K – K report by Chessdom

Kasparov vs Karpov, Valencia 2009
official video presentation

The organizers of the “Valencia, cuna del ajedrez moderno” chess match between Kasparov and Karpov have presented the official videos of the event. It goes through the history of Valencia, the creation of the Queen as a chess piece, and the importance of the Kasparov – Karpov match 25 years after their last encounter.

From the video we learn one of the most important aspects of the competition, the schedule of the match. On day one there will be a press conference early in the morning followed by a “Welcome Fiesta” where the audience will have open access to the players for questions and autographs. The day will finish with a simul by Kasparov and Karpov.

The next two days will be played rapid games (25 min time control) and on day 4 the players will compete in blitz games (5 min time control), making the total number of games 12.

On the last day there will be a closing ceremony.

Chessdom.com was the first site in English to bring the Kasparov – Karpov match information after the special press conference. As one of the editors of our site is based in Valencia, expect wide daily coverage and much information from the playing hall.

Enjoy the video and read on to find out more details about the match.

The match online coverage in danger?

In the end of July the Municipity of Valencia organized a press conference to present some of the details of the match. One of the striking details revealed is that the organizers expect more than 10 000 000 internet users daily to log on and follow the match. “If the estimations are correct, than the match coverage is in danger,” commented Chessdom.com technical director Mr. Anev. “If we take one of the most popular online sports newspapers in the world, Marca.com, they get 10 times less users daily and the visitors are distributed in a larger time frame. The hardware for supporting such levels is incredibly complicated and expensive, surely not to the reach of chess events at the moment.”

Speaking figuratively, the number 10 million daily online is impossible. However, the organizers are right if they drop the word “online”. Surely many big newspapers and sports channel will be reporting on score and events from the Kasparov – Karpov match in Valencia, bringing the total number of people aware of the match much above the mentioned level.

Chessdom.com has taken the advice of the technical director and will have just in case a person in the playing hall to transfer the moves in case of official site overload.

A multinational tour by Kasparov and Karpov?

Rita Barbesa, the mayor of Valencia, has revealed important information at the July press conference. Kasparov and Karpov will probably start a world tour of matches, the first one being in Valencia. Barbesa does not reveal more details, but expects this to help chess grow internationally, stabilize positions, and attract more sponsors.