So we have another open letter. This one comes from Kramnik. How long before we will see an open letter from Topalov? Unbelievable! I hope they will take their anger and frustration out on the board in the next 2 games.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Rb1 (Instead of a3 before. This is a novelty according to my database. Kramnik responded instantly!)
8…Nbd7 9.c5 (I can’t find any game in my database with this position. Neither can GM Larry Christiansen. It seems that Topalov had this prepared. GM Yasser Seirawan noted: “Black needs to get in his central break …e6-e5 as a means of generating future counterplay. White has committed himself to a QS clamp. So White’s theater of action is easy to see… Whereas Black’s is not. So …e6-e5 is key. Otherwise, I can guess that Vladimir is considering 9…b5, in order to put the breaks on White’s QS expansion…”)
9…a5 (A very surprising choice, to open up the Queenside. Yasser: “10…a5 rather guarantees that the QS is pried open.” To be honest, I am not sure why Kramnik wants to open up the Queenside. That would only help Topalov.)
10.a3 e5 11.b4 axb4 12.axb4 (The most logical way to recapture. Kramnik is once again down by nearly 15 minutes on the clock in the first 11-12 moves. For those of you who do not have access to any server, you can see the LIVE game here.)
12…Qc7 (GM Jonathan Rowson offers his assessment: “I think Black is comfortable, mainly because White will have problems making use of his light squared bishop.” Personally, I prefer 12…Be7 but nothing wrong with the move played either.)
13.f4 (Incredible! I do not think a single person could have expected this move. One of the biggest problem playing against Topalov is similar to playing Poker. You have no idea if he is really well prepared at home or he is just bluffing over the board. It is up to Kramnik to call his bluff if he feels that White has nothing in this position.
I do not see much for White. In fact, Black’s position seems to be fine.)
13…exf4 (The ChessBase Fritz team suggested: ” Fritz is contemplating some tricks with 13…Nh5 14.dxe5 Ng3 15.hxg3 Rxh1 16.e4 dxe4 17.Nxe4 Be7 etc.)
14.exf4 Be7 (There are certainly a lot of actions. Kramnik basically has to figure everything out over the board since this has never been played before. GM Nigel Short added: “One has to be a little careful not to get squashed with Black but the positions feels quite satisfactory.”)
15.Be2 (Nigel Short says: “The opening is typical of Toppy’s maximalist approach ramming his pawns up the board, grabbing bishops and space at the cost of development and a certain looseness.” I asked GM Gata Kamsky of his assessment for Black. He responded: “I think black is comfortable. Additional ideas: nf8-e6, f5, bf6, ne4 is ideal setup for black.” Nigel Short stated: ” Black has two open files for his rooks. What good does it do him? Not a lot. Someone ought to write about the quality of open lines.” GM Rowson also added: ” Having grown-up playing 1d4 d5 2Nf3 Bf5?! and allowing 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.c5 etc, this position looks to me to be quite decent for Black. That said, I stopped playing that line because I felt that even the positions that looked decent weren’t very good.”)
15…Nf8 (Following the suggestion of super GM Kamsky, with the idea of going to e6.)
16.O-O (Topalov made this move IMMEDIATELY!)
16…Ne6 17.g3 (Now Topalov is up by about 35 minutes on the clock. There is nothing wrong with what Topalov just played. I am not sure I like g3 as much as Topalov. I think White needs to be more aggressive with something like 17.b5. There is no time to slow down and be conservative after choosing such an opening. When Gata was asked about Pottygate, he responded: “I don’t really want to add anything to the whole bathroom issue, the player’s managers are quite good in dealing with it.” Black has a number of choices here: 17…b5, 17…b6, 17…Kf8, etc.)
17…Qd7 (Kramnik chose a move that no one considered. I certainly did not. Gata Kamsky says: “Topa’s position is loose and krammy’s motions are loose – who will win???” Nigel Short: “Qd7 is positionally well-motivated.” Gata Kamsky: “Ne4 now is a threat.” ChessBase team: “We were looking at some remarkable lines, like 18.Be3 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Bc4 Nc7 21.Qc2 Nd5 22.Ra1 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Nxe3 24.Qxe4 0-0 25.Qxe3.” GM Rowson: “Three ideas behind qd7- Ne4 without allowing d4-d5, General idea of Qh3, and, on a very good day, with a following wind, Bd8 in order to have Ba5 at some moment.”)
18.Qd3 (Hoping to stop 18…Ne4 but I believe Kramnik will play it anyway. Yasser Seirawan: “Now I don’t think Vladimir should hesitate. He must play Ne4 quickly! White is trying to plug the e4-leak but it doesn’t stop the jump.”)
18…Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Qxe4 (If Kramnik takes with the Queen, we may soon head into an endgame. White would be slightly better but Kramnik thinks he can hold. Nigel Short: ” Vlad will take with the queen Kh1.” Yasser: “Of course Qxd4+ is “impossible” to resist.”)
20…Qxd4+ 21.Qxd4 Nxd4 22.Bc4 O-O (I am not sure if this is what Topalov had in mind with his last White game of the match. Yes, White is better. The question is would this be enough to win? I do not think so. GM Rowson explains his assessment: “Draw 75%, T win 7% K win 15%, D-factor 3% (Danailov has been quiet for the last few days.”)
23.Kg2 (Just as many people have predicted. GM Rowson: “If needs be, Black can even park the knight on b5 because White risks being worse if he takes, and if he doesn’t the hops to a3 and c3 could be annoying.“)
23…Ra4 (I aked Gata Kamsky: “Gata, I see nothing serious for White to score a full point in this position. Do you see White having serious chances to win?” He responded: “It’s double edged susan,someone might overpress. If both pair of rooks are gone, white is undoubtedly better. Seems that kramnik is pressing for a win.” 24.Rd1 is logical at this moment.)
24.Rd1 (Thanks everyone for pointing out the typo. Now that’s teamwork!)
24…Rd8 25.Be3 (Gata suggests 25…Bf6. Other playable options are 25…Nc2 or Nf5.)
25…Bf6 (I like 26.Rd2 here and so does Gata. White maintains a decent advantage but again the question is would that be enough to win? I still do not think so. One important note to point out is Topalov is spending more time in this game than in the past few games. He slowed down during critical positions such as on this move.)
26.g4 (I do not like this move at all. I prefer 26.Rd2 better.. Now 26…Ra3 and Black is fine. Gata added an endgame tip: “23…Ra4 is not doing anything, and number one rule in chess endgame is to improve position of your pieces.”)
26…Kf8 (26…Ra3 would have equalized Black’s position. This game will really test their endgame techniques. Kramnik is generally regarded as a wonderful endgame player while Topalov is more known for his attacking skills and not endgame skills. But do not under estimate Topalov. He won a few brilliant games in endgames in San Luis last year.)
27.Bf2 Ne6 (Now, after the Rook trade, White maintains a solid advantage. Kramnik missed his easy opportunity to equalized with 26…Ra3.)
28.Rxd8 (28…Nxd8 would be a little better than taking with the Bishop because of 29…Bxe6 threat. I am being outvoted. Both Yasser Seirawan and Nigel Short think that 28…Bxd8 is better than 28…Nxd8.)
28…Bxd8 (And Kramnik agrees with them 🙂 What can I say? I am outvoted.)
29.f5 (No one predicted this move. It may be a scary move against a human but the computer thinks it is a bad move that gave away all the advantages. Now 29…gxf5 30.gxf5 Ng5 =. My choice would have been 29.Bxe6 fxe6 30.Rb3 with the idea of b5 at a later point. With this line, White can maintain his advantage and keep the pressure on Kramnik.)
29…gxf5 30.gxf5 (IM Ken Regan offers: “Very concretely, 30…Nf4+ 31 Kf3 Nxd5 32 Bxd5 cxd5. How dangerous is White’s Q-side majority now? Ah, that does look good for White.”
30….Nf4+ 31.Kf3 Nh5 (Black is fine now. I do not see much chances for White to do anything damaging.)
32.Rb3 (GM Christiansen thinks this move is lame. He said that Karpov would never make a move like this. I am also puzzled by this move. What does he want to accomplish?)
32…Bc7 (Gata Kamsky sees this as a clear draw. So do I. White has nothing here. I am sure this is not what Topalov wants to achieve with his last White of the match.)
33.h4 Nf6 (GM Tyomkin says: ” Kramnik is definitely safe here, my betting line is 90% for the draw, 9% for Kramnik’s win and 1% for Topalov’s win [Danailov locks Kramnik in WC].)
34.Bd3 Nd7 (White has nothing. And Topalov better be careful not to overpush in this position. If 35.Ke4 then Ba5 and Black is clearly better.)
35.Be4 (35…Ne5+ is logical. Topalov is not playing this endgame well at all.)
35…Ne5+ 36.Kg2 (Black is now slightly better. Topalov has completely mishandled this endgame. Just a quick reminder, I will be on chess.fm tonight. The show runs from 8:00 to 10:00 PM (EST – NY time) tonight. As always, there will be replays of the show almost immediately afterwards for our chess enthusiasts on the West Coast & elsewhere, and often there will be several replays the following day.You can access it at www.chess.fm if you are an ICC member. However, if you are not, you can sign up for a one week FREE trial membership by visit www.chessclub.com)
36…Ra2 (Topalov is not doing so good now. Black is in control of this game now, perhaps not enough to win but definitely enough to make Topalov work hard to hold on.)
37.Bb1 Rd2 38.Kf1 Ng4 (Now, 39.Be1 is a must if he wants to hold on. I am stunned to see how poorly Topalov has played this endgame. Thank you GM (handle
oliveoyl on ICC) and everyone else for correcting my typos 🙂 I kept tapping the wrong key to type 2 instead of 3. All of a sudden, Topalov is taking his time. I think his downfall was 29.f5?)
39.Bg1 (I believe this is another horrendous defensive move. Black now has 39…Bh2 and if 40.Bxh2 Rxh2 and Black has a very solid advantage.)
39…Bh2 (Just as I expected and now Black is doing very well. Topalov will have quite a task to hold this position now. It is doable but he made tough work for himself for no reason at all. GM Tyomkin says: “All started with 29.f5. Super-aggresion by Topalov which isn’t a good strategy against Kramnik.“)
40.Ke1 (Now I expect 40…Rg2 and Black is clearly better. A blogger asked how I can find the strongest move while these 2 players sometimes not. Well, I am sitting at hom at my leisure, no pressure. When everything is on the line with the clock ticking and the whole world watching, pressure mounts in. It is not easy for them. When I played in my last World Championship match in 1996, I made mistakes too, the kind when I do not normally make. It is a lot easier being on the sideline than on the board.)
40…Rd5 (A very surprising move to me and most of everyone else. I think White’s chances to draw is now almost certain. 41.Bxh2 Nxh2 42.Rd3 and the position is drawn.)
41.Bf2 (He opted to still trying to win. Sometimes you have to wonder if this stubborn mentality of going for the win all the time would come back to haunt him as in game 1.)
41…Ke7 42.h5 Nxf2 43.Kxf2 (Here, we are heading for a drawn opposite color Bishop endgame. Draw will be the most likely result. Gata Kamsky said: “Ok, I’m not taking sides in this match, people will always attack you, whethere there is a reason or not.” Yasser said:”As long as one of those things is chess, we are all happy 🙂“)
43…Kf6 44.Kf3 (White should have little problem drawing this game. It certainly improved in the last few moves.)
44…Rd4 45.b5 (By trading the pawns, the chances for the game to head to a draw increase.)
45…Rc4 46.bxc6 bxc6 47.Rb6 Rc5 48.Be4 Kg5 (The game looks drawish. I do not see much chances for either side.)
49.Rxc6 Ra5 50.Rb6 Ra3+ (Still very much drawish.)
51.Kg2 Bc7 (GM Rowson offers his assessment of the position: “I am not sure if Black has serious chances- I doubt it, but in any case I am sure the computers are no longer a good guide- in my experience they never get opposite coloured bishop positions right. I think if I was white against Kramnik, I would still be a bit nervous, but I suspect Topalov is quite chilled.”)
52.Rb7 (Players often clash in big matches. When you play in a match this big, people do and say things that they normally do not do due to extreme pressure. For those fans who sit at home and make judgment, it is not always as easy as 1, 2, 3 as it seems at home. Imagine that EVERY move you make will be a part of history. How you walk, how you talk, how you sit, how everything will be magnified 1,000 times. I may have said something during my World Championship match that I am not proud off. That is why when I met Xie Jun again at the Olympiad in 2004, we went out for coffee and chat to put any misunderstanding behind us and focus on doing things to help chess in our respective countries.”
52…Rc3 53.Kf2 Kxh5 54.Bd5 f6 55.Ke2 (Even with a pawn up, the game is a draw. In chess at this level, it would be an insult for the side with a pawn down to offer a draw. Therefore, it is up to Kramnik to offer the draw anytime he is ready.)
55…Kg4 56.Be4 Kf4 57.Bd3 Rc5 58.Rb4+ Kg3 59.Rc4 Re5+ 60.Re4 Ra5 61.Re3+ (It is just a matter of time before they will shake hands. There is no chance for either side to win at this level. One blogger asked if giving my example means that I am condoning the players’ behavior. The answer is no. I just want to share with the readers a perspective that few have experienced. As in regards to my match against Xie Jun, some of you asked what I said. I am not sure what I said wrong or right. It did not really matter. However, during the heat of the match, many things could be misunderstood. That is why I did not want any misunderstanding between 2 champions. I have the highest respect for my opponent and I just wanted to let her know that.)
61…Kg2 62.Be4+ Kh2 63.Rb3 Ra2+ (Still dead draw.)
64.Kd3 Bf4 65.Kc4 Re2 (I am not sure why they are playing this out. I see virtually no chance to Kramnik to win this game.)
66.Kd5 and they officially agreed to a draw. Again, I will be on chess.fm tonight to discuss at length many issues including this World Championship. If you are not a member and cannot access chess.fm, you can receive a complimentary membership here. I was just informed by the owners of ICC that they expect a record number of listeners to the show tonight. Therefore, they decided that they will open tonight’s show for all, even non-members of ICC. They will give me a link to the free show broadcast shortly and I will post it for everyone!
A nightmare situation! Let us all hope, regardless of whose “side,” if any, one is taking…let the Chess Championship of the world stay out of the judicial area.
I fear such as step would set an extremely negative precedent for future disputes in World Title matches.
Let it be settled over the board.
There must be a way for FIDE to handle this in a manner constructive to both parties inovolved.
Respectfully,
Tim Harris
susan, is this game shown on the official fide site? i cant find it, even tho you already show three moves…
Hush, gentlemen and ladies… let us settle down to this fascinating game!
http://worldchess2006.com/main.asp?id=1101
FIDE coverage here.
http://www.worldchess2006.com/main.asp?id=1101
Are Topalov’s pawns stretched “too thin?” I’m not an expert on openings. Just wanted to know if Topalov’s pawn position is sound.
Many thanks to my fellow chess fans.
Respectfully,
Tim Harris
http://www.worldchess2006.com/main.asp?id=1101
thnx for the numerous linx, i found it now… 🙂
Kudos to Petr & Vesko
Morning Everyone! Cheer Up!
Below is my companion piece to “Top 10 reasons I will lose” for Topalov.
See Kramnik’s piece in my comments in last games.
Top 10 reasons why I will lose the next game as interviewed for BLUNDER MAGAZINE
10. I have too little experience in such situations
9. Chessbase magazine refuses to bring out Grandmasters to say good things about me
8. Journalists give too little attention to my sense of fashion. They were all over Kramnik’s casual wear on Sun.
7. I don’t have a cool pocket chess set like Kramnik. Anyone in the USA have one I can borrow for two games?
6. I can’t get Kramnik to play fast. He keeps telling me “its move quality stupid”
5. I didn’t get enough time to work on my mate in 3’s last night.
4. My undetectable computer chip implant (It runs Rybka 2.0 – cool right?) will need another reboot and I will have to come up with a move all on my own. It happened last
game and I came up with 24..f6.
3.I wanted two Knights in exchange for my Rook but I only got a Rook back.
2. I am still worried about getting sponsors for TV commercials. I hear that some of the best manufacturers of fine bathrooms in Europe are courting Kramnik.
And the number one reason:
1. Kramnik’s manager got his press release out before my manager could finish his.
13. f4 is ugly…
than again, im no GM, lets wait and see. exciting game ahead!
Good morning all! Wow, the speed of play makes my head spin. I can’t see where white has any advantage with this. Topalov has give Kramnik one complete file and one half open file. White has left his king in a drafty position…I say black has an advantage, but who really knows what white has prepared? I’m enjoying the show. Thanks Zsuzsi!
Kudos to Ilya Also,
Sorry I missed your link to the game that preceded mine as well
I think 12….g5 was the right move (13.f4 is not bad at all as it could force black not to castle after the opening of ‘e’column).
Topalov’s last advancing f pawn didn’t work out so well for him.
13 ….exf4 14. exf4 Be7 and black castles kingside?
1-0. It’s over people. thanks for coming.
If now 15.Qe2 then Kf8 : no castling but black would be better (threatens Re8).
So many of White’s pieces still on the back row ?
Befuddles my understanding of a good Opening.
“There are certainly a lot of actions. Kramnik basically has to figure everything out over the board since this has never been played before.”
But isn’t he supposed to have prepared for lines like these?
what’s the difference between an opening novelty and randomly choosing a move that hasn’t been played before? Now Topa has to think, two moves after his f4 advance? If this was a prepared line he should have anticipated the next two moves……
also have to say e4 looks like a nice spot to eventually house a black knight
Anonymous said…
“If this was a prepared line he should have anticipated the next two moves……”
Perhaps he expected 13. … Nh5 and some tactical complications he would’ve been comfortable with.
imo if 15…Kf8 Black is fine
Well, I wonder why everybody believes that Kramnik is getting into time trouble? Probably only by comparison with Topalov, who made it a personal goal not to use more than 50% of the time alloted to him.
15 Be2 played
i think 0-0 is the move now. have to get castled. can not sit on the open file.
I agree w/ doc about 15…Kf8 being fine for black, but I think castling might be ok too, since white looks to be castling also, therefore no rooks on the h file for either side. I like keeping the a rook on the a file, and with three open/half open files and only two rooks, I would prefer them on the a and e files.
I agree Marcin, Kramnik even mentioned that after one of the matches. He has to manage his time in order to play 40 moves within 120 minutes. If Topalov decides to use less that does not mean he is in time trouble.
I also believe that Topalov will overpush and lose this game. There are many nice ideas for Kramnik here on the KS, while black is also pretty solid.
It gives me the impression as we had reached the blitz session.
I thought that GMs can understand such positions and you can’t trick them with such pawn pushes. That was thereason that GMs play these difficult to understand ideas.
However, Kramnik in game 9 lost like a small kid. Strange match…
Imo, castling by Black would allow white to castle safely and start pushing the kside pawns dangerously (that can be done also after …Kf8 but would be too daring and risky)
16.0-0..0-0-0 would be risky
Now Kramnik is in serious trouble!
Susan makes me type word verification, lessens my posting pleasure.
shredder9 +0.12
rybka 2.1 -0.12
Amusingly (to me at least), ganging up on the d4 pawn is the sort of thing I, and my 1800-1900 rating would try and do.
Lori
I like Qd7 ! If now b5 there is Nxc5! with a very good attack for black. Nice move !
K is finding the “only” moves in response to T’s computer preparation (this line is straight from Ry program, I’m following it now).
Computer has advatage K
Topalov hasn’t moved for last 4 minutes!! Maybe Kramnik killed him.
18. Kg2 looks nice to me 😉
In tradition to the f6-move from game 10.
Greetings, Peter
Yes, S Ravot,
Qd7! and if now b5 – Nxc5! is a good idea, but White can first prepare b5 better.
I think Black is threathening Ne4 now…
18. …Nc7 is very clean…spic ‘n span
I suggest 18. Bf3 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Qxd4+ 21.Qxd4
Nxd4 22.Bb2 Bf6 23.Ra1
To take with N or Q trading queens? That is the question.
sirkov:
22. Bb2? Nxe2+!
dead draw, no?
22. Bb2? Nxe2+!
Yes, that’s why I proposed 18. Bf3 (instead of 18.Qf3, as was played)
yes even…so far try knight rook play…maybe T will trip over a pawn
23. Ra4, Susan.
Ra5 simply leaves it en prise.
🙂
Nc2 trip
24.Bb3 ? Looks like a way out…
Susan,
I have one question – would it be possible to archive some of the older content on the main page? It’s become really huge and it’s getting really slow to reload and navigate.
The paths of this game is very tricky!
We are lucky to have Susan’s comments in live!
So: A GREAT THANK YOU VERY MUCH SUSAN!
I suggest 23…Ra4 24.Rd1 Rd8 25.Be3 Bf6 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Rxd4 Bxd4 28.Rd1 Bxc5 29.Bxf7+ Kxf7 30.bxc5 – just for the show…
Susan, Ra4 was played instead of Ra5.
Marcin,
You can pull up the commentary for this game only at:
http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2006/10/game-11-live-commentary.html
So you don’t have to load the entire homepage.
2 dozen moves and what has White’s extra space done for him ?
If he still has yet to find a better place for its black Bishop
Kramnik is playing pretty fast!
I think that Topalov might be disappointed by now – it’s not the highly-tactical, dynamic position that he could have been hoping for in the opening. It has transposed into an end-game, where patience and precision will be required. And we all know that patience is not the Topalov’s greatest strength, so I bet he will overpush and will be punished. Which personally I hope for 🙂
try this marcin#
http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2006/10/game-11-live-commentary.html
Marcin, not sure why you hope for a player to overpush and lose. It is so much more beatifull to see a player push and win!
Fingers crossed this happens in this game 😉
A funny line here is
24…Bxc5 25.Be3 Ne6 26.Bb3
Come on… Now!
25. …Nc2!
If white trades down the white king is the key to a white win
the time stamp on this blog is fast (not that it matters very much).
Right now the exact 3 minutes after the hour is 01:10
With regard to Gata Kamsky’s remark that white is definitely better if he can swap off the rooks, if black plays Nf5 white has a reasonably forcing line which forces the exchange of rooks, more or less. It goes: Nf5 Rxd8+ Bxd8 Bc1, followed by Bb3 (when Rxb4 would not be possible because of Bxf7+), and when the rook retreats, Bb2 and Ra1 for white. If, for example, black follows Be7 Bb3 Ra8 Bb2 Rd8, then white has Ke2 to guard the d-file while the white rook penetrates down the a-file. Any comments?
Is Topalov trying to emulate Anand’d style of play? The only problem is, he is not as good a rapid player as Anand.
OOps, meant to say the exact # minutes after the hour. But as you can see the time stamp here is about 6 minutes fast!!!!
(I’ve double checked my own computer time with the
U.S. National Bureau of Standards — or whatever it’s now called.)
Black should keep rooks if he has a choice to utilize white king open position. Anyway black’s a-rook is better than white’s b-rook (IMO)
fritz 8 gives a 0.9 advan to white after Bf2…
if 25… Nc2, then 26.Rxd8+ Bxd8 27.Bd2 Na3 28.Ra1 Bf6 29.Bb3 – white is better, I think
Hmm, if Topalov pushes his g pawn it could displace
K’s g bishop, leading to a material advantage?
This is probably old news, but even sports illustrated picked up on ToiletGate…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/justin_doom/10/03/dooms.day/index.html
This is the only time in my short life that I have ever seen them give chess any publicity and it’s about 2 men arguing over a bathroom. This makes me proud to be a chess player .
That said we have had some excellent games (and some blunders). I appreciate the chess.
Black is dead. It’s no point continuing now.
After 25…Bf6 a fine idea is
26.Bf2!?
Again: When Fritz gives an “0.9 advantage” to White, OK — clearly this is in favor of White.
But what does the number 0.9 mean here?
26. Bf2 =
Susan Polgar is right, now 26… Ra3 is giving black an edge
26.Kf8 ??? What now if g5 ?
26… Ra3 stead of Ra6 😉
“26.Kf8 ??? What now if g5 ?”
Nf5 i think
yes
27…ne6 is the only move
Someone, please have pity on my ignorance and explain why Topalov did not play 27 g5 — displaciing Kramnik’s B and winning the N ???
Ra6 typo. s/b Ra3
26..Kf8?! was too meek, Kramnik once again is playing only for a draw…
OK, now note this: I will now lock my ESP into place and affect the thought patterns of one of the players, but I won’t tell you who.
K is in the toilet and about to be flushed down the bowl.
Daz,
if 27.g5 then Nf5
26…Kf8?!
What’s that?
26…Nc2 is maybe drawish, but 26…Ta3 is still a line to play (and this is probably what Kramnik want’s to do!!)
Perhapse he thougt Topalov would just blunder with 27.g5?! with a horrible white pawn-strukture!
But after 27.Bf2! it is just Kramnik who has to worry!!!!
Ra3 was right but Kramnik has more than enough to draw.
“White maintains a solid advantage. Kramnik missed his easy opportunity to equalized with 26…Ra3”
Susan, it’s not so easy when he doesn’t have Fritz or Rybka analyzing for him as you do.
If Topa wins this one he can play for a draw in game 12 for a change 😉
“Susan, it’s not so easy when he doesn’t have Fritz or Rybka analyzing for him as you do.”
Susan’s not using Fritz.
(28…Nxd8 would be a little better than taking with the Bishop because of 29…Bxe6 threat.)????
Thanks, LP.
(You’re not the LP whose book I’ve read, are you?)
Hi,
What’s Idea behind Bxd8 ? I like Nxd8 too.
excuse me,
do they have the same position on their board as we have?? f5, REALLY?????????? Why not keeping a small advantage with Bxe6?????
Topa is a compulsive pawn-pusher.
Why not 29… Nf4+ with the idea … g6-g5 and possibly …Ra3
I think Topalov blow it with 29.f5. 29.Bxf6 produced about a pawn worth of advantage. It’s heading for a draw!
Bxe6 ? The question is to compare Two bishops and bad pawn structure !!! I mean.
29. f5? Wasn’t that just giving away a better position for Black? No more double pawns to worried about now
Isn’t there an easy way to draw for black?
27.f5?! gxf5 28.gxf5 Nf4+ 29.Kf3 Nd5 30.Rd1 Rxb4 31.Bxd5 cxd5 32.Rxd5 Bf6 =
Now the black’s knight won’t be easy to play …..May be beacause of the two bishops!!
Black’s Rook has been inactive for too long…
my ESP is working
GM’s kibitzing..have no idea
half for half against 32..
Sorry about the typo…29.Bxe6! and that leaves black with 3 pawen islands of which one is isolated. Whites advantage…the iso must fall!
1/2-1/2 unless one of them has a major brain fart.
shredder9 +.08
rybka 2.1 0.00
A great thanks for Kasmky for his light on the game!
The positions were not so easy to understand IMHO!
I’m still believe on the two bishops against Knight and bishop. There are still many pawn in the board and it’s too earlier to say the draw. May be !! I’m not sure just a choice.
… hm, looks like Topa is waiting for the moves 37-40 (before the time control) in order to extract something more substantial from this endgame (if possible at all!)
Bd3? Is Topalov actually searching for (black) win?? What’s the idea of such a move?
34. …Nd7 =
I think Topa plans to sacrifice the bishop for the c pawn 🙂
I think after 34…Nd5, Bxd5 and the majority of pawn in the Queen side fo white and King centalized and Bishops having the same colors keep the slight advantage of White (theorically).
Black slightly better now according to respected silicon brains.
Apparently!
Hi susan,
Great comments, great blog. What are the basic tactics or important squares here for kramnik?? Sorry I’m hopeless at endgames and any pointers greatly appreciated!
Susan, typo on numbering of the moves starting at move 35 (25).
Yes, now Topalov will have to retreat with Kf1 and later even with Be1 …
I still don’t get 32. Rb3, what was that intending?
strangely enough, Topalov got a pair of bishops … only to place them at the back row again (like in a previous game)
Topalov is playing rope a dope, hoping Kramnik will blunder?
Stretching my imagination, I would play something like 38…Ng4 39.Be1 Rh2 40.b5 Bf4 41.Be4 Ne3+ 42.Kg1 Re2 43.bxc6 Bh2+ 44.Kh1 Ng4 45.Bc3 Rxe4 46.cxb7 Bb8 – an interesting position!
I don’t like 34. Bd3 now the centralisation of the king is compromised …. May be the advantage also.!!
Looks like the h file pawn is in some peril here. 39… Nh2+, 40 Ke1 Rg2, 41. Bd4 Bg3+ and it’s gone…
Susan said Be1 is a must, but Bg1 was played… Is Toppy going to lose again ?
Funny….with the exception of the missed mate in Game 2, the majority of Topalov’s bad moves have been pawn pushes.
Well, they saw pawns are the soul of chess. (Write your own punchline.)
Topa’s clock not running down on the offical site. Have they agreed to a draw?
Yes, Topa does seem to be in losing it in more ways than one – can Vlad land the killer blow though…?
Many Thanks Susan !!
Your site is fantastic !
doesn’t 39. Be1 lose a piece to Nh2+ followed by Rd1?
IMHO Topalov can still hold the position, but with an extreme care!
Finding the winnings moves would be a hard task for kramnik for the time being.
Let’s see the next moves!
Nice observation Marc! Susan’s suggested Bh2 look ssimpler than Nh2+ – Vlad has plenty of time to evaluate both options…
It’s clear that Topalov will do almost anything to hold on to his bishop pair.
I wonder if this could be considered a weakness of his — not yielding the bishop-pair even when it’s worth it.
No
39. …Nh2+
40. Ke1 Rg2
It seems the russian web-site http://www.64.ru/ collapsed today – perhaps because of too many visitors
Kramnik will now start trying to pick off the f and h pawns.
Topalov should start to pull himself together or he could even lose this one…
Seems to me Bh2 is a bit premature, Ke7-f6 is better, activating the king, then Bh2! otherwise white might try b5, bxc6 and penetrate with the rook to b6
Yes, 39…Nh2 is tempting, a funny line here is
39…Nh2+ 40.Ke1 Rg2 41.Bd4 Bg3+ 42.Kd1 Bxh4 43.Rh3 Bg5 44.Rh8+ Ke7 45.Bxg7 Rd2+ 46.Ke1 Nf3+ 47.Kf1 Bh4 48.f6+ Ke6 49.Re8+ Kd7 50.Re2 Nh2+
How’s that Susan has been suggesting all first choice Shredder/Rybka/Fritz moves in a flash and yet she’s 200 ELO points below the Super GMs? Maybe the winner of this match should challenge Susan for the real world championship!
Susan, do you think this is, at least in part, about Topalov arrogance? He seems to believe that he can more or less blitz out moves against a player of Vlad’s skill, experience and talent. (In some ways it reminds me of Fischer attempting to beat Spassky at Siegen in 1970 with disasterous results.) There’s no question that Topalov is a remarkably gifted player, but not even Garry is that good!
I think Topalov should play without the f-pawn in the next game; or sacrifice it as soon as possible.
Do you think this is, at least in part, about Topalov arrogance? He seems to believe that he can more or less blitz out moves against a player of Vlad’s skill, experience and talent.
I would be wary of jumping inside people’s heads. Topalov has had the majority of the novelties, and many of them have led to better positions. Then, he just makes a ridiculous move. Yesterday’s blunder was after a comparatively long think, so it wasn’t played in undue haste.
Wrong again — ignore last comment.
Here’s where Topalov really cashes in on his time advantage.
Topalov is playing very weird, too loose with his pawns. If I played like that I would get killed. But even Topalov would do better if he didn’t!
Now then Vlad, don’t run out of time!
DAZ,
I posted the message about the 64.ru site because I myself used it often and now, at this moment, it displays an error message in Russian:
Виртуальный сервер http://www.64.ru не существует или временно не функционирует.
..Rd5?? And it’s now officially a draw.
Rd5? Surely all of the pressure has gone now! Seems to me that he sometimes lacks that killer instinct, but that is easy for me to say from here!
41. …Bf4!
“A blogger asked how I can find the strongest move while these 2 players sometimes not. Well, I am sitting at hom at my leisure, no pressure. When everything is on the line with the clock ticking and the whole world watching, pressure mounts in. It is not easy for them. When I played in my last World Championship match in 1996, I made mistakes too, the kind when I do not normally make. It is a lot easier being on the sideline than on the board.”
Answers my question. Thank you.:)
It looks like Kramnik decided to rely on winning tomorrow’s game instead of waste too much energy in the current endgame.
Topalov plays this endgame in a suicidal manner
i’m also in “love” with the bishop’s pair but Topalov seems to be a slave of it … incredible …
Topalov is just being arrogant, I’m very surprised by this sudden change of attitude.
He was everybody’s darling even Kasparov supported his candidature after winning in San Luis, now his attitude has darkened, his vilification of opponents is becoming despicable.
Even if he wins, I doubt he will be able to sleep sound at night.
I wonder what will happen if all the players boycott him socially?
The comment on move 40 suddenly disappeared… strange
41. .. Bxf4, 42. Rd3 and the white’s rook is free..
Kramnik’s best chance of winning this game is to keep Topalov on the offensive for as long as possible. Rd5 may look negative, but as soon as Topalov realises that he can’t win, the draw becomes much more likely. ‘Softly softly’ may be Vlad’s best approach for now…
Microscopic typo: We are on Eastern time zone (ET) in New York City, but right now we are on Eastern Dayllight Time (EDT). and not Eastern Standard Time (EST).
41. …Bf4!
42. Ke2 Rf3+
43. Kf3 Rxf2+
44. Kxg4
and the chase is on
41… Nh6 and the pawn is down !!
Susan is giving us free eye-test!! 😛
Ke1 (Now I expect 40…Rg2 and
Black is clearly better. A blogger asked how I can find the strongest move while these 2 players sometimes not. Well, I am sitting at hom at my leisure, no pressure. When everything is on the line with the clock ticking and the whole world watching, pressure mounts in. It is not easy for them. When I played in my last World Championship match in 1996, I made mistakes too, the kind when I do not normally make. It is a lot easier being on the sideline than on the board.)
40…Rd5 (A very surprising move to me and most of everyone else. I think White’s chances to draw is now almost certain. 41.Bxh2 Nxh2 42.Rd3 and the position is drawn.)
41.Bf2 (He opted to still trying to win. Sometimes you have to wonder if this stubborn mentality of going for the win all the time would come back to haunt him as in game 1.)
“Anonymous said…
How’s that Susan has been suggesting all first choice Shredder/Rybka/Fritz moves in a flash and yet she’s 200 ELO points below the Super GMs? Maybe the winner of this match should challenge Susan for the real world championship!”
Most of the moves suggested by GM Polgar were natural and even a 1600 player would fine them, but without her understanding. Remember this: Most players can annotate at 200 points higher than their rating, so it is no surprise she can do this. You sound jealous of Susan. She is a great player from a family of great players. I think she can find these moves without computer assistance. Please, try to be more positive of our host.
BTW, I think Judit would be a better candidate for challenging the winner of this championship.
Hey bitch,
you are such an idiot.
Now the games turned and you deleted your previous comments.
Suck my dick
I continue to believe that Topalov blitzes to keep Kramnik at the board, not out of arrogance.
It looks drawish, but it’s a comfortable play for Kramnik, while Topalov still has to be cautious. I believe that white’s main problem are now his weak pawns on the KS, but the opposite-colored bishops make it harder to exploit this fact. And black has to watch for b5.
Is it possible that white is actually trying to win?? Optically white is worse. His only chance I can see is that Black’s pawns (b7, c6 and especially f7) are on light squares. So the position opens up, white’s rook on 7th, bishop on a2-g8 diagonal …
Still it must be nonsense.
Topolov needed a strong showing today, his last chanced at white and go on the offensive. Disappointed I was expecting alot more attacking on his part, more offense.
45 b5 Rc4!
the comments on move 40 are HIDDEN. if you copy and paste the hidden area you will find the comments.
39…Bh2 (Just as I expected and now Black is doing very well. Topalov will have quite a task to hold this position now. It is doable but he made tough work for himself for no reason at all. GM Tyomkin says: “All started with 29.f5. Super-aggresion by Topalov which isn’t a good strategy against Kramnik.”)
40.Ke1 (Now I expect 40…Rg2 and Black is clearly better. A blogger asked how I can find the strongest move while these 2 players sometimes not. Well, I am sitting at hom at my leisure, no pressure. When everything is on the line with the clock ticking and the whole world watching, pressure mounts in. It is not easy for them. When I played in my last World Championship match in 1996, I made mistakes too, the kind when I do not normally make. It is a lot easier being on the sideline than on the board.)
40…Rd5 (A very surprising move to me and most of everyone else. I think White’s chances to draw is now almost certain. 41.Bxh2 Nxh2 42.Rd3 and the position is drawn.)
41.Bf2 (He opted to still trying to win. Sometimes you have to wonder if this stubborn mentality of going for the win all the time would come back to haunt him as in game 1.)
41…Ke7 42.h5 Nxf2 43.Kxf2 (Here, we are heading for a drawn opposite color Bishop endgame. Draw will be the most likely result. Gata Kamsky said: “Ok, I’m not taking sides in this match, people will always attack you, whethere there is a reason or not.” Yasser said:”As long as one of those things is chess, we are all happy :)”)
43…Kf6 44.Kf3
Even I can see T just lost a pawn!
K’s got him on the King side!
Can someone explain this position to me please, Rc4 looks to be amazing to my untrained eye.
Lori
Okay, moves have been made, now I understand. It embarrasses me how bad I am at this game.
L.
Why did you post those comments between Kamsky and Short?! Was that uplifting?
it must be a draw now, white lets the h pawn go and sits tight not losing the f pawn.
Nigel Short is like the funniest guy ever!
Classic conversation with Gata Kamsky! Hilarious!
Thanks Susan for posting that.
Enjoying the spat between Short and Kamsky. It’s common knowledge that Kamsky wasn’t much fun to play against in the 90s: his father followed in the footsteps of Jelena Dokic or Mary Pierce’s fathers. It’s a bit off of Nigel to bring it up now though. Am I right in thinking Kamsky’s lightened up?
Why 50 Rb6 . . .
???
Zugzwang?
Is 49. … Rxc6 30. Bxc6 Kxf5 bad?
I’m disgusted to hear the exchange between Short and Kamsky. Why is this brought up now?
If this is the world of championship chess (and of course charges and counter-charges have been flying for decades in chess), I’d rather sit with a nice instructional book and return to the fascination of the game that hooked me as a teenager.
Steve Goldberg
P.S. Susan, I do however appreciate your live commentary about the game.
I have always liked Nigel Short but he is off base in his attacks on gata.
I support Gata on this issue. I want to let Gata know that I think he handled it very well.
shame on Nigel. grow up.
Looks like Vlad is holding out for more than a draw at the moment – perhaps he wants to make Topa feel the pressure a bit before a draw is agreed – seems that if he had wanted to draw he could have exchanged the rooks on c6?
Why are they still playing??
They are using Sofia’s no-draw rule right?
Nigel is either drunk or a different man than I thought he was. Not a good display with that unprovoked attack upon Gata in playchess. Gata handled it well.
Mike D.
The choice of Short of complaining through a chat during a WCC is of bad taste. He had 12 years for doing that on appropriate places.
It’s not always a good policy to forgive and forget. Too simplistic by half. This was something significant and important to Nigel and he has never forgotten it. No wonder! And it does have obvious parallels. I’d never have known that it happened if he hadn’t brought it up. I see no harm in bringing it up. It’ll make Nigel feel better perhaps. After all, it did happen, I presume?
Is there a second time control ?
Almost Top UK player vs Top US player grudge match?
Nigel didn’t choose the right medium to complain to Kamsky. It’s inappropriate. I thought it as good-natured at first, but obviously the argument has become serious. I mentioned before that Nigel is worthless off the chessboard. Well, here’s more proof. I haven’t seen many top GMs that can give lessons in ethics. Certainly not Short.
Ok, now we must know. What did you say to Xie Jun? 🙂
Kramnik wins a pawn! He can shove it up now though! Because it’s going to be a draw!
Nigel is a sore loser, hes always been so.Just ask Mickey Adams or Speelman.
He’s bringing up something from the past and that too in an open arena just to provoke nothing more.
Thanks for the clarification on the Gata/Nigel matter Susan, and may I also add, many thanks for your superb live commentary – it is greatly appreciated.
Aren’t they using “Sofia rules”? Doesn’t it means no one can offer a draw?
“Almost Top UK player vs Top US player grudge match?”
Sometimes I forget that Kamsky is a “US GM”.
“For those fans who sit at home and make judgment, it is not always as easy as 1, 2, 3 as it seems at home.”
I totally disagree Susan!! Are you trying to justify their behaviour?? yes I can understand that sometimes there is immense pressure. But it is the price one should be ready to pay. Isn’t it? If you are guys are famous, you are also paid enough for that pressure! You have enough fame at ur disposal that a common fan does not enjoy! If someone can not sustain that pressure at that level then he better retire and he would be replaced very easily rather than starting some non-sense and dirty tricks on opponents!
Udayan Bapat
I can never understand why people say that things are insults on the chessboard. For instance, if someone plays on instead of resigning. Or if the wrong person asks for a draw. It may be annoying if you are in a hurry, but to take it as an insult? This seems to me to only foster the image of chess professionals as prima donnas, to me. (Things like potty-gate don’t help, either, of course)
You guys must be Americans, biased in favour of Gata just because he’s an American (now) and ignoring that he behaved like a cad, disgracefully cheating, by groundlessly accusing Nigel of cheating just to disturb him. Fishcer was more gentlemanly than Gata. Fischer said he likes to win by playing the best moves on the board. Try to win by psychological means is pretty pathetic. Gentlemen know when to apologise and concede they are wrong. Chess beautifully punishes the person with the weak position, the weaker player by giving them a loss. Gata is just pretending his lost position is OK and failing to apologise. In fact he may know he is wrong, so asks for a fist fight. When a gentleman knows he is wrong he apologises.
Kramnik can lose on time though :-))))))
I always thought of Gata as a nice young lady!
Whether it happened 12 years ago or a week ago, it was shocking behaviour and it doesn’t surprise me Kamsky pretended to have almost forgotten it now, and regarded it has something trivial. It wasn’t.
Is Topalov hoping to claim draw with 50-moves rule…yawn
Is this blog about the WC? or a petty forum for airing cheating accusations and old gripes??
I’m quickly losing interest…
What about dignity and grace?
Shame on you Susan!
Kamsky was brought up with a severely dominating father. In 1994 he was barely an adult, probably just beginning to realize the psychological burden he would need to have to throw off in order to become a fully-realized person.
I do not excuse what happened in 1994, but I suspect that Gata Kamsky had no ill intentions.
“Imagine that EVERY move you make will be a part of history. How you walk, how you talk, how you sit, how everything will be magnified 1,000 times.”
Hi Susan
Maybe it’s a matter of culture. In England, we expect our sportsman to behave extremely correctly in public, as they are to an extent setting an example. When they don’t and instead misbehave, they often lose a lot of support from the nation, big time – sometimes it may even take them years to get to the point where they are no longer booed every time they compete.
Presumably then from your comments, it is not like that in Eastern Europe. Yet I would have thought it would be in America?
Tom.
If you were Kamsky or Short, would you want someone else posting to thousands of people your ongoing fight?
Finally I can go to sleep. Thanks Nigel for stirring things up when the game was a dead draw. Signing off.
1/2 – 1/2
Gata:his father=Veselin:Danailov 🙂
I don’t believe it was a real fight between Gata and Nigel.
If so, these two children should be put to bed early without milk and cookies.
“I have the highest respect for my opponent and I just wanted to let her know that.”
Lol I remember an online article by SP about the successive female world champions, referred to by their family name (“V.Menchik”, “M.Tchiburdanidze”…and “X.Jun”)
While it is understandable for lesser mortals to be confused by chinese first/family names, it was funny to see “P. Susan” falling in this cheap trap 🙂
I want to join Steve Goldberg and Fabrice Wantiez in thanking Susan for providing commentary on the WC games.
I was rereading Searching for Bobby Fischer recently and marveling at Fred Waitkin’s travails in trying to get live coverage of the final 1985 Karpov-Kasparov game. It’s amazing that only a couple of decades later, it’s so easy to get not just live coverage, but grandmaster commentary, so even a patzer like me can faintly understnd what’s going on.
Thank you, Tom Chivers (from an American) for focussing on the real issue. It should be this way everywhere — until all nations show our athaletes/chess players that we disapprove of their actions they will continue to misbehave publicly.
Nigel-Gata spat more exciting than this game!
More Susan, more!
Vesko, all your fans in Bulgaria are on your side. No more draws. Collect yourself to win the last game against Kramnik+Fritz9.
Well, if Kamsky hadn’t misbehaved exceptionally badly and obviously has never apologised properly to his opponent, Nigel wouldn’t be misbehaving today, would he?
Some people just love to paper over the cracks and use the passage of time as a standby excuse all in the interests of so-called ‘dignity’.
“In England, we expect our sportsman to behave extremely correctly in public, as they are to an extent setting an example. When they don’t and instead misbehave, they often lose a lot of support from the nation, big time – sometimes it may even take them years to get to the point where they are no longer booed every time they compete.”
Chav culture, hooligan culture is what is prevalent in the UK.
And to suggest that somehow American and UK culture is superior to the eastern-European one is outright racist.
What’s not amazing is that there is live coverage.
What is amazing is that there is not a live video feed!
Tom Chivers:
In America, we tend to accept appalling behavior from athletes (except, perhaps, in golf).
A football (American football, I mean) player who deliberately stomped on another player’s unhelmeted head while wearing metal cleats was recently suspended for five measly games. This, believe it or not, is the longest suspension in league history.
And then people wonder why athletes think they can get away with anything, on or off the field.
I’ve always thought it significant that American Engish has no adjective equivalent to “cricket.”
There’s nothing culturally, or in any way, superior about white English or white Americans. They have a long history of stealing land from the natives. Then, of course many white Europeans have been involved in that as well…!
I just cannot work out why so many Bulgarians still seem to support Topalov. My post was just a guess that in sports, patriotic norms dominate ethical norms in that part of the world. I do not see how this is a shocking suggestion. And since it’s based on internet chat not direct observation, if Susan or others know better from actual experience I would be interested to hear. I did no intend to make an absolute statement.
Yes many hard word from both player are normal, i remember Kasparov saying before march (this will be short)lol
i agreed you Susan,wery hard too play chess march, many peole will be nervous and make thing some can be cracy.
I belive all player are nice human player!
Knightonranden.
Would it be looked at as arrogant and insulting that Kramnik continued to play in such a drawish ending? Or just that he was trying for a win since he was a pawn up?
>Maybe it’s a matter of culture. In England, we expect our sportsman to behave extremely correctly in public
Like Nigel Short. First he said “I hope Kramnik will beat the shit out of Topalov”.
Then in the face of thousands of viewers he rudely and very seriously accused Kamsky.
I am little bit at odds, was it England’s Puritan Morality or the Victorian one. Maybe you, a true Englishman, can explain me, a mainland European, what was that.
Kamsky was an attorney? He sure is acting childish! Accusing Short of dirty tricks? Physical fight? Shameful…
Nigel Short for sure is the most awesome cynic the chess world has ever seen, read or listened to (besides Salvielly Tartakower, maybe) – the parallels he drew from his own experiences from his match against the untold duo Kamsky / Kamsky in 1994 to the untold duo Topalov / Danailov in 2006 are delightful and last but not least – true – in some ways …
>the parallels he drew from his own experiences from his match against the untold duo Kamsky / Kamsky in 1994 to the untold duo Topalov / Danailov in 2006 are delightful and last but not least – true – in some ways … ]
True, Nigel and Kramnik love for some reason or another toillets.
I don’t know, maybe they are onto something, I am a researcher, maybe I should also try to work in toillet if that helps in chess.
I don’t understand why everybody is so bent out of shape that these chess players are also ordinary humans, who fight, who put each other down, who accuse each other and so on. Chess is the ultimate “war game”, isn’t it? These people are the highest level specialists in the ultimate war game. I guess the rest goes with the territory. Really…….
@anonym 1.17 – indeed – it would be a great idea to buy our little plastic pocket chess set – available for only 10 bucks – perfectly abacterial (or with Shorts or Kramniks fingerprints on it, it will be 25 bucks – signed by the toilet masters – it will be 95 bucks;
the delux version is made from mammoth ivory, you can have it with or without fingerprints and autographs for only 121$, 190$ or 312$ respectively)
take your incredible chance to improve your chess by 300 points ELO – nol more research needed … ^^
I think Kramnik will play aggresively in last game like he did against Leko. But Toplaov is not Leko he will counter punch and Kramnik will lose the game.
So Topalov will become the world champion
Agreed.
Topalov isn’t Leko (the sissiest player in top 10 ).
Kramnik will push the hardest he can,and Topalov will sharply respond.
Kramnik knows the match is probably over for him if it goes tie-break since Topalov plays generally at higher speed than him.
Remember,that Topalov likes complications and is extremly dangerous with black if you want sharp game with him.
Therefore,I give 80% of chances to Topalov and 20 % to Kramnik to win.
Holy crap guys. All we need is more GM’s bickering like children. Im a 1400 and am ashamed of the way many of my favorite players, that i used to look up to, have been acting with all this hoopajoop. GM’s Short and Kamsky, I say to you, if you truly wish to help this situation, lets leave all the trash talking out of places where the chess public can see it. Gata, did you really just ask Nigel to step outside and handle this like men? That ranks right up there with Topalov’s refusal to shake hands. Im ashamed that you are my country’s best player.
So…who gets to write the book on this WC? Ms. Polgar, i think you should collaborate with GMs Seirawan, Nunn, and Karpov to write an unbiased work on this madness. Half the games have been very interesting, so analysis should be included in the book. What do you think
Can anyone explain to me what it means to be called a “fight*” in a chess playing context? I’ve been called that on the playchess server once (unjustifiably so I’m sure, by a sore loser) but I don’t know what it means.
that commentary between nigel short and gata kamsky is barbariously hilarious. I think i could get them on espn…but not to play chess but on pride fighting championship or the UFC showdown grudge match. no chess pieces, no daddies..lol, just mano e mano in the ring. 🙂 i somehow have a gut feeling kamsky would deliver the death blow lol
A professional chessplayer lives a life of one-on-one combat. There’s not much teamwork; you may not even trust your seconds with everything. It’s even worse than boxing or tennis because you have to keep a lot of secrets.
Social graces are nice but don’t pay the bills for a tournament competitor. All that pays is winning.
To see how strong that effect is, look at the crowd commentary on this board and others after the games of this match. They were overwhelmingly for the winner or match leader. The loser was trying to compensate for the loss, just not good enough, etc. Topalov was seen as a sore loser after losing games 1 and 2. Topalov got a lot more popular after winning games 8 and 9. But the players’ manners and goodness had not changed, only the results of some chess games. Even the chess in those games didn’t matter, only the results.
So the results were mostly what mattered. This is the way crowds are. And in such an environment, you get what you get.
Hi Susan,
I’ve just read a very confusing information about Kramnik’s refusal to make a doping test after game 9. The test has been requested by the chief of the medical commission Iana Belin.
Can you confirm that information?
Typical American attitude, unrelated violence can ‘solve’ something.
“I don’t want to talk about it, but if you want to do something about this, we can settle this like real men, outside. I’ll be waiting. But your insinuations are insulting me so put up or shut up.”
Accusing Nigel Short of inappropriate behavior is like telling a gnu to brush its teeth.
Perhaps an understanding of Nigel’s temperment will help. Quote from “The Indian Express”, May 13, 2005. -And the emotions that the game gives rise to can, on occasion, get vicious in the extreme. “Chess,” Grandmaster Nigel Short once said, “is ruthless: you’ve got to be prepared to kill people.”
Here is another good one, But by far the most irascible match of modern times was the Candidates match in 1977 between Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian. It descended into a Match of Hate, and it culminated in the organisers having to put up a board under the table to stop the two grandmasters from kicking each other! J P
I have never known a good player who was not prepared and able to “kill” people. This is not a reflection of Nigel’s temperament (beyond what we already know because he is a GM), it’s just a statement of unusual honesty that nonplayers might not know.
artichoke, it was posted shortly before game 11 🙂 But people believe he’s clean and doesn’t use dirty tactics 🙂
Or as I’ve heard it said by someone very wise: “Nice people don’t play chess”
I was looking forward to the radio interview with Susan Polgar on chess FM, but then I noticed the scheduled time 20.00 EDT. Thats in the middle of the night for us europeans.. -_-
In the same spirit, Bobby Fischer once said is favorite part of the game was when he felt his opponent’s personnality collapsing. Not his position, not his game, not his play, but his personnality! Chess is indeed a violent sport.
Hey Suzie ,
I am not sure u’d be reading this , but awesome commentary . Best chess enteratinment I have seen besides funny kibitz 🙂
Chess is filled with good humoured people and I appreciate that .
And I think Susan didn’t have any ill temparement about putting the bickering online . She just spiced the commentary pretty well . After all we are the ones who shud take it likely and not them !
Cheers
By the way, I did not receive any answer to what I was asking earlier. Nigel Short said the Short-Kamsky match was the first time he was called a “fight*” (with the asterisk)? What does that mean?
From context, I guessed that ‘fight*’ means ‘cheat’. What do others think?
“I just cannot work out why so many Bulgarians still seem to support Topalov”
Come now, have we forgotten the Bulgarians and their infamous assassination of Bulgarian hero Georgi Markov?
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/07/terror.poison.bulgarian/
The way you people portrqay them, the Bulgarians are befuddled innocents. On the contrary, the Bulgarians were infamous amongst top KGB officials for their bloodthirsty ruthlessness.
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GM or no GM, the childish fight between Short and Kamsky only distracted from the title match. [It steals attention/focus from the game]
If you wish to listen to this type of juvenile banter, I suggest you visit some local back-alley pub.
Nigel short is always very rude when he “appears” on ICC. He just talks, insults some GM and completely ignores the public. Gata is always friendly, helpful, and not only talks to ANYONE but he also jokes around (Susan is the same way). Is there any doubt who the villain is in this story?
This is the battle of WaterLOO!!!