OT: Chess: Part Two

[ORRFForever]

When you're the KING !!!

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I don't like it, either, but it's needed, my friend. Otherwise you get into a Kasparov / Karpov situation where they play forever and no one wins.

Merry Christmas to all the chess players out there. God bless you all !

@ORRFForever Merry Christmas. No, this has nothing to do with tiebreakers. Rapid/blitz tourneys should not be used for Candidates qualification. The Candidates are played at classical speed (except for tiebreakers).

 

[ORRFForever]

@ORRFForever Merry Christmas. No, this has nothing to do with tiebreakers. Rapid/blitz tourneys should not be used for Candidates qualification. The Candidates are played at classical speed (except for tiebreakers).

That's fair and I agree - TBH, I don't know the format of the tournament.

 

[ORRFForever]

I am more of a Sicilian kinda guy but it's amazing how strong the Berlin Defense is...

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I am more of a Sicilian kinda guy but it's amazing how strong the Berlin Defense is...

Garry Kasparov vs Vladimir Kramnik
Kasparov - Kramnik Classical World Championship Match (2000), London ENG, rd 13, Oct-29
Spanish Game: Berlin Defense. l'Hermet Variation Berlin Wall Defense (C67) · 1/2-1/2

Garry Kasparov vs Anatoly Karpov
Karpov - Kasparov World Championship Match (1984/85), Moscow URS, rd 2, Sep-12
Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation. Polugayevsky Gambit (E17) · 1/2-1/2

@ORRFForever @Harbour Dog Agreed. I like attacking chess and have played the Sicilian since 1969, but if I wanted a draw, I would play the Berlin. I like the first game posted above where Garry gave up in 14 moves. Vladimir Kramnik beat Garry Kasparov 5 to 4, with 40 draws.

I've never understood why Garry didn't play 1. d4 or 1. c4 more in the WC where Kramnik beat him. I had a book about Garry and in the first half of his career he played 1. d4 often as shown in the second game. Garry Kasparov beat Anatoly Karpov 28 to 20, with 119 draws.

Interestingly, Viswanathan Anand tied Vladimir Kramnik 11 to 11, with 74 draws.

 

[ORRFForever]

I've never understood why Garry didn't play 1. d4 or 1. c4 more in the WC

I do. I HATE d4. For me, the board feels UN-balanced. c4 is a little better but not much.

I am simply an e4 kinda guy.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I do. I HATE d4. For me, the board feels UN-balanced. c4 is a little better but not much. I am simply an e4 kinda guy.

@ORRFForever Me too. I also don't play 1. d4 d5 as Black. I play alternatives.

 

[ORRFForever]

@ORRFForever Me too. I also don't play 1. d4 d5 as Black. I play alternatives.

Again, the board feels un-even when I play anything but e4. Maybe that's because I am right handed?

 

[Say Hey Kid]

World Rapid: Carlsen among 5-player leading group

Five players ended day 1 of the World Rapid Championship sharing first place with 4½/5 points. Magnus Carlsen, who assessed his play on the first day as “so-so”, heads the leading pack, which also includes Yu Yangyi, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Ivan Cheparinov. In the women’s section, Zhu...

en.chessbase.com

World Rapid Championship Day 1: Carlsen On Track For Title Defense

Magnus Carlsen's title defense is alive and well after he scored 4.5/5 on the first day of play at the 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship. Carlsen is joined by Arjun, Yu, Vidit, & Cheparinov.

www.chess.com

 

[Say Hey Kid]

World Rapid: Carlsen, Fedoseev and Yu co-leaders

Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Fedoseev and Yu Yangyi are sharing the lead in the open section of the World Rapid Championship after nine rounds. Carlsen and Fedoseev could have gone into the third and final day of action a half point ahead of Yu had them converted superior endgame positions in round...

en.chessbase.com

Fide World Rapid Day 2: Missed Chance Leaves Carlsen, Yu, Fedoseev Locked In Title Race

GMs Magnus Carlsen, Yu Yangyi, and Vladimir Fedoseev share the lead on 7/9 at the 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championships after Fedoseev missed a golden opportunity to defeat Yu and take the lead.

www.chess.com

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Magnus Carlsen wins fifth World Rapid Championship title!

Yet another stunning performance, yet another title! Magnus Carlsen scored 10/13 points throughout three days of play to grab his fifth World Rapid Championship title in Samarkand. The Norwegian obtained two wins in a row at the start of day 3 and managed to win the tournament outright with...

en.chessbase.com

Carlsen Wins 5th Rapid World Championship; Bodnaruk Wins 1st

GM Magnus Carlsen secured the world rapid chess crown for a record fifth time along with a $60,000 first prize at the 2023 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship after scoring 3/4 on the final day.

www.chess.com

 

[Say Hey Kid]

World Blitz: The dance of the knights

There was no shortage of controversy on day 1 of the World Blitz Championships in Samarkand. A dispute regarding an alleged clock malfunction delayed the start of round 7 by close to an hour, while a 13-move draw — featuring only knight moves — between Daniil Dubov and Ian Nepomniachtchi...

en.chessbase.com

World Blitz Chess Championship Day 1: Dubov, Nepo Punished As Carlsen Shares Lead; Gunina Dazzles With 8.5/9

Magnus Carlsen is one of six players leading the World Blitz Championship on 9/12 after Ian Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov were docked half a point. Valentina Gunina leads the Women's event on 8.5/9.

www.chess.com

@ORRFForever What do you think of the 13 knights moves game discussed above?

 

[ORRFForever]

World Blitz: The dance of the knights

There was no shortage of controversy on day 1 of the World Blitz Championships in Samarkand. A dispute regarding an alleged clock malfunction delayed the start of round 7 by close to an hour, while a 13-move draw — featuring only knight moves — between Daniil Dubov and Ian Nepomniachtchi...

en.chessbase.com

World Blitz Chess Championship Day 1: Dubov, Nepo Punished As Carlsen Shares Lead; Gunina Dazzles With 8.5/9

Magnus Carlsen is one of six players leading the World Blitz Championship on 9/12 after Ian Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov were docked half a point. Valentina Gunina leads the Women's event on 8.5/9.

www.chess.com

@ORRFForever What do you think of the 13 knights moves game discussed above?

What the two players did was STUPID. Why would they do that? Why draw attention to the fact they you agreed to a draw? Just play the first 12 moves of the Ruy Lopez and shake hands.

All it does is give Chess a black eye and we don't need more of that.

 

[ORRFForever]

Mamedyarov looks like he's 55...​

Amazing game.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

... 1. Fabiano Caruana
2. Levon Aronian
3. Vesselin Topalov
4. Mamedyarov
5. Wesley So
6. MVL
7. Hikaru Nakamura

Number of games in database: 3,343
Years covered: 1999 to 2023
Last FIDE rating: 2764 (2761 rapid, 2716 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2820
Overall record: +494 -191 =795 (60.2%)*

@ORRFForever, based on peak I listed Shak as one of the top four non-WCs in recent years.

 

[ORRFForever]

Number of games in database: 3,343
Years covered: 1999 to 2023
Last FIDE rating: 2764 (2761 rapid, 2716 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2820
Overall record: +494 -191 =795 (60.2%)*

@ORRFForever, based on peak I listed Shak as one of the top four non-WCs (before Ding became WC) in recent years.

That's fair. I love the sound of his name.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Firouzja Overtakes Wesley So To Grab Candidates Rating Spot

Alireza Firouzja has likely wrapped up qualification for the 2024 FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto after winning the Rouen Open with a perfect 7/7.

www.chess.com

6		Firouzja, Alireza		2764.4	+1.4		2724.4		2863.0			20
7	↑1	So, Wesley		2757.4	+5.4		2742.2		2767.0			30
8	↑3	Dominguez Perez, Leinier		2751.5

@Harbour Dog @ORRFForever I'm not a fan of the way he did it.

 

[ORRFForever]

Firouzja Overtakes Wesley So To Grab Candidates Rating Spot

Alireza Firouzja has likely wrapped up qualification for the 2024 FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto after winning the Rouen Open with a perfect 7/7.

www.chess.com

6		Firouzja, Alireza		2764.4	+1.4		2724.4		2863.0			20
7	↑1	So, Wesley		2757.4	+5.4		2742.2		2767.0			30
8	↑3	Dominguez Perez, Leinier		2751.5

@Harbour Dog @ORRFForever I'm not a fan of the way he did it.

Players have been manipulating ratings forever - look what Fischer had to go through with the Russians.

TBH, I don't know what to think. He has Chutzpah.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

6-Win Streak Helps Carlsen To Take 7th Title; Gunina Pips Kosteniuk To The Post

GM Magnus Carlsen won the 2023 FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship for the seventh time with a score of 16 points from 21 games. GM Valentina Gunina won the women's tournament with a 14/17 score.

www.chess.com

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Gukesh, Firouzja and Humpy make it to the Candidates

We are three months away from the start of the Candidates Tournaments in Toronto. With no more rated classical games in the December-2023 period, we got the names of the two players who got the rating spot in the open and women’s sections — Alireza Firouzja and Humpy Koneru (pictured)...

en.chessbase.com

 

[Say Hey Kid]

FIDE rating January 2024

On 1st January FIDE published its new ranking list. Firouzja, who tried hard in the last days of December to gain a few more rating points, has achieved his goal: he has overtaken Wesley So and qualified for the Candidates by rating. Magnus Carlsen is still the clear number one, ahead of Fabiano...

en.chessbase.com

 

[Harbour Dog]

"/they've made some huge strides toward making it a true sport over the last few years. This switch back to using a single rating list was likely supposed to be another step in that direction, but it had the opposite effect."

^^ Help me understand. ^^

Included my original quote, since it's from so long ago haha. It's just my opinion from what I'm seeing, but I think with the chess boom, they've been trying to make some progression toward running it more similarly to a sport.

Some of that is because of how chess.com and other sites approach their tournaments; there's a certain onus on FIDE to create an environment where chess politics don't dictate as much as it used to. Removing the sponsor's exemption for a Candidates spot and adding FIDE circuit points were a couple big steps toward giving it that feeling, and I think they'll keep going in that direction.

Understandably there were some bumps in this attempt, but the idea of circuit points is a great one, that they'll likely improve on. I get why they thought using a single rating list may be better, because it creates a "regular season champion" of sorts, but after what Firouzja did in December, I can't imagine they'll want to stick with that. It turned into a more political finish that it ever did when they were averaging the year's lists.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

"The players who qualified for the Candidates:

Player	Qualification	Elo	World ranking
Ian Nepomniachtchi	Runner up of the World Championship match 2023	2769	5
Magnus Carlsen*	Winner of the World Cup 2023	2830	1
R. Praggnanandhaa	Second place at the World Cup 2023	2743	13
Fabiano Caruana	Third place at the World Cup 2023	2804	2
Santosh Gujrathi Vidit	Winner of the Grand Swiss 2023	2742	15
Hikaru Nakamura	Runner up of the Grand Swiss 2023	2788	3
D. Gukesh	Winner of the FIDE Circuit 2023	2725	25
Alireza Firouzja	Rating	2759	6

*Magnus Carlsen is expected to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament. He has already made statements to this effect in interviews. In this case, Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, Elo 2641, world rank 102) will move up to fourth place in the 2023 World Championship. If any other qualifiers withdraw, players from the world rankings will move up". The participants of the Candidates

 

[LieutenantLackluster]

I went from "hes gonna lose his queen" to "how did he just win?!"

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Coming soon: The Tata Steel Tournament 2024 in Wijk aan Zee

Magnus Carlsen is missing from this year's Tata Steel Chess, but World Champion Ding Liren has returned from his sabbatical. Otherwise, the Masters and Challengers are once again very colourful, with superstars, women and young talented players. The tournament starts in a week's time. | Photo...

en.chessbase.com