Chess World Championship

[Stryker44]

Well the commentators today were speaking about how this current generation has been able to come up to world class level much faster and with vast more exposure to all of the intricacies of the game due to the computer age, something that a guy like Anand did not really get to take advantage on early on. That is certainly one of the factors. Another is that Carlsen is just really, really good. I know that Kasparov thinks the world of him. Carlsen's style of play is different in that he simply never gives up. He finds ways to win games that many think he should have shaken hands with over a draw. That is what the commentators were saying today.

And he actually did that very thing in today's match. The commentators and Anand were at a point where it seemed a draw was just inevitable, but Carlsen made a move that shook Anand and everyone else up quite a bit, really challenging Anand very, very late...Anand had just over a minute left I believe with his remaining moves, at the time. Really fantastic to watch. Anand was quite obviously nervous all of a sudden...but it did end in a draw.

Good point. You also wonder if Carlsen will have the advantage in terms of stamina over the course of the match, even though they do get a rest day here and there...I imagine each game must require a great deal of concentration and stress.

 

[arglebargle]

Good point. You also wonder if Carlsen will have the advantage in terms of stamina over the course of the match, even though they do get a rest day here and there...I imagine each game must require a great deal of concentration and stress.

Read a report a while ago, where they wired up competitors at high level chess matches, and found that their energy expenditure was just tremendous.

Back when I played chess seriously, I beat a ranked chess master at our chess club. Managed to steal a piece and then traded out at every point possible. Of course, he was playing ten of us simultaneously, but I'll still puff up like a toad over that victory.

 

[Phoenix]

Yeah, exactly. The grandmaster commentators covered that today as well, noting that the players were seen very much in the gym to stay in shape. Balance. (they didn't say that, I did)

Today's game ended just at the 6 hour mark. Wow. That would melt my brain many times over!

Of note:

Each side has "seconds"...a team of grandmasters that researches the opponent to the nth degree. Both sides obviously have done very, very well with their researchers. This is much like interns in a legal firm, whose job is to research, research, and then do more research.

In all four games so far, BLACK has had the advantage in every game. The grandmaster commentators noted that this is unheard of. Something to keep an eye on?

I'm loving the matchup.

 

[Stryker44]

Looks like Carlsen won today (with white) and slowly broke Anand down in the endgame. Up 3-2 with 7 games left.

 

[Phoenix]

Ya, I was not able to follow it live today, but apparently Anand ran into a little mistake when being pushed by the time control limit...he apparently rushed a move without seeing a double edge counter or something like that.

Anand gets the next two games playing the white side. He seems to be known for winning the next game after a loss, so we'll see what happens...

 

[arglebargle]

.....

In all four games so far, BLACK has had the advantage in every game. The grandmaster commentators noted that this is unheard of. Something to keep an eye on?

I'm loving the matchup.

Choice of line beating the tempo, eh? Interesting.

 

[Phoenix]

So as expected by many, Carlsen has taken a lead in the overall match, winning games 5 & 6. Games 7 & 8 (8 was today) have both been draws, so Carlsen maintains a pretty big 2 point lead. Tomorrow is a day of rest, and Anand said in today's press conference that he will basically come out guns blazing, playing white, next game. He better.

Interestingly, Carlsen, years ago, actually was one of Anand's "seconds". I didn't know that. Carlsen was asked today to finally reveal who his team of seconds are, and he refused to answer.

Winner of the match by the way, gets not only the World Championship, but a 60% split of the money, which I think is something like $1.4 or $1.6 million. I forget.

Pretty short game today, ended in a draw in not much more than an hour, and only about 33 total moves. Both players were actually tested for drugs immediately following the game (yes, chess is regarded as a sport!)

Viewership on this? So far, they said, each game is right around 200 million viewers. Wow.

 

[Stryker44]

Interestingly, Carlsen, years ago, actually was one of Anand's "seconds". I didn't know that. Carlsen was asked today to finally reveal who his team of seconds are, and he refused to answer.

Viewership on this? So far, they said, each game is right around 200 million viewers. Wow.

He was allowed to be off school to be a "second"? That is surprising, because he would have been 15 or 16?

Have the feeling Anand is toying with the kid and will win up defending his title.

 

[Phoenix]

He was allowed to be off school to be a "second"? That is surprising, because he would have been 15 or 16?

Have the feeling Anand is toying with the kid and will win up defending his title.

Yeah, Carlsen would have been really young. He's just 22, and today noted that he has been at the top level of play (GM) for seven years now.

I don't know if Anand is toying or not. If he is, he is playing a very dangerous game. Carlsen is ranked #1 in the world for very good reason...and his number of points that got him to #1 broke the previous world record number of points set by none other than Garry Kasparov himself. Speaking of Garry, it is rumored that he actually offered to be one of Carlsen's seconds for this match but that Carlsen didn't even really consider it due to the evolution of the game since Kasparov retired...

 

[Ren]

Carlsen has this all but wrapped up. The pressure is all on Annad

He was allowed to be off school to be a "second"? That is surprising, because he would have been 15 or 16?

Have the feeling Anand is toying with the kid and will win up defending his title.

School in Norway is not mandatory after 10th grade which is 15-16 years old, high school you can pass by just doing the exams, i don't think someone like Carlsen would have to much trouble doing that

Anand isn't coming back and winning this if anyone wins another match it will be Carlsen who is quite happy with draws right now

 

[pupulehaole]

Anand is done for. The 22 year old chess prodigy has this one in the bag.

 

[Phoenix]

Anand is done for. The 22 year old chess prodigy has this one in the bag.

Nope. If Anand can win one of the next two, watch out. He is also World Champion, still, for a reason. He had some stiff challenges in the past few years, nothing like Carlsen though. But survived.

I wouldn't bet against Carlsen, for sure. But let's see what happens in the next two games. I have a feeling that Anand is about to spring something.

This match up is amazing. Nearly on the level of Kasparov-Karpov, or Spasskey-Fischer.

 

[Phoenix]

I watched the post-game 8 interview and it was pretty funny when Magnus broke out the yada yada line


http://susanpolgar.blogspot.in/2013/11/yada-yada-yada.html#.UozojtEtj-c.twitter






Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Yada, yada, yada....




Viswanathan Anand - Still behind the Berlin wall
Raakesh Natraj : Chennai, Wed Nov 20 2013, 08:33 hrs

"I played e4, he played Berlin, yada yada yada ... let's go to the doping controls." Magnus Carlsen's post-game comment might yet prove the most concise description of the action around game eight of the World Chess Championship.

The game itself was an insipid affair, ending in a draw after just 75 minutes of play. The only talking points were Viswanathan Anand's choice of defence with black after Carlsen opened with e4 for the first time in the match and why the players took extraordinarily long to turn up for their post-match interaction with the media. Two points down and with just four games left after Tuesday's game, it was widely expected that Anand would reply to 1. e4 with the Sicilian, statistically black's most attacking response.

This was, however, not to be. After a bit of a ponder, Anand answered with the Berlin, which was puzzling on at least two counts. The Berlin is frequently used as a drawing tool by black. Why someone desperate to get back into the match would go for this approach remained unclear. Also, Carlsen, having played on the black side of the Berlin thrice already in the match, could be assumed to have an in-depth knowledge of the positions that could arise out of the opening. Anand would have had to come up with a strong novelty to surprise Carlsen and nothing of the sort happened.

 

[Stryker44]

Still can't believe he'd play Berlin when he's 2 points behind the kid.

 

[Ren]

Carlsen wins again, a win or a draw tomorrow and it's over. Do people still think Anand is coming back?

 

[9darter]

Fascinating game today. Watched it on Norwegian NRK1.

 

[Phoenix]

I got to my computer exactly when the game ended. I hurriedly was looking through my tweet timeline to see where the game was at (while the live video feed was slowly loading) and saw this:

1. • Susan Polgar ‏@SusanPolgar
     This is the moment of truth. There will be no draw. Either Anand will crash and burn or Magnus will get mated. @FWCM2013 #FWCM2013
     

...by the time my video link activated, the commentary team with Tania (isn't she wonderful...? Sigh...) was on saying that Anand had lost, then press conference...

Someone asked Vishy if he could realistically win the next three to force a playoff, and of course he said he can just try, but it doesn't look so good...

Carlsen said he was scared the entire match, when asked at what point was he most fearful of losing. Apparently Vishy was really pressing him today.

Too little, too late.

 

[Stryker44]

What happened? Today was supposed to be the day Anand attacked and destroyed the boy.

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.chessdom.com/carlsen-tou...ai/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter


Carlsen touches the World Chess Champion 2013 title in Chennai
Nov 21, 2013

Carlsen needs only a draw to become World Chess Champion 2013

The ninth game of the FIDE World Championship Match, sponsored by Tamil Nadu state and currently ongoing in Chennai, finished in Magnus Carlsen’s favour after 28 moves of play.
More: Official website / Live games / Live games 2 / Live games 3 / Photos / Play online at Chessdom Arena / Watch TCEC Stage 4 (new)

The defending champion Viswanathan Anand made the first move 1.d4, which was greeted with enthusiastic applause in the playing hall. The challenger and world’s top rated player responded with his trusted Nimzo-Indian defence.

Needing a win to keep the title which has been in his sole possession since 2007, Anand piled on pressure on the young Challenger, Magnus Carlsen, early in the game. Anand repeated the line that he already used in the match with Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn 2008. Black was obviously well prepared, as he made a rare recapture on move 7 (exd5 instead of more common Nxd5) and then immediately closed the queenside with 8…c4. Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta said that the pawn structure demanded that players expand on opposite flanks.

Anand spent around 30 minutes to calculate complicated lines before going all in with 23.Qf4. White went directly for the checkmate and black promoted a new queen on b1. However, playing too quickly Anand erred with 28.Nf1, which effectively concluded the game after Carlsen’s reply 28… Qe1.

“The position was extremely imbalanced. Fear of being mated was there,” said Carlsen speaking after the game in a crowded press conference.
Anand later admitted that playing all out for victory was paramount, “There was not much of choice. I needed to change the course of the match drastically.”

With the score 6-3, Carlsen needs a single draw from the three remaining games to win his maiden world chess title. If he does it he will become the 20th player and first Norwegian in the history of world chess to win the title.

 

[Phoenix]

Another pretty good article on the current chess atmosphere in this here world...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/spt--m...the-world-of-competitive-chess-004535024.html



Magnus Carlsen brings new style to the world of competitive chess

By Martin Rogers November 18, 2013 7:58 PM Special to Yahoo Sports

Magnus Carlsen has everything you might expect of a superstar athlete: a modeling contract, endorsement deals, a dedicated female fan club, a growing bank balance and millions of fans watching his every move.

But Carlsen is a different kind of sporting celebrity. The 22-year-old from Norway is building his fame and popularity entirely on the brilliance of his own mind rather than physical brawn or dexterity.

Carlsen is a chess player, but he is not just any chess player. He is, according to statistical computations that determine such things, the best player in the history of the game and will be officially crowned world champion if he continues to dominate the reigning king, India's Viswanathan Anand, over the remainder of their ongoing match in Chennai, India.

Carlsen leads 4.5 to 2.5 after the seventh of 12 scheduled games ended in a draw on Monday, leaving Anand to stage a comeback of epic proportions to get back into contention. With the extraordinarily high standards involved at chess' elite level in which ties are very common, a two-point margin at this stage is the equivalent of a four-touchdown lead in the third quarter.

As the Scandinavian edges nearer to a world title, chess aficionados and the game's hierarchy can barely conceal their excitement. For decades, Russian players have dominated world-class chess and the game had long been mired in a dour and uber-intellectual image. Now there is a growing feeling that, with the right social forces and a charismatic champion potentially working in its favor, this could be chess' time to shine.