Chess season is upon us

[Ergodic]

I don't suppose the world of chess is nearly as popular on Wall Street as baseball. Nevertheless, for all the domestic students who aren't aware that "chess professional" is not, in fact, an oxymoron, here's the skinny:

Reigning champion Viswanathan Anand has travelled many miles across Europe and Asia, braving a veritable miasma of volcanic ash fallout, to meet challenger Veselin Topalov on his home turf in Sofia, Bulgaria. The match begins on Saturday, 10am EST, and lasts twelve days straight.

Topalov, a known whiner and provoker of petty disputes, has psychology on his side: not only is he playing at home court, he and his shady manager Silvio Danailov have managed to stir up negative sentiment among the locals towards the peaceful Indian champion, levelling accusations of Anand's being "disrespectful," "inconsiderate," and "arrogant," among other invectives. (Source: The United States Chess Federation - A Couch Potato's Guide to Topalov-Anand .) For these reasons, my money is on Topalov. Nevertheless, I am secretly rooting for the maligned underdog.

 

[bigbadwolf]

There's also a persistent rumor that Topalov cheats (by getting informaton during a game). This goes back at least to the San Luis tournament in 2005. Anand is definitely the outsider in Sofia. These two players and Magnus Carlsen consititute a trio which other elite players are not quite in the league of.

The way Anand is being treated you'd think he was Rocky Balboa who's arrived in Moscow for his fight with Ivan Drago.

Here is a Bulgarian bank ad starring Topalov. Which is a bit silly since the bank is trying to stress cooperation between itself and its customers -- and using the metaphor of a zero-sum game like chess is daft. Playing chess with office supplies, however, reminds me of the time someone took Kasparov to dinner: the tablecloth was checkerboard and it took Kasparov two hours to pass the salt shaker.

I've finally figured out how the horsey moves -- it's sort of an L-shape. Plus it can jump over other pieces.

 

[alain]

the last time I followed chess was over 15-18 years ago, when Kasparov split from FIDE. I haven't followed since. Anand was a a young talent at that time. These other two are totally new to me.

 

[Joy Pathak]

I loved Yahoo Chess and Chess.com . I used to spend hours and hours and hours on there during high school and smaller parts of my undergrad.

 

[Ergodic]

I've finally figured out how the horsey moves -- it's sort of an L-shape. Plus it can jump over other pieces.

Nice try, but I call your bluff and put you at 1800-2000 FIDE.

Incidentally, I assume Carlsen is considered a national hero in your country. To whom in the USA could his current level of fame be compared?

the last time I followed chess was over 15-18 years ago, when Kasparov split from FIDE. I haven't followed since

Magnus Carlsen is someone to watch. He's actually training with the Big K himself, achieving 2800+ and world #1 at the tender age of 18. That, combined with the facts that he is from a country that isn't traditionally a chess superpower (like Capablanca in Cuba) and that he doesn't display any of the standard arrogant jackassery typical of top players, make for an interesting persona.

 

[Joy Pathak]

This is getting too intense. Basketball playoffs is what I will be following.

Pistonsssssssssssssss

 

[bigbadwolf]

Nice try, but I call your bluff and put you at 1800-2000 FIDE.

Yes, you are correct. Your perception is almost supernatural. I don't know how you figured it out. But my rating is closer to 1800 than 2000 and I stopped playing rated chess ten years ago.

Incidentally, I assume Carlsen is considered a national hero in your country. To whom in the USA could his current level of fame be compared?

The Norwegians are not ostentatious about such things and bragging of any sort is considered in bad form. In any case, outside of chess circles his name is often not even known. The Norwegian government supports some school chess but nothing at the adult level.

Magnus Carlsen is someone to watch. He's actually training with the Big K himself, achieving 2800+ and world #1 at the tender age of 18. That, combined with the facts that he is from a country that isn't traditionally a chess superpower (like Capablanca in Cuba) and that he doesn't display any of the standard arrogant jackassery typical of top players, make for an interesting persona.

Norway for its size (<5m people) has quite a few strong players. At the Oslo chess club IMs and GMs turn up all the time. In a friendly 5-minute tournament I was pitted against a GM (Leif Johannessen) who didn't even try to beat me (in a Nimzo-Indian) and just let my clock run out. Another time, I tried to guess the strength of a player and not having your supernatural powers guessed 2150. When he told me it was 2300 I said he could apply for an FM title; turned out he was already an IM who had seen better days.

These days publishers like Quality Chess, New in Chess, and Gambit are turning out books which have reignited my interest. In particular, Aagaard's "Attacking Manual" is a contemporary masterpiece.

Carlsen is a Norwegian and modest self-effacement is a national characteristic. If a Norwegian says he hardly knows the game, it means he could be a pretty strong amateur. If an American says it, it means he doesn't know how the horsey moves. Mind, Carlsen is going to face some pretty stiff competition. Ponomariov, Radjabov, Karjakin, and Wang Yue are of roughly the same generation as Carlsen and having a level of ability that is comparable to that of Carlsen.

 

[Ergodic]

Yes, you are correct. Your perception is almost supernatural.

Call it calculated intuition. I guess it's time to apply my skills to financial markets.

Mind, Carlsen is going to face some pretty stiff competition. Ponomariov, Radjabov, Karjakin, and Wang Yue are of roughly the same generation as Carlsen and having a level of ability that is comparable to that of Carlsen.

Those guys are off my radar for now. Wang Yue caught my eye when he almost broke Tal's record for a string of non-losses (86?)--if he quits smoking, he'll have my full support. Carlsen is younger than these, however, and may have a Matthew Effect on his side.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Call it calculated intuition. I guess it's time to apply my skills to financial markets.

What's your USCF or FIDE rating? If you're in NYC, do you ever wander down to the Marshall Chess Club? It's not very far from Washington Square Park.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Anand just resigned the first game. Mainline Grunfeld, with Topalov saccing a knight on the 24th to immediately establish a winning position.

 

[Ergodic]

Anand just resigned the first game. Mainline Grunfeld, with Topalov saccing a knight on the 24th to immediately establish a winning position.

Poor Vishy. Looks like this is going to be even worse than I imagined.

The last time Topalov uncorked such a novelty (to my knowledge) was against Kramnik in Wijk aan Zee, 2008. He then went on to further sac his queen for a rook and knight, achieving mate in an unrelenting fashion. As an opening preparationist, the man has my highest respect. Can't say much about the rest of his persona.

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Assuming anyone else on the forum is interested in watching this slaughter battle unfold, here are a few helpful links:

Anand-Topalov - FIDE World Chess Championship 2010 (Official site of the match. Click on "Results and Games" above to replay the games, or watch them live)

Chess News, Chess Programs, Databases - Play Chess Online (Chessbase--excellent news site, often featuring humorous photojournalism)

 

[IlyaKEightSix]

Why did Anand concede game 1? Why not just capture the rook and keep on playing?

Nc6 blocks the following Qc1+, and even if Bxc6, Qe3+ forces a trade, and then the a8 rook is lost. Not sure if that's concede worthy.

 

[Ergodic]

Why did Anand concede game 1? Why not just capture the rook and keep on playing?

Nc6 blocks the following Qc1+, and even if Bxc6, Qe3+ forces a trade, and then the a8 rook is lost. Not sure if that's concede worthy.

Black is down a bishop in the end. Although he "has two extra pawns," White's rook will make short work of the two on the queenside, and the passed e-pawn is easily blocked by the white king.

Don't get me wrong: in a blitz game between amateurs, Black would have many opportunities for a swindle and would be correct to play on, hoping for a slip-up by his opponent. But in a six-hour game between two 2800s, well...it would be kind of sad on the loser's part to play it out, knowing his opponent not only has the advantage, but can afford to make a few inaccuracies and still win the game.

Have you ever watched two grandmasters conclude a game? There generally isn't any dramatic king-tipping or well-enunciated draw offers. When the game is essentially over, the players simply look up at each other and shake hands--no words like "Draw" or "I Resign" are spoken, as both players know the true result in their gut and are able to reach a tacit agreement. It's interesting to watch.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Why did Anand concede game 1? Why not just capture the rook and keep on playing?

Nc6 blocks the following Qc1+, and even if Bxc6, Qe3+ forces a trade, and then the a8 rook is lost. Not sure if that's concede worthy.

Even a club player would resign such a hopeless position, let alone at super GM level.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Curtains for Topalov. Hmmm, the Catalan seems exciting and Avrukh has recently just written a 2-volume work on it. Topalov got beat hard. Four hours well spent watching it.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Anand just won the last game to clinch the match. Some good games got played, which shall doubtless turn up in the next Chess Informant (periodical).

 

[Ergodic]

Anand just won the last game to clinch the match.

And with Black, no less. A smashing final victory, putting that skinny little whiner in his place.

I didn't follow all of the games live, but this last one I watched whenever I could, and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Is this what fans of baseball and football feel during an exciting match? I have a theory (not particularly deep) that you need to have played a game seriously in order to truly be enthralled by a championship match, in any sport.

As a corollary, the reason chess will never have the following that "physical" sports enjoy is that its learning curve is much steeper. By this, of course, I don't mean just learning the rules, but also developing a feel for and appreciation of essential tactics and strategy.

 

[dstefan]

Thanks for the update - too bad I do not have time to follow chess anymore...

Kudos to Anand! He also won on the opponent's turf, which is all the more commendable!

 

[bigbadwolf]

Kudos to Anand! He also won on the opponent's turf, which is all the more commendable!

But savor the cunning: he conned the Bulgarians into thinking their boy had a chance, then polished him off in the last game so that 1) the Bulgarians wouldn't be able to pull any fast ones on him and 2) he could beat him with black, thus conveying the message, "I was just toying with you all along, chump; I could have polished you off much earlier." But I jest. It was almost an even match. And Topalov is a player of vast power and erudition. What was interesting about the match was the number of games that ended up in the "strategic endgame" phase, where subtle positional judgement mingles with calculation and chess engines go astray.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

I didn't follow all of the games live, but this last one I watched whenever I could, and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Is this what fans of baseball and football feel during an exciting match? I have a theory (not particularly deep) that you need to have played a game seriously in order to truly be enthralled by a championship match, in any sport.

Just watching the games was stressful and enervating. The players I was discussing the game with online had their chess engines on -- but that's using an unreliable crutch and detracts from the enjoyment of seeing things for oneself.