament but it is an inspiration for Maxime to play in such a tournament. Laurent said that also. For the candidates it is just another tournament but for us it is THE tournament.
(Dirk Jan) Yesterday we had a guided tour of the Russian Museum. Surikov is known for his big historical paintings. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia. Surikov was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Anyway, this has to do with the French doing well in this tournament and the Russians not doing well.
The guide explained one of Surikov’s comic paintings. On the last day of Carnival, in Krasnoyarsk, they would have a simulated fight. They would build a small castle out of ice and then one party would defend the castle and its stock of wine bottles and the other party had to attack. In the painting, a man on the horse is breaking through the ice wall and he is going to be the winner.
And then the guide said, “Do you know what the prize is going to be?” And I thought, “Probably ten litres of vodka..”. And then she said, “He is going to be beaten up by the others.” I said, “That is rather an odd thing for winning” and she said, “No, there is some philosophy behind it. Today you are a winner and tomorrow you will wake up with broken ribs and bruises and you will remember that life continues.”
So maybe we have a very different prize in this tournament and only the Russians know!
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) We are very grateful to the sponsors. It’s a beautiful room in one of the many buildings that belong to the Russian Museum. At the opening ceremony there was a string ensemble playing classical music. Andrei Filatov is a big art collector, who wants to combine art and chess. His even richer friend, Gennady Timchenko, co-sponsors this event.
The chessplayers must feel like stars. In general, I wouldn’t talk about our trip. You just get on a plane and you fly here. As it turned out, the top seeds of the tourney, joined Andrei Filatov in his private jet. Other people like myself were feeling envious but when we went to the airport we found out that we also had a private jet, a Boeing 737, which didn’t have just normal seating but luxury seats so that you were not cramped but could walk around and the players could sleep. Then you arrive in Petersburg and end up in a venue like the Mikhailovsky Palace.
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) We are going to give the answer to the two dates important in the life of Alekhine.
The art was the cinema, In September 1919, Alekhine started his studies in the State School of Cinematography and in May of 1929, he went to Hollywood and was invited to play a role in a film called “Black Officer’s Crime”. This is new to me.
Today’s question:
A Spanish newspaper wrote in 1922 that Alekhine was stopped at the border because of his Soviet passport. It read: “You should not deny the fact that Alekhine follows the Bolshevik’s appeal..” – what are these words about?
Send answers to quiz@chesstv.com
I am not sure I quite understand the question?
++++++++
(I have had to leave out much about the games because of space considerations.)
All games were drawn today.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
The matches today are Fressinet-Vitiugov, Aronian-Adams, Vachier-Lagrave-Gelfand, Ding Liren-Svidler and Kramnik-Anand.
With the time difference, the games are starting at 6 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time. The commentators are Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Judit Polgar. She became a grandmaster at the age of 15 in 1991.
(Dirk Jan) I saw you this morning at breakfast and first there was just you and your mother at a table for three and then more people came and then you had to go to a bigger table because so many people wanted to see you. You were the center of attention. They are surprised to see you in your role as commentator.
(Judit) We had a nice breakfast with Aronian. The players are very tense right now. (Dirk Jan) You look very relaxed. You are relieved that you don’t have to play. (Judit) Yes, this is a different story. At a tournament, I usually rush from breakfast to my room to check all my notes to be focused for my game. Now I get to watch my colleagues.
(Dirk Jan) We are the Mikhailovsky Palace, part of the Russian Museum. It is one of the biggest museums in the world with 400,000 artifacts with wonderful paintings and many more things. It is a complex of buildings and the Mihailovsky Palace is one of them. The chess tournament takes place here. We had a tour yesterday. If you take a wrong turn, you may suddenly find yourself among the paintings and there are ladies there who will direct you the right way.
+++++++
(Judit) For a professional, this is the tensest part of the game, the opening. Lagrave appears to have prepared something for his game against Gelfand. Surprise has a great value against a higher rated player. All the preparation that Gelfand made before the game is gone.
Yesterday was a free day and most players took it as a rest day but also everyone spent a couple of hours to work on expected lines for today.
(Dirk Jan) There were two starting times for the excursions at 12 or at 3 and Boris went at 12 to have enough time to do some work later on in the day.
(Judit) Boris is a professional, a serious worker, spending many hours a day working and preparing for games because it is his life.
(Dirk Jan) And while he was walking around in that museum, he must have had some variations in his head.
(Judit) That happens with chess players. An idea can come to you at the most unusual times. The most popular sport of chess players is walking. Usually before the game I walk, coming with my mom or my husband, walking to the tournament. And also to have a walk before sleep, it is relaxing.
++++++++
(Judit) Of my two other sisters, Susan was the most solid, the most classical. Her style is like that and her teachers and coaches were solid. Sofia was very artistic and liked the beauty of chess but not so focused on the preparation part. She is a very tactical player, like me, not like Susan. I like fireworks and to sacrifice as many pieces as possible and then to look around to see the effect.
(Dirk Jan) So you must have been following Laurent Fressinet’s attack on Vladimir Kramnik with a lot of pleasure?
(Judit) Well, that was amazing. When I met Laurent the other day I complimented him and told him that I envied that he played this game. I enjoyed every move of it and can I suggest to the audience to go back and replay that game. You don’t see many like that where Kramnik is beaten that way.
(Dirk Jan) You have beaten almost everyone in classical chess except Kramnik?
(Judit) Yes, I have beaten him in a blitz game.
+++++++
(Judit) You have to be very careful in an endgame. Strong players don’t pay enough attention to endgames. I always suggest to amateurs to spend time on endgames. It is part of the game when you are very tired, you are in time trouble and your knowledge can be very useful to you.
Now we don’t have adjourned games any more but it is still important to know the theoretical endgames and it helps build your understanding of the game.
(Dirk Jan) Was there one coach who helped you with endgames?
(Judit) When I was nine, Sophia and I had training sessions. We worked on endgames from a very old book, Levenfish and Smyslov. Those times were very important. We found mistakes in the book but it was very important for our understanding of rook endgames. We learned the basic rules. Pal Benko came over when I was ten and he made me love endgame studies. It is incredible how beautiful he can make studies.
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) Anand and Kramnik played each other for the first times in the late 80s – 1989 at the GMA Open in Moscow. They had a draw. Kramnik was a 14- year old boy. It reminded me of a story from Boris Gelfand. He said one of his biggest achievements was at a GMA tournament at Palma de Mallorca. He played a young Russian boy, Kramnik, in a blitz match. Boris had three minutes and Vladimir five and managed to keep the balance. It was one of the biggest achievements of his life.
(They talk about Magnus Carlsen’s early days.)
(Dirk Jan) What do you think of Maxime Lagrave leading the tourney?
(Judit) He is a very talented young man who is very much focused on chess. He works on chess seriously and likes these tense situations. It is important that you are not only good in theory but also for what you can show at the board at the right moment. He is very fit to play here. For guys like Kramnik and Svidler it is just a tournament but it is an inspiration for Maxime to play in such a tournament. Laurent said that also. For the candidates it is just another tournament but for us it is THE tournament.
(Dirk Jan) Yesterday we had a guided tour of the Russian Museum. Surikov is known for his big historical paintings. His major pieces are among the best-known paintings in Russia. Surikov was born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Anyway, this has to do with the French doing well in this tournament and the Russians not doing well.
The guide explained one of Surikov’s comic paintings. On the last day of Carnival, in Krasnoyarsk, they would have a simulated fight. They would build a small castle out of ice and then one party would defend the castle and its stock of wine bottles and the other party had to attack. In the painting, a man on the horse is breaking through the ice wall and he is going to be the winner.
And then the guide said, “Do you know what the prize is going to be?” And I thought, “Probably ten litres of vodka..”. And then she said, “He is going to be beaten up by the others.” I said, “That is rather an odd thing for winning” and she said, “No, there is some philosophy behind it. Today you are a winner and tomorrow you will wake up with broken ribs and bruises and you will remember that life continues.”
So maybe we have a very different prize in this tournament and only the Russians know!
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) We are very grateful to the sponsors. It’s a beautiful room in one of the many buildings that belong to the Russian Museum. At the opening ceremony there was a string ensemble playing classical music. Andrei Filatov is a big art collector, who wants to combine art and chess. His even richer friend, Gennady Timchenko, co-sponsors this event.
The chessplayers must feel like stars. In general, I wouldn’t talk about our trip. You just get on a plane and you fly here. As it turned out, the top seeds of the tourney, joined Andrei Filatov in his private jet. Other people like myself were feeling envious but when we went to the airport we found out that we also had a private jet, a Boeing 737, which didn’t have just normal seating but luxury seats so that you were not cramped but could walk around and the players could sleep. Then you arrive in Petersburg and end up in a venue like the Mikhailovsky Palace.
++++++++
(Dirk Jan) We are going to give the answer to the two dates important in the life of Alekhine.
The art was the cinema, In September 1919, Alekhine started his studies in the State School of Cinematography and in May of 1929, he went to Hollywood and was invited to play a role in a film called “Black Officer’s Crime”. This is new to me.
Today’s question:
A Spanish newspaper wrote in 1922 that Alekhine was stopped at the border because of his Soviet passport. It read: “You should not deny the fact that Alekhine follows the Bolshevik’s appeal..” – what are these words about?
Send answers to quiz@chesstv.com
I am not sure I quite understand the question?
++++++++
(I have had to leave out much about the games because of space considerations.)
All games were drawn today.
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