Bob Magaw
Footballguy
gary kasparov on anand and carlsen...
http://www.businessinsider.com/garry-kasparov-previews-the-anand-carlsen-match-2013-11
http://www.businessinsider.com/garry-kasparov-previews-the-anand-carlsen-match-2013-11
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Magnus Carlsen is now the world chess #1 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Tigran Petrosian
- Start date
SacramentoBob
Footballguy
Just finished up. Looks like Vishy didn't have much of an option other than force the draw after he decided to not fight by exchanging Queens. Not a fan.
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ILUVBEER99
Footballguy
i know nothing about chess but find myself interested in this match for some reason.
Is chess a lot bigger outside the USA? haven't really noticed much media coverage but assume it's a lot bigger event outside the USA.
Is chess a lot bigger outside the USA? haven't really noticed much media coverage but assume it's a lot bigger event outside the USA.
Almost all of my Cuban friends in Miami played chess as kids and some were quite good. Cubans have a long tradition in chess - Jose Raul Capablanca was world champion in the 1920s. In Cuba, chess is still big and is taught in schools and in chess clubs. Many of the best players in the world are national heroes. Most of the top players in the USA are foreign-born or children of immigrants. I would guess that chess is bigger in most of Europe and Israel than in the USA.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
I would say that it is much bigger outside the US. Some countries even televise chess matches with live commentary, like in Iceland, where Bobby Fischer once called into the program to comment that their grandmaster commentator had missed a win for black in his analysis (http://www.chessbase.com/post/bobby-fischer-and-the-mied-combination)
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
SPOILER
game three ends in another draw.
a much longer, more wide open and better contested game...
carlsen may have made one or two tactical errors where he had to extricate himself from some hairy positions (maybe was pressing the action to avoid a draw?), but perhaps the same can be said about anand, for not exploiting that as well as he possibly could have?
anand offered a draw a few moves earlier, which was surprisingly refused by carlsen, seemingly, and in fact, prolonging the inevitable.
game three ends in another draw.
a much longer, more wide open and better contested game...
carlsen may have made one or two tactical errors where he had to extricate himself from some hairy positions (maybe was pressing the action to avoid a draw?), but perhaps the same can be said about anand, for not exploiting that as well as he possibly could have?
anand offered a draw a few moves earlier, which was surprisingly refused by carlsen, seemingly, and in fact, prolonging the inevitable.
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17seconds
root of all aliai
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
The presser afterward was stereotypically awkward. Annand actually seems fairly normal and self-aware, but he didn't really want to answer much in depth. Carlsen came across like an autistic and disinterested Bill Belichik. And the hottie asking the Qs was left hung out to dry with uncomfortable silence a few times. Plus the electronic chess board didn't work for demonstration of positions from the game.
Kasparov
Footballguy
The 'app' makes a move then you have to followup with the best continuation. Sometimes its a one-move followup, sometimes its a 2- or 3-move combo. They vet all the positions so their accepted answers are usually correct. Most of the time you'll want to look to sacrifice something!
Hooper31
Footballguy
Did you play in the Denker tournament?It's nice to see other current and former chess enthusiasts on here.
I was once a HS state champion and am a shell of my former chess self.
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
have there ever been 16 draws in the current format, or all draws in the initial round of the world championships...
it would seem unlikely...
it becomes a grinding test of concentration (cognitive equivalent of the wood chipper scene in Fargo) to see who can avoid daydreaming about anastasia the longest...
it would seem unlikely...
it becomes a grinding test of concentration (cognitive equivalent of the wood chipper scene in Fargo) to see who can avoid daydreaming about anastasia the longest...
grateful zed
Footballguy
they should show this on espn, without showing the pieces.
SacramentoBob
Footballguy
In Kasparov v Karpov I, the match was stopped after game 48 (5 - 3 Karpov) citing health concerns for the players. It featured 40 total draws and 17 in a row at one point. The format then was 1st player to 6 wins.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
While we're discussing chess, can anyone take a look at one of my old games and analyze it, maybe run it through software or something? It's a draw from years ago that has always kinda haunted me...it was against a better player, I remember thinking to myself at the time that I was in a potential winning position but couldn't see how to get there, and he offered an early draw that I accepted. I've never been able to shake the notion that he offered the draw because he thought I had a winning position as well.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e4 Nc6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 Nd8 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Qb3 O-O 11. O-O-O c6 12. c4 cxd5 13. exd5 b6 14. Ne4 Qf4+ 15. Kb1 Bg4 16. Ned2 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bh4 18. Ne4 Nb7 19. Qa3 Nc5 20. Nxd6 Bxf2 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. fxe4 a5 23. Rhf1 Qe3 24. Qd6 Rfe8 25. a3 1/2-1/2
I was playing w/black pieces. In retrospect, I don't think either of us played particularly well. I don't know if it's a decisive position either way....opposite bishops, his rooks were more active but I had a better king position I think. Sorta had a bit of a tense position as we both had our queens threatening weak pawns, which led me to accept his draw offer as I didn't really trust myself to grind out a win in the late-midgame/endgame against this guy.
He claimed to have been a "retired FM", but I have no idea if that's true. FWIW, he beat me handily every other match we played.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
Game 4, move 56...Re6, the move where Magnus officially crapped in Anand's Cheerios.
I'm not nearly savvy enough to know whether there are resources either guy still has up his sleeve, here, but after Magnus found that little rook move, denying Anand the theoretical draw he was sure he had in hand, you could just see Anand's whole bearing crumble.
Vishy feeling a little bit of time pressure, Magnus trying to keep all the rooks on the board, the b-pawn looming. Good stuff, finally.
(ETA: commenting in real time -- game not yet completed.)
I'm not nearly savvy enough to know whether there are resources either guy still has up his sleeve, here, but after Magnus found that little rook move, denying Anand the theoretical draw he was sure he had in hand, you could just see Anand's whole bearing crumble.
Vishy feeling a little bit of time pressure, Magnus trying to keep all the rooks on the board, the b-pawn looming. Good stuff, finally.
(ETA: commenting in real time -- game not yet completed.)
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Man of Zen
Footballguy
And, drawn. Enough info out there now that we can see pretty clearly it's a battle between Magnus's incessant scrambling to create chances out of thin air, versus Vishy's Petrosian-esque desire to find drawing resources at all costs. I guess hoping that he spots one winning chance over the course of the match.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
Just played and won a very quick match (as white). Probably my easiest victory in a while - exactly how atrocious was my opponent (and my own play, chess-heads...)?
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
20. Qf6-g6
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
20. Qf6-g6
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Not a bad strategy as an underdog in a general sense -- don't do anything that would deny yourself half a point and make the favorite press for a win, hoping he makes a mistake as the pressure builds with each draw.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
Agreed. I think it's totally the right play for Anand. Even though it kind of plays into Carlsen's wheelhouse, it's probably the champ's best chance in a short match format like this. Carlsen's such a fiend in drawn-but-technical endgames that it's got to be the right play to try to catch him out in opening prep, and if you don't, find a way to pull the parachute cord in the midgame. Anand did that beautifully for a few, and almost had it catch up with him in game 4.
In terms of match-long strategy, it's actually a pretty interesting match. Which is a good thing, since for the most part, the individual games have been a little lackluster for exactly the same reasons.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
btw... it's been really interesting to listen to the chess comentators in real time. I realized while they were doing their analysis that I have absolutely no ability to "see" the board geographically -- to intuitively recognize physical relationships between the pieces even in the current position. I have to analyze everything concretely one step at at a time, and I'm very slow. Has driven home that despite being intuitive about general strategy my chess ceiling was always pretty low.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
Engine evaluation, plus richardheaded annotations, for your perusal. Scores are given in fractions of a pawn advantage. + scores mean white has the advantage, -'s mean the advantage is black's. M(x) shows forced mate in x moves.Evilgrin 72 said:Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.Man of Zen said:I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.Evilgrin 72 said:So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Man of Zen said:Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.Evilgrin 72 said:
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
= as it's just a Scandinavian
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
+/= to +/- , engine evaluation around +.5 pawns, but has the positional drawbacks mentioned above in addition.
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
+.3 , engine prefers declining the gambit slightly, though I'd respectfully disagree with its infinite IQ.
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
= , black down a pawn, but now with concrete compensation in developmental advantage.
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
= , black's move a total waste, as after ...a6, the pawn was poison in light of ...Nb4
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
+.40 pawns, both sides more or less operating w/o an obvious plan.
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
+.40
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
+.90, as the engine's evaluation begins to reflect black's refusal to do anything with a point behind it while his king remains exposed.
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
+1.00
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
+4.50 , a winning advantage as black, behind in material and development with no concrete threats or open lines of attack, sacrifices a bishop in exchange for a trivial inconvenience to your king.
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
+8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected.
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
+10.00 , engine would have preferred to see you threaten the unprotected bishop on e6, but the point becomes moot as black hangs yet another pawn that you can capture with check.
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
M2 , engine brazenly suggests capturing with the queen, which results in an instant victory.
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
M6 , engine suggests this backup plan that involves using your knight to grab his unprotected rook, which simultaneously gives a discovered check with your queen, again winning in short order.
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
M1 , your opponent chooses this bold king shuffle instead of grabbing your now unprotected queen with his knight, which would have been evaluated at +2.00 for you. You can now simply move your queen one space and mate on f7.
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
M1 , you choose to attack from a distance, and your opponent continues his retreat, but mate on f7 still looms if you choose to move your queen there.
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
M3 , you choose the nice consolation prize of robbing your opponent of his queen in exchange for the knight, while retaining a forced win in three, beginning with Bc4.
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
M7 , mate now available to you in seven moves, but you'll have to bring that rook up and do a little maneuvering.
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
M1 , black opts for the self-imposed smothering.
20. Qf6-g6
1-0 , white accepts mate this time, and heads off into the sunset richer for the effort.
So, you didn't really at any point face challenges from your opponent, and maintained your + most of the way through, so on that front, I'd say very nice job indeed, apart from hanging your queen the one time. The flip side would be that in addition to the minor positional considerations I mentioned for the opening phase, you might give a look at a few elementary checkmating patterns. It's surprising how often little checkmates repeat themselves in a variety of positions, and a little awareness of that here might have saved you a bit of trouble.
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Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
Wow. In all sincerity, thanks so much for this. I laughed, I cried, I punched myself in the nards for missing the obvious, I cried again, I rejoiced. What an entertaining and educational post. By the way, in the event that I ever post another set of moves in here, feel free to let me have it in your evaluation. It's not richardheaded, and I take absolutely no personal offense to critique or even outright mocking of my gameplay. I know I suck, and I NEVER have an obvious plan. I basically play the same way I did as a kid, just make moves, stir #### up, create little puzzles and try to figure out the best way to solve them. I have absolutely no knowledge of tactics, no long-term strategy whatsoever. Be as savage as you like provided that any criticism is constructive and any fun-making is funny. I appreciate both equally.Engine evaluation, plus richardheaded annotations, for your perusal. Scores are given in fractions of a pawn advantage. + scores mean white has the advantage, -'s mean the advantage is black's. M(x) shows forced mate in x moves.Evilgrin 72 said:Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.Man of Zen said:I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.Evilgrin 72 said:So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Man of Zen said:Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.Evilgrin 72 said:
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
= as it's just a Scandinavian
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
+/= to +/- , engine evaluation around +.5 pawns, but has the positional drawbacks mentioned above in addition.
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
+.3 , engine prefers declining the gambit slightly, though I'd respectfully disagree with its infinite IQ.
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
= , black down a pawn, but now with concrete compensation in developmental advantage.
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
= , black's move a total waste, as after ...a6, the pawn was poison in light of ...Nb4
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
+.40 pawns, both sides more or less operating w/o an obvious plan.
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
+.40
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
+.90, as the engine's evaluation begins to reflect black's refusal to do anything with a point behind it while his king remains exposed.
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
+1.00
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
+4.50 , a winning advantage as black, behind in material and development with no concrete threats or open lines of attack, sacrifices a bishop in exchange for a trivial inconvenience to your king.
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
+8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected.
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
+10.00 , engine would have preferred to see you threaten the unprotected bishop on e6, but the point becomes moot as black hangs yet another pawn that you can capture with check.
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
M2 , engine brazenly suggests capturing with the queen, which results in an instant victory.
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
M6 , engine suggests this backup plan that involves using your knight to grab his unprotected rook, which simultaneously gives a discovered check with your queen, again winning in short order.
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
M1 , your opponent chooses this bold king shuffle instead of grabbing your now unprotected queen with his knight, which would have been evaluated at +2.00 for you. You can now simply move your queen one space and mate on f7.
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
M1 , you choose to attack from a distance, and your opponent continues his retreat, but mate on f7 still looms if you choose to move your queen there.
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
M3 , you choose the nice consolation prize of robbing your opponent of his queen in exchange for the knight, while retaining a forced win in three, beginning with Bc4.
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
M7 , mate now available to you in seven moves, but you'll have to bring that rook up and do a little maneuvering.
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
M1 , black opts for the self-imposed smothering.
20. Qf6-g6
1-0 , white accepts mate this time, and heads off into the sunset richer for the effort.
So, you didn't really at any point face challenges from your opponent, and maintained your + most of the way through, so on that front, I'd say very nice job indeed, apart from hanging your queen the one time. The flip side would be that in addition to the minor positional considerations I mentioned for the opening phase, you might give a look at a few elementary checkmating patterns. It's surprising how often little checkmates repeat themselves in a variety of positions, and a little awareness of that here might have saved you a bit of trouble.
Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
By the way, this was so funny I laughed aloud : +8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected
This is absolutely fascinating. I mean, two guys are playing for the world championship and instead, we get this match for the ages. I haven't been so riveted to my seat since, since...since...whenever.Wow. In all sincerity, thanks so much for this. I laughed, I cried, I punched myself in the nards for missing the obvious, I cried again, I rejoiced. What an entertaining and educational post. By the way, in the event that I ever post another set of moves in here, feel free to let me have it in your evaluation. It's not richardheaded, and I take absolutely no personal offense to critique or even outright mocking of my gameplay. I know I suck, and I NEVER have an obvious plan. I basically play the same way I did as a kid, just make moves, stir #### up, create little puzzles and try to figure out the best way to solve them. I have absolutely no knowledge of tactics, no long-term strategy whatsoever. Be as savage as you like provided that any criticism is constructive and any fun-making is funny. I appreciate both equally.Engine evaluation, plus richardheaded annotations, for your perusal. Scores are given in fractions of a pawn advantage. + scores mean white has the advantage, -'s mean the advantage is black's. M(x) shows forced mate in x moves.Evilgrin 72 said:Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.Man of Zen said:I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.Evilgrin 72 said:So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Man of Zen said:Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.Evilgrin 72 said:
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
= as it's just a Scandinavian
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
+/= to +/- , engine evaluation around +.5 pawns, but has the positional drawbacks mentioned above in addition.
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
+.3 , engine prefers declining the gambit slightly, though I'd respectfully disagree with its infinite IQ.
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
= , black down a pawn, but now with concrete compensation in developmental advantage.
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
= , black's move a total waste, as after ...a6, the pawn was poison in light of ...Nb4
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
+.40 pawns, both sides more or less operating w/o an obvious plan.
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
+.40
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
+.90, as the engine's evaluation begins to reflect black's refusal to do anything with a point behind it while his king remains exposed.
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
+1.00
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
+4.50 , a winning advantage as black, behind in material and development with no concrete threats or open lines of attack, sacrifices a bishop in exchange for a trivial inconvenience to your king.
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
+8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected.
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
+10.00 , engine would have preferred to see you threaten the unprotected bishop on e6, but the point becomes moot as black hangs yet another pawn that you can capture with check.
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
M2 , engine brazenly suggests capturing with the queen, which results in an instant victory.
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
M6 , engine suggests this backup plan that involves using your knight to grab his unprotected rook, which simultaneously gives a discovered check with your queen, again winning in short order.
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
M1 , your opponent chooses this bold king shuffle instead of grabbing your now unprotected queen with his knight, which would have been evaluated at +2.00 for you. You can now simply move your queen one space and mate on f7.
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
M1 , you choose to attack from a distance, and your opponent continues his retreat, but mate on f7 still looms if you choose to move your queen there.
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
M3 , you choose the nice consolation prize of robbing your opponent of his queen in exchange for the knight, while retaining a forced win in three, beginning with Bc4.
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
M7 , mate now available to you in seven moves, but you'll have to bring that rook up and do a little maneuvering.
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
M1 , black opts for the self-imposed smothering.
20. Qf6-g6
1-0 , white accepts mate this time, and heads off into the sunset richer for the effort.
So, you didn't really at any point face challenges from your opponent, and maintained your + most of the way through, so on that front, I'd say very nice job indeed, apart from hanging your queen the one time. The flip side would be that in addition to the minor positional considerations I mentioned for the opening phase, you might give a look at a few elementary checkmating patterns. It's surprising how often little checkmates repeat themselves in a variety of positions, and a little awareness of that here might have saved you a bit of trouble.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
At least it wasn't a draw.This is absolutely fascinating. I mean, two guys are playing for the world championship and instead, we get this match for the ages. I haven't been so riveted to my seat since, since...since...whenever.Wow. In all sincerity, thanks so much for this. I laughed, I cried, I punched myself in the nards for missing the obvious, I cried again, I rejoiced. What an entertaining and educational post. By the way, in the event that I ever post another set of moves in here, feel free to let me have it in your evaluation. It's not richardheaded, and I take absolutely no personal offense to critique or even outright mocking of my gameplay. I know I suck, and I NEVER have an obvious plan. I basically play the same way I did as a kid, just make moves, stir #### up, create little puzzles and try to figure out the best way to solve them. I have absolutely no knowledge of tactics, no long-term strategy whatsoever. Be as savage as you like provided that any criticism is constructive and any fun-making is funny. I appreciate both equally.Engine evaluation, plus richardheaded annotations, for your perusal. Scores are given in fractions of a pawn advantage. + scores mean white has the advantage, -'s mean the advantage is black's. M(x) shows forced mate in x moves.Evilgrin 72 said:Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.Man of Zen said:I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.Evilgrin 72 said:So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Man of Zen said:Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.Evilgrin 72 said:
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
1. e2-e4 d7-d5
= as it's just a Scandinavian
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
+/= to +/- , engine evaluation around +.5 pawns, but has the positional drawbacks mentioned above in addition.
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
+.3 , engine prefers declining the gambit slightly, though I'd respectfully disagree with its infinite IQ.
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
= , black down a pawn, but now with concrete compensation in developmental advantage.
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
= , black's move a total waste, as after ...a6, the pawn was poison in light of ...Nb4
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
+.40 pawns, both sides more or less operating w/o an obvious plan.
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
+.40
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
+.90, as the engine's evaluation begins to reflect black's refusal to do anything with a point behind it while his king remains exposed.
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
+1.00
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
+4.50 , a winning advantage as black, behind in material and development with no concrete threats or open lines of attack, sacrifices a bishop in exchange for a trivial inconvenience to your king.
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
+8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected.
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
+10.00 , engine would have preferred to see you threaten the unprotected bishop on e6, but the point becomes moot as black hangs yet another pawn that you can capture with check.
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
M2 , engine brazenly suggests capturing with the queen, which results in an instant victory.
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
M6 , engine suggests this backup plan that involves using your knight to grab his unprotected rook, which simultaneously gives a discovered check with your queen, again winning in short order.
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
M1 , your opponent chooses this bold king shuffle instead of grabbing your now unprotected queen with his knight, which would have been evaluated at +2.00 for you. You can now simply move your queen one space and mate on f7.
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
M1 , you choose to attack from a distance, and your opponent continues his retreat, but mate on f7 still looms if you choose to move your queen there.
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
M3 , you choose the nice consolation prize of robbing your opponent of his queen in exchange for the knight, while retaining a forced win in three, beginning with Bc4.
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
M7 , mate now available to you in seven moves, but you'll have to bring that rook up and do a little maneuvering.
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
M1 , black opts for the self-imposed smothering.
20. Qf6-g6
1-0 , white accepts mate this time, and heads off into the sunset richer for the effort.
So, you didn't really at any point face challenges from your opponent, and maintained your + most of the way through, so on that front, I'd say very nice job indeed, apart from hanging your queen the one time. The flip side would be that in addition to the minor positional considerations I mentioned for the opening phase, you might give a look at a few elementary checkmating patterns. It's surprising how often little checkmates repeat themselves in a variety of positions, and a little awareness of that here might have saved you a bit of trouble.
Man of Zen
Footballguy
Could be that I buggered something up in transposing.
It wouldn't let me mis-evaluate given what was on the board in front of me. But there's every chance that what was on the board in front of me failed to match the actual moves, given my slapdash rendering.(ETA: must have done. Maybe I accidentally plopped the N down on e5 instead of d6, thus blocking my own check? Unsure.)
At any rate, if it all goes to show anything, it's that you can't rely on my annotations. Carry on.
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Evilgrin 72
Distributor of Pain
This is absolutely fascinating. I mean, two guys are playing for the world championship and instead, we get this match for the ages. I haven't been so riveted to my seat since, since...since...whenever.Wow. In all sincerity, thanks so much for this. I laughed, I cried, I punched myself in the nards for missing the obvious, I cried again, I rejoiced. What an entertaining and educational post. By the way, in the event that I ever post another set of moves in here, feel free to let me have it in your evaluation. It's not richardheaded, and I take absolutely no personal offense to critique or even outright mocking of my gameplay. I know I suck, and I NEVER have an obvious plan. I basically play the same way I did as a kid, just make moves, stir #### up, create little puzzles and try to figure out the best way to solve them. I have absolutely no knowledge of tactics, no long-term strategy whatsoever. Be as savage as you like provided that any criticism is constructive and any fun-making is funny. I appreciate both equally.Engine evaluation, plus richardheaded annotations, for your perusal. Scores are given in fractions of a pawn advantage. + scores mean white has the advantage, -'s mean the advantage is black's. M(x) shows forced mate in x moves.1. e2-e4 d7-d5Evilgrin 72 said:Nothing I've ever played has been called such. I was simply wondering whether I took good advantage of my opponent's obvious blunders or whether I played just as poorly and kind of tripped and landed in victory accidentally. Most likely the latter.Man of Zen said:I didn't actually play through all the moves, and there's a lot to be said for the act of not hanging anything too valuable while waiting for your opponent to blow it once and for all. But from a purely strategical standpoint, you wouldn't call it an immortal game.Evilgrin 72 said:So to sum, up - he blew it early, I had the game well in hand unless I pursued one numbnuts strategy. I did exactly that, and somehow fell ### backwards into victory? Does that about sum it up?Man of Zen said:Well, it took almost no moves for your opponent to gambit away a pawn, compensation for which appears to be that he also weakened b7 and removed (in conjunction with ...f5) virtually all cover for his king.Evilgrin 72 said:
The strongest plan at that point would probably have been to complete development classically, after which you've probably got a choice of whether to capitalize on either flank, or up the middle, since he's weak in all three directions now, depending upon how his moves go while you develop.
If it were me, I'd be looking at moves like d4, Nf3, and very likely c4 followed by Qb3 at some point. That would more or less dominate the center he practically abandoned, while simultaneously attacking his b7 weakness and pointing a piece of heavy artillery at his kingside. Should he challenge with some kind of ...Qb6 idea, so much the better for you, since simplification is your friend when an opponent gambles away a pawn early for dubious compensation. That said, lots of plans will work for you here. Almost the only thing you could do to let him back in the game after that abortion of a gambit would be so sally forth with several consecutive Queen moves, exposing her and letting him play catch-up while he chases you around.
= as it's just a Scandinavian
2. e4xd5 e7-e5
+/= to +/- , engine evaluation around +.5 pawns, but has the positional drawbacks mentioned above in addition.
3. d5xe6 Bc8xe6
+.3 , engine prefers declining the gambit slightly, though I'd respectfully disagree with its infinite IQ.
4. Qd1-e2 Nb8-c6
= , black down a pawn, but now with concrete compensation in developmental advantage.
5. Qe2-b5 Qd8-b8
= , black's move a total waste, as after ...a6, the pawn was poison in light of ...Nb4
6. Qb5-g5 f7-f5
+.40 pawns, both sides more or less operating w/o an obvious plan.
7. Bf1-b5 g7-g6
+.40
8. Ng1-f3 Qb8-c8
+.90, as the engine's evaluation begins to reflect black's refusal to do anything with a point behind it while his king remains exposed.
9. 0-0 Bf8-d6
+1.00
10. Rf1-e1 Bd6xh2
+4.50 , a winning advantage as black, behind in material and development with no concrete threats or open lines of attack, sacrifices a bishop in exchange for a trivial inconvenience to your king.
11. Kg1xh2 f5-f4
+8.00 , the point! black's sacrifice was the initial sally in a cunning plan to hang another pawn and leave his king somehow even more unprotected.
12. Nf3-e5 h7-h6
+10.00 , engine would have preferred to see you threaten the unprotected bishop on e6, but the point becomes moot as black hangs yet another pawn that you can capture with check.
13. Qg5xg6 Be6-f7
M2 , engine brazenly suggests capturing with the queen, which results in an instant victory.
14. Ne5xf7 Ng8-e7
M6 , engine suggests this backup plan that involves using your knight to grab his unprotected rook, which simultaneously gives a discovered check with your queen, again winning in short order.
15. Nf7-d6 Ke8-f8
M1 , your opponent chooses this bold king shuffle instead of grabbing your now unprotected queen with his knight, which would have been evaluated at +2.00 for you. You can now simply move your queen one space and mate on f7.
16. Qg6-f6 Kf8-g8
M1 , you choose to attack from a distance, and your opponent continues his retreat, but mate on f7 still looms if you choose to move your queen there.
17. Nd6xc8 Ra8xc8
M3 , you choose the nice consolation prize of robbing your opponent of his queen in exchange for the knight, while retaining a forced win in three, beginning with Bc4.
18. Bb5xc6 Ne7xc6
M7 , mate now available to you in seven moves, but you'll have to bring that rook up and do a little maneuvering.
19. d2-d3 Rc8-f8
M1 , black opts for the self-imposed smothering.
20. Qf6-g6
1-0 , white accepts mate this time, and heads off into the sunset richer for the effort.
So, you didn't really at any point face challenges from your opponent, and maintained your + most of the way through, so on that front, I'd say very nice job indeed, apart from hanging your queen the one time. The flip side would be that in addition to the minor positional considerations I mentioned for the opening phase, you might give a look at a few elementary checkmating patterns. It's surprising how often little checkmates repeat themselves in a variety of positions, and a little awareness of that here might have saved you a bit of trouble.
Didn't seem like there was a whole lot of news to report today. Just trying to spice things up a bit.
otello
Footballguy
Here is what Fritz said:1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e4 Nc6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 Nd8 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Qb3 O-O 11. O-O-O c6 12. c4 cxd5 13. exd5 b6 14. Ne4 Qf4+ 15. Kb1 Bg4 16. Ned2 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bh4 18. Ne4 Nb7 19. Qa3 Nc5 20. Nxd6 Bxf2 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. fxe4 a5 23. Rhf1 Qe3 24. Qd6 Rfe8 25. a3 1/2-1/2
I was playing w/black pieces. In retrospect, I don't think either of us played particularly well. I don't know if it's a decisive position either way....opposite bishops, his rooks were more active but I had a better king position I think. Sorta had a bit of a tense position as we both had our queens threatening weak pawns, which led me to accept his draw offer as I didn't really trust myself to grind out a win in the late-midgame/endgame against this guy.
He claimed to have been a "retired FM", but I have no idea if that's true. FWIW, he beat me handily every other match we played.
[SIZE=10pt]A46: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6: Torre, London and Colle Systems 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.e4 Nc6 6.c3 last book move 6...Be7 7.Bd3 [7.e5!? Qf4 8.Bd3²] 7...e5 8.d5 This push gains space 8...Nd8 9.Nbd2 d6 10.Qb3 0–0 11.0–0–0 c6 Covers b5 12.c4 [12.Qa3 Re8=] 12...cxd5 [12...b5 13.Kb1³] 13.exd5= b6 14.Ne4 [14.Bb1 Nb7=] 14...Qf4+ 15.Kb1 [15.Ned2 Bg4³] 15...Bg4 [15...f5 16.Ng3 e4 17.Rhe1 exf3 18.Rxe7µ] 16.Ned2 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Bh4 18.Ne4 [18.Qc2 f5³] 18...Nb7 [18...Qxf3?! 19.Nxd6 f5 20.Bc2 Qxb3 21.axb3=] 19.Qa3 [19.Qc2 f5 20.Ng3 g6³ (‹20...Qxf3 21.Nxf5 Bf6 22.Rhg1±) ] 19...Nc5 [19...f5!? 20.Nxd6 Be7µ] 20.Nxd6³ Bxf2 21.Ne4 Nxe4 [21...Qxf3? leads to nothing 22.Nxc5 Qg4 23.Ne4+-] 22.fxe4 a5 23.Rhf1 Qe3 [23...Qh4 24.Bc2=] 24.Qd6 [24.Qe7 Rae8 25.Qd7 Qc5²] 24...Rfe8 [24...Qf4!?= looks like a viable alternative] 25.a3 [25.Qd7!? g6 26.Qg4²] ½–½[/SIZE]
I will add a little more color when I get a chance. Unfortunately, this is an older version and does not have all of the bells and whistle of newer ones.
Mr. Pickles
Footballguy
Those were not the moves of a FM. His 14. Ne4 completely missed the obvious Qf4+ and he was basically reeling for a while but eventually clawed his way back to a slight advantage after your disheveled attack ran out of gas.1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e4 Nc6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 Nd8 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Qb3 O-O 11. O-O-O c6 12. c4 cxd5 13. exd5 b6 14. Ne4 Qf4+ 15. Kb1 Bg4 16. Ned2 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bh4 18. Ne4 Nb7 19. Qa3 Nc5 20. Nxd6 Bxf2 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. fxe4 a5 23. Rhf1 Qe3 24. Qd6 Rfe8 25. a3 1/2-1/2
I was playing w/black pieces. In retrospect, I don't think either of us played particularly well. I don't know if it's a decisive position either way....opposite bishops, his rooks were more active but I had a better king position I think. Sorta had a bit of a tense position as we both had our queens threatening weak pawns, which led me to accept his draw offer as I didn't really trust myself to grind out a win in the late-midgame/endgame against this guy.
He claimed to have been a "retired FM", but I have no idea if that's true. FWIW, he beat me handily every other match we played.
SWC
Bromigo
i would totally beat this guys brohans but then they would tell me that a greg the hammer valentine elbow hammer smash agsinst the other guys peaces is not something you can do in chess and then this guy would beat me with about one move in real chess and king all of his chips or whatever take that to the bank brohans
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
game five resumes the world championship tomorrow, after the second rest day interval (two on, one off... two off before last two classic games)... the amusing run down of EGs epic battle as good a way as any to fill an off day...
this was called by some (like commentator lawrence trent) the most anticipated world championship match since fischer/spassky, but perhaps hasn't been living up to the hype, so far (what was the fischer/spassky world championship like, at this juncture, and later? if i followed it at the time, i don't recall... was that fischer's peak, after which he basically retired and became a nearly howard hughes-like recluse... at least as far as chess was concerned)?
than again, if you can appreciate a 1-0 socccer match (though a 1-0 score over 12 games of soccer would be kind of harsh! ) in some ways that are different from a 111-110 basketball game, than it can have its own kind of interest and excitement...
any thoughts on if the incumbent champ anand or the wunderkind challenger carlsen would have an appreciable edge in the speeded up blitz format tiebreaker round, if needed?
the games may seem to go by slowly day by day, but the longer the draws continue, pressure mounts (like chinese water torture)... for all we know, there could be 11 draws, and the championship hinges on one game... have any previous championships been won in that manner? i guess this wouldn't have been possible by a former format in a kasparov (and karpov?) world championship described by bob sacamano, in which they continued to play as many games as needed until somebody reached 6 wins, stopped in that instance because of exhaustion and health concerns...
this was called by some (like commentator lawrence trent) the most anticipated world championship match since fischer/spassky, but perhaps hasn't been living up to the hype, so far (what was the fischer/spassky world championship like, at this juncture, and later? if i followed it at the time, i don't recall... was that fischer's peak, after which he basically retired and became a nearly howard hughes-like recluse... at least as far as chess was concerned)?
than again, if you can appreciate a 1-0 socccer match (though a 1-0 score over 12 games of soccer would be kind of harsh!
) in some ways that are different from a 111-110 basketball game, than it can have its own kind of interest and excitement...any thoughts on if the incumbent champ anand or the wunderkind challenger carlsen would have an appreciable edge in the speeded up blitz format tiebreaker round, if needed?
the games may seem to go by slowly day by day, but the longer the draws continue, pressure mounts (like chinese water torture)... for all we know, there could be 11 draws, and the championship hinges on one game... have any previous championships been won in that manner? i guess this wouldn't have been possible by a former format in a kasparov (and karpov?) world championship described by bob sacamano, in which they continued to play as many games as needed until somebody reached 6 wins, stopped in that instance because of exhaustion and health concerns...
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Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Pretty much sounds about right. I had no ideas the entire time. I was trying to make moves to put myself in attacking positions and gain/keep initiative but I was on tilt the entire time, one move away from total collapse.Those were not the moves of a FM. His 14. Ne4 completely missed the obvious Qf4+ and he was basically reeling for a while but eventually clawed his way back to a slight advantage after your disheveled attack ran out of gas.1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e4 Nc6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 e5 8. d5 Nd8 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Qb3 O-O 11. O-O-O c6 12. c4 cxd5 13. exd5 b6 14. Ne4 Qf4+ 15. Kb1 Bg4 16. Ned2 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Bh4 18. Ne4 Nb7 19. Qa3 Nc5 20. Nxd6 Bxf2 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. fxe4 a5 23. Rhf1 Qe3 24. Qd6 Rfe8 25. a3 1/2-1/2
I was playing w/black pieces. In retrospect, I don't think either of us played particularly well. I don't know if it's a decisive position either way....opposite bishops, his rooks were more active but I had a better king position I think. Sorta had a bit of a tense position as we both had our queens threatening weak pawns, which led me to accept his draw offer as I didn't really trust myself to grind out a win in the late-midgame/endgame against this guy.
He claimed to have been a "retired FM", but I have no idea if that's true. FWIW, he beat me handily every other match we played.
Mr. Pickles
Footballguy
Entertaining chess requires at least one guy to take some risks. Usually two at the top level.
Anand is still a top level GM, but he's far from his peak form. There's no question he's the inferior competitor in a game that requires absolute precision and calculation. If he directly engages Carlsen throughout, he will lose. His best shot at winning this is to goad him into overreaching.
Carlsen started his career as an aggressive player, but has rounded his game into far better balance over the years. He's still a bit weaker in the opening, but he has virtually no peer in the middle and end games. He still enjoys a good fight and loathes draws, so the real story line of this WCC is whether he has the temperament and maturity to deal with an opponent who is probably biding his time and hoping for frustration and mistakes.
Game 4 was the most exciting and interesting of the bunch. Carlsen had superior moments to Anand and probably won a small psychological victory, especially putting Anand into a panicked scramble to reach time control.
I don't count Vishy out, but I think he needs Carlsen to play uncharacteristically poor. Given what I saw in Game 4, I don't think that's likely.
Anand is still a top level GM, but he's far from his peak form. There's no question he's the inferior competitor in a game that requires absolute precision and calculation. If he directly engages Carlsen throughout, he will lose. His best shot at winning this is to goad him into overreaching.
Carlsen started his career as an aggressive player, but has rounded his game into far better balance over the years. He's still a bit weaker in the opening, but he has virtually no peer in the middle and end games. He still enjoys a good fight and loathes draws, so the real story line of this WCC is whether he has the temperament and maturity to deal with an opponent who is probably biding his time and hoping for frustration and mistakes.
Game 4 was the most exciting and interesting of the bunch. Carlsen had superior moments to Anand and probably won a small psychological victory, especially putting Anand into a panicked scramble to reach time control.
I don't count Vishy out, but I think he needs Carlsen to play uncharacteristically poor. Given what I saw in Game 4, I don't think that's likely.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Carlsen take Game 5
Wish the announcers had played out the end -- I don't see how Anand is unable to prevent the pawns from Queening.
Wish the announcers had played out the end -- I don't see how Anand is unable to prevent the pawns from Queening.
Yup. After 58 moves, and 5 1/2 hours, Anand resigned in a lost position. Carlsen now leads 3-2. but Anand gets to play the whites in the next two games (they reverse the order after the first 6 games). So, he is now down, and playing defensively is not going to be an option for Anand.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
btw... worth mentioning that the computers picked up on Carlsen's winning position before the commentators. And the announcers continued to say that the computer often misread theoretically drawn positions for a long time afterwards.
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Mr. Pickles
Footballguy
Just finished watching Game 5. Loved the opening and the very interesting position that had Carlsen cramped but up material. It's interesting that the decisive moment was Anand's misstep 45...Rc1+, but in the press conference he seemed to think things went off the rails even earlier.
I have to think this game offers some evidence of Anand's fatigue. He got the slightest bit sloppy and got demolished because of it. I don't see how that balance changes.
I have to think this game offers some evidence of Anand's fatigue. He got the slightest bit sloppy and got demolished because of it. I don't see how that balance changes.
Steve Tasker
Footballguy
Carlsen with the win as black. 4-2 now...might as well shut the book on this one.
Anand looks like "a kid who showed up at a test he forgot to study for"
Anand looks like "a kid who showed up at a test he forgot to study for"
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Carlsen wins again.
They really need to show the variations that led to the resignation. If the two GMs commentating didn't see the move and subsequent line, how am I supposed to get it?
They really need to show the variations that led to the resignation. If the two GMs commentating didn't see the move and subsequent line, how am I supposed to get it?
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