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The Baron
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« Reply #630 on: December 02, 2012, 12:16:13 PM »

In another sports comparison Carlsen reminds me of a darts player who can just finish better than everyone else at an endgame, and whilst able to do that appears no weaker than the likes of Anand or Kramnik at openings.
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Tal
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« Reply #631 on: December 02, 2012, 12:24:39 PM »

In another sports comparison Carlsen reminds me of a darts player who can just finish better than everyone else at an endgame, and whilst able to do that appears no weaker than the likes of Anand or Kramnik at openings.

Kramnik ended Kasparov's reign as world champion by playing very solidly - to the point of being labelled boring - and winning in the endgame if Kasparov made a slight mis-step.

Carlsen has moved the game on from there but I do have to qualify it by explaining that all of these players know the theory and are brilliant players in their own right.

Nakamura is not an opening theorist in the way say Anand is. Carlsen has much more opening knowledge than he used to, by virtue of the time he spent with Kasparov. Jones has written a book on a particular opening called the Grand Prix Attack and will be interesting to see if someone wants to take him on in it (you do see that - if someone fancies they have found a flaw in the analysis, they ask the question over the board). Anand did that against Shirov once in a variation that is actually called the Shirov Variation. Shirov had no answer on that occasion.

It is a style thing.
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« Reply #632 on: December 02, 2012, 05:13:58 PM »

http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/4th-london-chess-classic-20121/carlsen-nakamura-and-kramnik-start-with-wins-at-the-london-chess-classic

looks like they got a nice open tourney going as well , the main website for the London Chess Classic is having problems , has chessbase or anyone else got a good link
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Tal
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« Reply #633 on: December 02, 2012, 05:46:38 PM »

http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/4th-london-chess-classic-20121/carlsen-nakamura-and-kramnik-start-with-wins-at-the-london-chess-classic

looks like they got a nice open tourney going as well , the main website for the London Chess Classic is having problems , has chessbase or anyone else got a good link

It is back up working now. Am in the commentary room as I type.

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Tal
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« Reply #634 on: December 02, 2012, 11:28:21 PM »

Round two was a bit of an epic, with all four games going over five hours apiece.

Round 2: Sunday, Dec. 2nd, 2012, 14:00h
Polgar ½-½ Jones
Nakamura 0-1 Kramnik
Carlsen 1-0 Aronian
Anand ½-½ McShane 
Michael Adams (bye) – assisting commentary

Polgar got ahead early but Jones had compensation for his material deficit because his pieces were more active (it's OK having a Challenger 2 Tank in your army barracks but someone has to have the key...). In the end, he had enough to hold but it was a very finely balanced game throughout and the commentators had a horrible time trying to predict the result.

McShane came close again to registering a win but Anand held firm. I suspect he missed a win somewhere but it wasn't to be. He will take scalps this week. He always does.

Kramnik won a very difficult endgame against Nakamura, showing Carlsen he's not the only one who can do it. If you look through the game, you'd think it was easy to win with an extra pawn in an endgame like that, but the problem was Nakamura kept the queens on the board, and that meant the natural plan of moving the king forward was hindered by being checked, checked and checked again. He nevertheless sealed the deal.

First to finish at about 7pm was Carlsen against Aronian. At one point, the commentators suggested Carlsen was in trouble but Aronian couldn't find a way through and perhaps made a mistake which let Magnus in for an important win.

Carlsen and Kramnik now share the lead and they play tomorrow in what is obviously game of the day.

Carlsen has been a bogey player for Kramnik as Vlad has lost games he should have drawn and drawn games he should have won against Magnus in recent years. Kramnik is defending champion in London. Magnus won it the previous two years. Draw probably suits both. They won't play like that though.
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Tal
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« Reply #635 on: December 02, 2012, 11:30:58 PM »

Games, analysis, commentary and pictures are here:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=8681



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« Reply #636 on: December 03, 2012, 11:50:11 PM »

Today's game of the day, Adams v Polgar, described and explained by International Master, Andrew Martin.



Adams has a wonderful ability to have his pieces perfectly placed. I mentioned this the other day. See it in action.
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« Reply #637 on: December 04, 2012, 12:19:38 AM »

Round 3: Monday, Dec. 3rd, 2012, 14:00h
Levon Aronian   ½-½   Vishy Anand            
Vladimir Kramnik   ½-½   Magnus Carlsen            
Gawain Jones   ½-½   Hikaru Nakamura            
Michael Adams   1-0   Judit Polgar            
Luke McShane (bye) – assisting commentary            

There were four long games yesterday and you would expect that to mean the players played quieter openings today, with quieter games, perhaps a bit of energy early on but prepared to settle for a half point if needs be. That was partly true, but the games still took some time to complete, as the field begins to settle.

The headline act today was Kramnik v Carlsen, as the reigning champ took on the man who won it the previous two years. The game was odd in that Kramnik got ahead early but Carlsen defended doggedly for about five hours and his nerve held at the end in a display of why these two are the form players so far this week.

Nakamura played a second long game in a row, only this time fighting for a win rather than a draw. It wasn’t to be, though, as Jones made his second successive save and is finding his feet in this tournament.

Aronian and Anand have drawn a fair bit in the past and, with neither in stellar form at present, this looked on paper like a handshake waiting to happen. However, it was the World Champion, Anand, who looked the more likely to take the full point and he maintained an edge in the position for the majority of the game. Aronian’s style is predominantly about keeping life in a position and he focuses very little on who has more material. This sounds a bit odd, because of course he doesn’t want to lose his queen or get too far behind, but losing a pawn where he has more active pieces is a position he is much more comfortable with than most. So it transpired and Anand couldn’t keep the advantage for long enough to register his first win of the week.

 Click to see full-size image.


That’s the table so far. A reminder that each day sees one player have a day off to help with the commentary, so some of those in the table are a game behind. NFL fans will be used to this sort of thing.

Tomorrow is a later start (4pm) because there is a Chess in Schools and Communities event on in the day for young’uns to come and learn more about the game.

When it does get going, Nakamura will take on the in-form Adams and we will see whether he is getting back to the form that saw him World Number 4 for some time a few years ago or whether it was just that he beat a nervous first timer and a tired player of equal strength.  Tal prediction: Draw

Anand seemed to find a bit of rhythm today and I wonder whether he might think there’s a chance to get some momentum with a win against Kramnik. It will be the top billing tomorrow, as you have the World Champion playing his predecessor. Tal prediction: Draw

Carlsen meanwhile has probably the best draw in being White against bottom seed Gawain Jones. Jones is over 200 points behind him in the ratings and this is the kind of game Carlsen will see as one he can win and send a message to the competition, as he has already played Kramnik and Aronian. Jones is no pushover, though, and his creative and imaginative style makes him dangerous as an opponent. He is also resilient, as he has demonstrated in successive games, making him hard to beat. I suspect his luck might run out tomorrow, though. Tal prediction: Carlsen to win.

Final game is McShane v Aronian and two of the more instinctive, “feel” players face off. McShane beat Aronian in this year’s Tal Memorial and has had a day off from play, wherein you would expect he has been able to do some extra prep on his opponent. Aronian won’t be sure what to expect from McShane and has had three tough games so far in this tournament, including a long fight today. This could be his best chance of a big scalp this week, as he faces Kramnik and Nakamura with Black later on. Call me patriotic. Tal prediction: McShane to win. 



Is Vishy Anand turning the corner? Find out tomorrow...
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kinboshi
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« Reply #638 on: December 04, 2012, 04:02:31 AM »

Great updates thumbs up
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« Reply #639 on: December 04, 2012, 09:06:48 AM »

Hello Mr Tal. I have a question.

I recall a conversation I had several years ago on this very forum with an erstwhile and much lamented poster named Thomas, AKA 'The Tank'.

He said:

"When people are bemoaning their bad luck at cards, you will often hear someone say something like, "you want a game with no luck where the best player wins all the time, go play chess."

"It's a pet hate of mine. Why have more than two games to decide the world champion if this were true?
"


Personally the only time I ever saw luck come into play in a chess game was during the miners strike of 1974. Ted Heath pulled the plug on TV at about 7:30pm every night in an effort to save energy, so to combat the boredom, 5 of us clubbed up and bought a chess set. We played 10p a game, winner stop on.

Losing was dreadful, not only were you 10p out of pocket, you had rail 3 chess games before you got another turn.

This particular night, my uncle Dennis had me done up like a kipper, the result was a mere formality. I reached out to knock over my king in the traditional gesture of surrender, but as I did so, I inadvertently flicked a piece of sausage from the fork of my brother Tracy, who was sitting next to me having his dinner on his knee.

The bit of sausage landed in my uncle Dennis's lap, and Cindy, a small black and tan terrier jumped up to retrieve it. Much to Tracy's dismay, the bit of sausage was a goner within a second, and in the process, one of my uncle Dennis's knackers suffered considerable collateral damage. He reacted by kicking the chess board up into the air.

I immediately demanded a rematch.

He whined and argued for all he was worth, we had the "It's not fair, you know I would have won" and "I can put the pieces back exactly as they were" speeches and everything, but I was having none of it.

We played a rematch, and with my uncle Dennis on "I wuz robbed"  damaged knacker tilt, I won the rematch easily.

So, in this instance at least, there was an element of luck in chess, but that aside, what's your opinion on the whole 'luck in chess' concept?




   




  
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« Reply #640 on: December 04, 2012, 09:16:29 AM »

lol!
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Tal
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« Reply #641 on: December 04, 2012, 09:42:07 AM »

That's a heck of a story and thanks for sharing.

There is luck in chess but not often as dramatically displayed as your example. When I get a spare half hour, I'll happily write at length to answer your question.
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« Reply #642 on: December 04, 2012, 09:44:07 AM »

That's a heck of a story and thanks for sharing.

There is luck in chess but not often as dramatically displayed as your example. When I get a spare half hour, I'll happily write at length to answer your question.



 
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« Reply #643 on: December 04, 2012, 12:06:02 PM »

Bent Larsen "I hate making natural moves" lol, classy rook sac in this




Tal v Fischer

"And now the normal night becomes a MONSTER knight" love it




Watching Tal games, and on a lesser level someone like Larsen is like watching Rodney marsh, Geroge Best and the like in old TV football compilations. You have to admire the flair
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« Reply #644 on: December 04, 2012, 01:07:58 PM »

Oh absolutely. It is incredible how much the game has moved on since even Tal's day. The modern players don't allow themselves to get into dull, lost positions and will create complications risking losing earlier rather than sit for hours and defend a lost cause.

You could say that the likes of Wilfred Zaha would have more than George Best of the 70s because they have strength and conditioning coaches, regimented training plans, dietary structure, incredibly detailed coaching strategies and so on.

The debate about who was better can rage on and on. Like you,I just enjoy watching the games of Tal and others.
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