Chess thread

[Tal]

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8zLxVR/:ley5iHpA:PgAhZ8lj/www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgeYScYe8wI/

Very good bump.

Chess Thread will return later this week, now that I'm back.

[Tal]

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010335/bbc-the-master-game-revived-on-dvd-030713.aspx

I will cover the headlines from the Tal Memorial, the latest ratings (and the significant changes therein) and anything else that has grabbed my attention over the last couple of weeks as soon as I have a bit more time.

For now, I'm making the train journey to work (slightly later than normal, but you blondeites are a forgiving lot, aren't you?), so a small piece will have to do.

Many of you who frequent these waffly pages - particularly those who don't rock hoodies and dem Beats - will be aware of a series on BBC TV called The Master Game. The format was quite straightforward: 8 top chess players played a knockout comp and the highlights of the games would be shown on the telly.

The innovation was that, immediately after the game, the players would be whisked into a room, given microphones and be asked to commentate on the recording of their own game. The idea was to get them while the emotions were still high (or low) and the variations they were considering were still fresh in their mind.

No Hartigan and Stapes; no Lon and Norm; no TightEnd and whoever he could lure into the DTD box with a trail of chocolate hobnobs. The conqueror and the slain would shake hands and immedo-skip/trudge to tell people how exactly the game took shape.

This was of course TV and cameras weren't cheap, apparently, so there were moments when a player's emotions weren't captured on screen. Say, a moment of realisation through intense study that a game is lost. What a great thing to have on tape. Only it rarely was.

So they asked the players to sit in front of a board and reenact those moments for the tape and broadcast them as if it were all simultaneous!

Could you imagine asking Phil Hellmuth to return to his upturned chair and recreate the moment he got one-outered on the river for the tape?



And yet, somehow, it worked. Having started with British masters, the show grew to feature some huge names of the seventies. There was also a studio analyst to help explain some of the more basic elements and to help it all make sense to a lay audience - the Tikay role, if you will - and that was often done by a British Grandmaster, such as Bill Harston.

Two series of The Master Game are now available on DVD.

[Tal]

Comedy acting ITT...

[Tal]

Right ho! Let's do a recap. Apologies for the gap. I've been in Vegas for a couple of weeks and the past few days have been rather recoveryish and worky.

You now have my undivided attention.

[Tal]

First up, where we left off: the Tal Memorial.

Nakamura started well but his natural aggression caught up with him towards the end and he finished with a performance in line with what his rating suggested.

The winner - the surprise winner - was Boris Gelfand, who rolled back the years, again, and, at a mere 41 (no spring chicken in chess terms) took the trophy. Mr Carlsen was second and Mr Caruana third.

Here is the final round report, pictures and analysis of the best games of the tournament:

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010255/tal-final-gelfand-wins-carlsen-clear-second-240613.aspx

Here is the crosstable:

Click to see full-size image.

[Tal]

Immediately after that tournament, Nakamura and Kramnik had agreed to play a rapidplay tournament with a group of other strong players but where they were the top seeds.



Neither embarrassed themselves but neither looked in shape. Kramnik made the final but lost to Mamedyarov in the end.

[Tal]

The current world champion, Vishy Anand, looked like he was struggling in the Tal Memorial and so it proved, as he confessed his tiredness to the Indian press on his return:

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010370/anand-interview-i-could-feel-my-effort-flagging-050713.aspx

Quite an interview, this.

The loss against Carlsen (Tal Memorial), how difficult was that to take?

"That was one of the worst. Not only did I lose, I lost embarrassingly. The game was over in just a couple of hours. It was a really, really off day. It's a pity. Something clearly just went wrong and I have some idea what it is. I will work at fixing that problem, but it is one among many problems that have cropped up."

The significance of the loss?

"What can I tell you... It has some significance. In the end I would say the match begins at 0-0. I'm happy I got it over with in June rather than it happening in November. Ideally, I would have played a better game, a better tournament. A good tournament result would definitely have been better than what I had but that is life. I don't want to fret about it."

[Tal]

Chess has a reputation among the outsiders for being a bit, well, boring. There are some who feel it's just hours and hours of thinking, sitting and occasional woodpushing.

Most games are finished inside 50 moves at any level and games of 100 moves are often mentioned to friends and family, especially if you manage to grind out the win.

In the Ukrainian championship, there was a proper - proper - epic.

There can be no words from me. Just this link:

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010278/210-move-drama-in-kiev-270613.aspx

[Tal]

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010336/bbc-the-master-game--part-two-060713.aspx

Part two of the report on the Master Game DVD and some excellent games, with their analysis.

[pokerram]

hi tal just cought up with this thread very good.just started playing again after a break of 12 years are you a member of a club and do you have ecf grade. keep up the good work.

[Tal]

hi tal just cought up with this thread very good.just started playing again after a break of 12 years are you a member of a club and do you have ecf grade. keep up the good work.

Hi pokerram.

I play in Birmingham for a club in a local league but I don't play anywhere near enough to be doing much more than treading water with my grade, which is in the 160 region. This is always the problem with having other hobbies

[pokerram]

know where your coming from tal. I think its interesting  theses days how so many wins are coming with the black pieces at the top level any thoughts on this

[Tal]

know where your coming from tal. I think its interesting  theses days how so many wins are coming with the black pieces at the top level any thoughts on this

I think theory is so deep now in all parts of the game and the standard of endgames is far superior to how they used to be. There is also a modern regulation in a lot of tournaments to prevent quick draws. Changes the mindset to some extent. The more the players have to play, the more likely they are to fight for a win.

Difficult to say, really.

[Tal]

Have just stumbled across a fun article on what the author calls Stalematitis: a compulsion to draw against the opponent from a winning position. Not even the game's greats are immune:

http://www.chess.com/article/view/its-a-miracle-part-two

This is, it seems, the second part of a two partner.

The first part is linked in the main body, so worry not.

Always amused me about the name Schlechter. If you speak German, you'll know why he's the opponent you definitely want to play, as it simply means Worse.

[Tal]

Tekkie moment...

Do you have an Android device? (You really should)

Do you have the Chessbase app? (Again, well worth doing so for looking at master games)

If that's two Yesses, this will be of interest:

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211/PostId/4010371/cb-for-android-how-to-download-and-review-games-060713.aspx