World Chess Champs start tomorrow

Gcol wrote:

There is a chess player in Cuba, Sowenza, that would dominate this tournament but is not allowed to participate. Only guy to take Anand down recently.

dkny64 wrote:

Chess Expert wrote:

I hope he plays either the KIA (like Fischer) or the Halloween Gambit.

KIA + Scotch Gambit [from other reply] sound interesting/plausible. On the other hand, if Anand plays the Halloween Gambit, I'm going to fall off my chair, then start investigating whether you in fact know the champ.

And hey, while we're at it, why not that Benko Reversed that Larsen sprung on one of your own?

Really, I don't think it matters too much what the opening theme is. Carlsen has shown in this match and many others that he isn't the best prepared when it comes to openings, but he is sound enough to get to a mid-game safely in almost all scenarios. Then, he grinds away making small gains move by move until his opponents make a mistake in the end game. He is a class apart in the end game.

Any of you guys watch that crime-solving drama called 'End Game'? It's pretty good. It's about a grandmaster that helps solve crimes.

dkny64 wrote:

Indeed so about Noel, who was actually down to expert strength by the time I was playing MOTCF in the early 80s. The other two guys on the team as I recall were masters Chester (?) Wozney and Ross Sprague. Part of what I found amusing [as an obnoxious adolescent] about the whole good, bad, ugly thing was that Sprague [to my eye] was a perfectly nice looking middle-aged gentleman and Noel looked fine but Burns & Wozney, were, um, perhaps not as conventionally handsome as Sprague & Noel.

Did you play MOTCF?

I did play MOTCF, and I remember Tom Wozney and Ross Sprague, along with Richard Noel and Robert Burns. I'm aware of the circumstances of Burns' death.

NATIONAL MASTER ROBERT BURNS DIES 1948-2005

NM Robert Burns of Mentor,Ohio, who was the 1969 Golden Knights Correspondence Champion, died on October 23 at the age of 57. Burns,who was rated well over 2300 much of his career was on of the strongest players in 1970’s and a mainstay on the Cleveland teams in the US Chess league.

An excellent analyst and opening theoretician, Burns seconded the late Milian Vukcevich who had high regard for Bob’s knowledge of the Dragon and Accelerated Dragon. Burns worked as a computer programmer long before this was a common occupation. He was not only a chess master but a first rate bridge player. I had the pleasure of traveling to tournaments with Bob who had a witty sense of humor and always knew the best restaurants. He had a sharp tactical style, probably influenced by hundreds of speed games with Vukcevich.

He stopped playing in USCF tournaments in the late 1980’s. among Robert Burns victims over the board were Grandmasters Walter Browne and Anotoly Lein. He enjoyed the success of friends as much as his own, showing off their games more than his own. He will be missed by those who knew him.

Here's another interesting link:

Wow - really sorry to learn that Burns passed away so young. Also a bit shocked to realize that he was only in his early 30s when I was seeing him at MOTCF. I did know that he was also a serious bridge player but didn't know he had such a close relationship with Vukcevich. Whereas I do remember seeing Blocker refer to Vukcevich as a mentor. [I believe in the context of beating Vukcevich at an OCC where Blocker went 7-0.]

Thanks for the link to the article by Bob "drill 'em, fill 'em & bill 'em" Basalla - I'll have to read that carefully. Bob was such a nice guy when I knew him a little bit back in the day. Loved his "historical rating system" + remember him grinding out a win at an OCC in a truly locked up position - all 16 pawns on the board deep into the game, iirc.

not just for geeks wrote:

Really, I don't think it matters too much what the opening theme is. Carlsen has shown in this match and many others that he isn't the best prepared when it comes to openings, but he is sound enough to get to a mid-game safely in almost all scenarios. Then, he grinds away making small gains move by move until his opponents make a mistake in the end game. He is a class apart in the end game.

As a chess player, I'm a has been who never was so I could be completely wrong, but it's looked to me like Carlsen was better prepared than Anand in the two Ruy Lopez games. Agree? Disagree?

At this point I think for Anand to get back in the match, he's going to need some form of gift from Carlsen and I guess my thought is that he'd be more likely to get a gift off an opening Carlsen wasn't expecting to see at all than off of something like a Ruy Lopez where Carlsen looks very well prepared.

Draw in game 7 off another Ruy Lopez. Those 6.5 - 4.5 predictions at the top of the thread are looking pretty darn good at this point.

Deadly dull draw in game 7. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Avocado's Number wrote:

Deadly dull draw in game 7. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

I reckon it is. Carlsen is obviously brilliant, but he doesn't produce fireworks. He reminds of Petrosian a bit.

Would love to see some fireworks. An Anand victory would spice it up a bit.

The last round of the Candidates was interesting, wasn't it?

theohiostate wrote:

Would love to see some fireworks. An Anand victory would spice it up a bit.

The last round of the Candidates was interesting, wasn't it?

Yes -- actually, the last three rounds, with Carlsen losing rather badly to Ivanchuk (I believe) and Svidler, both times from the white side, and barely winning the tournament (and the right to challenge Anand) on tiebreaks. Anyone who thinks that Carlsen is invincible should look at those games. He really seemed to collapse down the stretch.

Anand on the black side of a Ruy Lopez Berlin Wall this morning.

draw in about 80 minutes

After today's draw in the 8th game, it's Carlsen 5 Anand 3. Carlsen is three draws away from the title. Anand has white next game, which is Thursday, Nov. 21.

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/anand-still-trails-carlsen-after-draw-in-game-eight-1238373.html

"Anand summed up his play in the post match conference, ”Given the match situation I am expected to liven things up, I will try to do it in the next game,” he said."

theohiostate wrote:

After today's draw in the 8th game, it's Carlsen 5 Anand 3. Carlsen is three draws away from the title. Anand has white next game, which is Thursday, Nov. 21.

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/anand-still-trails-carlsen-after-draw-in-game-eight-1238373.html

"Anand summed up his play in the post match conference, ”Given the match situation I am expected to liven things up, I will try to do it in the next game,” he said."

What a snooze today. You can't blame Carlsen for cruising a bit, but this has zero excitement at the moment.

And what is up with Anand's hair? Someone else mentioned it was a toupee. It really has to be - no one has real hair like that

Not just for geeks wrote:

What a snooze today. You can't blame Carlsen for cruising a bit, but this has zero excitement at the moment.

Yes, Carlsen blitzed his moves today in a remarkably uninteresting game. He seems content to win the championship, and I suspect that Anand right now would be content to lose respectably.

I was hoping for more from Carlsen, who has spoken out against "grandmaster draws" that cheat the spectators. In his last tournament, the Sinquefield Cup, he turned down a draw offer from Aronian in the last round, in a position where most observers thought that Aronian stood better, and a draw would have given Carlsen clear first in the tournament. It shocked a lot of people. But Carlsen ended up winning the game as well as the tournament. Here is the youtube video of it. Beginning at 6:30, watch Aronian offer a draw and listen to the commentary of Yasser Seirawan and Jennifer Shahade:

Oh, well. Let's hope for better after the rest day.

Question for you chess observers:

Why is there a separate World Championship for men & women in chess?

Honest question, not trolling. It seems like this is one of the few "sports" where there could be a level playing field... and I was just wondering 1) why it was seperate; and 2) is there any reason they couldn't compete on the same level in the same tournaments?

curiousitea wrote:

Question for you chess observers:

Why is there a separate World Championship for men & women in chess?

Honest question, not trolling. It seems like this is one of the few "sports" where there could be a level playing field... and I was just wondering 1) why it was seperate; and 2) is there any reason they couldn't compete on the same level in the same tournaments?

If you're trolling, well, you're trolling.

If not, google "Judit Polgar" and you'll find answers to both your questions.

dkny64 wrote:

curiousitea wrote:

Question for you chess observers:

Why is there a separate World Championship for men & women in chess?

Honest question, not trolling. It seems like this is one of the few "sports" where there could be a level playing field... and I was just wondering 1) why it was seperate; and 2) is there any reason they couldn't compete on the same level in the same tournaments?

If you're trolling, well, you're trolling.

If not, google "Judit Polgar" and you'll find answers to both your questions.

Judit was top ten in the world at one point. Susan is also a grandmaster, and Sofia is an International Master. Any other families out there like the Polgars?