Now that Topalov is firmly at #1 and Kramnik is back with excellent results at the Olympiad, it makes their upcoming match even more exciting. Three months ago, I would have said that Kramnik would have a very tough time. Now, it is a toss up to me.
Who do you pick to win?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Topalov, Has played more competivie games, over the past year.
I agree. when the match was first announced I thought that topalov would win easy. but since that time, Kramnik has shown excellent form.
I will be happy with a good Match. One well fought by both. and I will be happy with either as the winner.
I do not have a personal favorite so much as I just want to watch and enjoy the games. I do hope for an exciting match.
I guess the best man will win. and I will support the winner as the champion. I hope this is a time for healing of the world championship mess of the past decade.
I saw Kramnik in Turin, he looked relaxed and happy. The medical problem that he had would appear to be under control. It was great to see him looking so well.
Topalov will be a huge challenge for him, but I am not sure I would ever bet against Kramnik in a match, rather than a tournament.
Whichever way it turns our, it should be great chess.
As this thread is entitled “Your prediction?”, I will say I think Kramnik by a whisker.
Nobody beats Kramnik back in good shape.
I predict Topalov.
Kramnik will have a better match strategy and due to his prior experience have a bag of tricks up his sleeve.
But I think Topalov is superior in the wide range of positions he plays well. I think he has the edge in individual games when it comes to finding a way to win.
I also think the short number of games (10) means that Black can play for a win (which will be nice to see). Here Topalov has an edge.
I personally want topalov to win because he is a risk taker and bold like me. I want to play chess like topalov not kramnik.
But I have to admit that kramnik’s style is just as effective.
It will come down to who has the greater determination. It is hard to predict.
Regards.
Topolov by 5.5-4.5, with a win late in the match.
Unlike some of these guys, I have actually studied many of their games and I think Kramnik is a better player. He is a level above Topalov.
I think it’s possible for Topalov to win if he plays very well and has a little luck, but I would have to choose Kramnik.
thanks blksabb for that comment but there is a reason why topalov is the highest rated player in the world.
a rating is given based on the performance against the best players in the world so it is your word against the best of the best.
If Topalov wins, Topalov’s name will be added to the historic and gloried Match World Chess Champion list, the one that starts with Steinitz and runs thru to Kramnik.
The names of other FIDE Tournament Championship winners will still not be added, such as Ponomariov.
But if Kramnik wins, Topalov’s name will still Not appear on the list.
This means Kramnik is currently the one and only true Match World Chess Champion (the term ‘Classical’ in front of WCC was never a wise choice).
See http://chessville.com/ Editorials/ KramnikLastMatchChampion.htm
Thanks.
Gene Milener
http://CastleLong.com/
P.S. I think this will be a very close match, due to a high percentage of draws.
Lo que mas me interesa de este match es que se juegue!! y no solo eso si no que las agencias de noticias del mundo entero lo transmitan. Si eso quiero, ver a los dos genios de la actualidad, al momento de salir de la sala de juego, al momento de comer, todos los detalles de cada uno antes, durante y despues del match. Como entrenan?, con quienes?, creen en Dios?, todas esas cosas y por supuesto todo ello nos hara entender mejor el ajedrez que jueguen.
Lo que mas me interesa de este match es que se juegue!! y no solo eso si no que las agencias de noticias del mundo entero lo transmitan. Si eso quiero, ver a los dos genios de la actualidad, al momento de salir de la sala de juego, al momento de comer, todos los detalles de cada uno antes, durante y despues del match. Como entrenan?, con quienes?, creen en Dios?, todas esas cosas y por supuesto todo ello nos hara entender mejor el ajedrez que jueguen.
Lets hope this does not end the same way the world cup ended (the football headbutt one, not the chess one).
After watching the Soccer World Cup Finale between Italy and France, America’s National Basketball Association has decided to determine its champion by a game of Horse.
Gene_M
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
kramnik…
Kramnik , he is the better match player Topalov will not be able to handle it.
Now I am applying to become a citizen of Bulgaria my hands are tied!
I think Topalov will win but Kramnik will be his toughest test he has faced. It remains to be seen if Topalov’s style holds up against Kramnik. Cheparinov will have a big part to play if he is in his seconds.
By the way, the match is 12 games, not 10. This leaves very little room for error. In Kasparov-Karpov 1994, Kasparov was without a win till the 32nd game. That can’t happen here.
I’m withholding judgment until after Dortumund. Kramnik seemed to be in good shape at the Olympiad, but he was playing against opposition rated well below him.
Both players have no motivation to win this match. It will end in a draw.
It won’t be a draw.
The plan is for a total of 12 classical games, and if the score is level, another four rapid games, and if necessary, two blitz games and finally, a sudden death blitz.
I expect it will be in Kramniks interest not to let it get to the rapid stage.
Depends on how bug-eyed Top becomes after Gotu Cola or other currently available memory enhancers.
That said, several cognative enhancers that reportedly improve memory are already making their way through the Federal Drug Administration’s approval process. These are also being called smart drugs, or nootropes, from the Greek noos, for “mind,” and tropein, for “toward.” Whenever a study shows that a certain chemical produces even a moderate increase in memory in an animal population (be it fruit flies, mice or humans), one of two things happens. If the compound is not on the market, a pharmaceutical company quickly jumps in to exploit the finding. If the drug is already on the market but is used to treat a known ailment–for instance, Alzheimer’s or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder–a surge takes place in off-label use, for a purpose other than the intended application. Some regulated smart drugs are currently on the market, as are unregulated herbal medications. Entire stores called smart bars have popped up along the West Coast to sell these items.
Work on memory enhancers may be furthest along. Eric R. Kandel of Columbia University, who won a Nobel Prize for his research on learning and memory in the sea slug Aplysia, is one proponent. He found that learning occurs at the synapse (the junction between two neurons) by several means. The synapse is enhanced when a protein called CREB is activated, and CREB plays a role in memory formation in fruit flies and in mice. With these discoveries came the 1998 birth of Memory Pharmaceuticals, Kandel’s Montvale, N.J.-based company, which hopes to formulate a drug that will raise the amount of CREB in the human neural system and thus facilitate the formation of long-term memories. One of the most promising chemicals is called MEM 1414. If clinical trials go well, MEM 1414 could be on the market after 2008. At least one other company, Helicon Therapeutics in Farmingdale, N.Y., is also investigating CREB to improve human memory formation.
Alternative drugs are also in the works based on other brain mechanisms. Before a neuron naturally increases CREB, certain channels on its membrane must open to allow positive ions to flow into the cell. The ions then trigger a cascade of events leading to the activation of CREB. One channel of interest is known as NMDA. In 1999 Joseph Z. Tsein, Ya-Ping Tang and their colleagues, then at Princeton University, discovered that increasing the number of NMDA receptors in the mouse hippocampus led to better performance on a spatial-memory task. Now researchers and pharmaceutical companies are pursuing NMDA receptor agonists (they combine with the receptors) as nootropes. At least a dozen new drugs of this kind are making their way toward clinical trials.
Scientists have known for years that more commonplace chemicals such as adrenaline, glucose and caffeine increase memory and performance. We all know it, too: procrastinators find clarity of mind in the adrenaline rush to meet a deadline; we try not to work “on an empty stomach”; and we are willing to pay a premium for a vente latte–all testimony to our appreciation of these legal activities.
Self-medicating with Starbucks is one thing. But consider the following. In July 2002 Jerome Yesavage and his colleagues at Stanford University discovered that donepezil, a drug approved by the FDA to slow the memory loss of Alzheimer’s patients, improves the memory of the normal population. The researchers trained pilots in a flight simulator to perform specific maneuvers and to respond to emergencies that developed during their mock flight, after giving half the pilots donepezil and half a placebo. One month later they retested the pilots and found that those who had taken the donepezil remembered their training better, as shown by improved performance. The possibility exists that donepezil could become a Ritalin for college students. I believe nothing can stop this trend, either.
This anecdote reminds us that the unintended use and misuse of drugs is a constant. Trying to manage it, control it and legislate it will bring nothing but failure and duplicity. This fact of life needs to be aired, and our culture needs to reach a consensus about it. Aricept (the commercial name for donepezil) works, caffeine works, Ritalin works. Individuals will use such drugs or not use them, depending on their personal philosophy about enhancement. Some people like to alter their mental states; others do not.