After five rounds the Dortmund crosstable is almost comically balanced. Only one point separates all ten players! +2 looks certain to mean a share of first. The big four of Topalov, Leko, Kramnik, and Adams has a combined even score. (Adams is currently lower rated than Svidler and Bacrot, but in my book he's top ten emeritus until he comes back.)
Kramnik is on an even score after Sutovsky refuted the entire Berlin Defense on move four. He has the lowest-rated opposition in the final four rounds, however. Dortmund livened things up this year by including more outsiders and changing to a round-robin. Usually this has the effect of creating more exciting chess and more decisive results at the cost of a two-tiered crosstable. The chess has been exciting, but parity reigns this year.
The first three places won't be decided until the final round. It ain't gonna be Leko-Naiditsch-van Wely at the end. DDirt posters Sutovsky and Nielsen started strong but have faded a bit. Root for the home team!
Has anyone been watching the ChessBase videos? What do you think?
Those Chessbase videos are a great idea! I really enjoyed the analysis & comments of Van Wely, Bacrot & Sutovsky after their respective games (looks like I missed Bischoff´s comments)
Now the question is if Leko, Kramnik, Topalov, Svidler or Adams will appear in Chessbase TV (I suppose Peter Svidler will appear as he is a good friend of Chessbase folks but Im not so sure about Leko or Kramnik...)
Cheers
Speaking as a very common chess fan, I have hated most things about this tournament... apart from everything that has already been said, this seems to be a tournament for the out of form, the out of reach, the out of sight, the out of touch... I predict Leko will be the winner with a +1 score...
As upset as I am at the organizers for not allowing the games live on the internet, I do think the ChessBase TV has been fantastic. These top GMs really are good analysts. I thought they would talk completely over my head, but they haven't - they're only up to my eyebrows.
Seriously, it has been very entertaining and Oliver Reeh has done a very good job bringing out the best in his guests.
Well, the average rating in Dortmund is lower than one of Sofia, Linares and Wijk aan Zee. But there is nothing to hate in my view. :-) Some of games were really great. The fight is very close as of now, but in Sofia it was the same, until Topalov started to win one game after another. Also in Dortmund, we will see a different picture in the end.
Mig: "Kramnik is on an even score after Sutovsky refuted the entire Berlin Defense on move four"
What?? Are you joking??
I really enjoy the ChessBase videos. Even when not watching them live, it is very easy to follow the video and going manually through the pgn (with the variations) myself.
I also like the fact that they don't use engines while commenting the games. That's the way they do the German TV ChessBase shows on fridays as well where they even try to convince the kibitzers not to use engines. This way a tactical shot might be missed, but you get a better impression of their thought process (ideas, plans).
I still don't like that we can't follow the games live, but at least we get some personal impressions of (some of) the players with these videos.
Last year's tournament I remember as some sort of "non-event" while this year I'm much more interested. The reason is probably the crosstable which looked almost upside down for a while. Btw, I predicted Leko as a winner before the tournament and think that he has still good chances.
I also liked the videos...personally I would like to see the electronic chessboard when they speak about the game and its variations, instead of their face. After the first minutes of introduction, it doesn't give you much more information, after that, the audio plus the e-board would be great.
If you watch it live via the playchess.com GUI, e.g. with the client software which provides full access for 30 days (http://www.fritzserver.org/PlayChessSetup.exe) or with some newer ChessBase programs (ChessBase9, Fritz 8 etc.), you see "their" board and what they are doing.
These comments are interesting because they come from a perpective very different from ours:
http://www.lepalamede.com/article.aspx?ID=150
This is an awesome tournament. Fighting chess all around, and very few swift draws. Partly this is due to the presence of outsiders, but there's also the fact that Sutovsky, Van Wely, Topalov, et al are fighting players.
I honestly have no idea what people are griping about. Will they only be happy if there is a Kasparov-like dominant player?
I've only seen on griping comment, and I suppose the thought of a +1 winner is a little odd, even if 90% of the games were decisive. Personally I'd much rather have the interesting games. Everyone having a loss or two does say that no one is particularly in form, but I don't see why that should be a big deal as long as nobody is so off they are losing all their games. I.e. if van Wely wins with +2 I don't think many people are going to hail him as a contender for the #1 spot because +2 in a tight field doesn't look as impressive as +4 in a spread-out field.
Good to see Mickey bouncing back, as ever. Such a loss as he had against Hydra could really be rough on a more fragile character.
I thought this tournament to be a better quality, especially early on, than Sofia. In that one the wins seemed to be mostly due to errors, in this one, due to combinations. It is kind of sad that no GM seems to be able to put in an impressive back to back results in these caliber tournaments.
Yuriy
Well, looks like we´ll have live coverage for the last 3 rounds + Chessbase TV during all the rounds, things have become better for chess fans around the world :-)
Blogmeister beware.
:-)
Even if Topolov wins his next two games , he is going to loose some ELO making Anand the solo No.1 active player.And there seems to be reasonable chance kramnik might fall below Swidler.
Dangit VesTop!! 2788, it was nice knowin' ya. Anand sitting on a lawn chair in Spain chuckling to himself and sipping on a Margarita. Topa - you better be saving your best novelties for San Luis....
Is there some way to play over these interviews on the playchess server?
Why on earth did Svidler play a 21-move draw as White (against Naiditsch) when a win would have guaranteed at least share of first (clear first, as it works out)?
That HAS to have been a mistake...
-M
You can view it in Chess Media, Radio ChessBase, English section for 2 ducats. But you can view some for free on ChessBase's news section like this one:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2516
Though you won't have the synchronously animated game on the board as you would when viewing it live or paying to replay it.
omigosh, in a field with Topalov, Leko, Kramnik, Svidler and Adams, if somebody else won it, until recently you would have assumed that a certain Mr. Kasparov had also been playing.. Poor Kramnik seems to be really struggling. Any takers on sponsorship for a unification match between winner of San Luis and Kram? you cant play like he's doing and dictate terms, whatever title he holds...
Can anyone point me to a URL that explains how I can view the live Dortmund end-of-round feed?
CBase is a great program, but they are NO F*cking help in telling one how to use their stuff!
yeah, i gave up on the playchess server because I could never connect. Somtimes after clicking the login button for several times I might get connected, but it was always iffy :-)
Russ,
I need some information if you want me to help you. Did you went in Chess Media, Radio ChessBase, English section? Do you have Windows media player version 9 or later installed on your computer? ...
The broadcasts were firstly streamed live in the Broadcast section and has there was video involved you needed a fast connection in order for it to work.
In all the cases you go in the games tab and you double-click on the game to open it. For example the game "From radio ChessBase" in the broadcast section or "Dortmund_2005_9" in the Radio ChessBase section. As I previously wrote in this section you have to pay 2 ducats to replay the broadcast, you could also preview part of it for free.
Hope it will help. But again I need some information. Also you could ask someone on the server to help you. If I am not busy I answer such queries from other players online. :-)
Mig, planning on any opinion/analytical pieces on the Dortmund tourney? Thought there were some great games, and also some inescapable points to be taken away from it.. The main one being that Kramnik seems to have self destructed in some way.. Such an amazing talent, but he seems to be squandering it. I refuse to believe that the real Kramnik would have played that endgame so badly against Bacrot.
d:
You are so right. Kramnik seems to be in a self-destructive bent since he refused to comply witht the Prague agreements. Also, after his first win over Leko in the match, Kramnik look incredibly tired... More examples could be brought up... He probably leaves in a constant state of panic, not mention the self-esteem crisis... Best thing for him is to abdicate... The last thing we need is yet another openly crazy chess champ!
I meant: "looked" instead of "look", "lives" not "leaves", of course. I also missed "to mention", instead of just "mention"... sorry, too early in the morning...
What I think is unbelievable is Kramnik's draw against Naiditsch. A clear exchange up and he could not win! I mean this was too much. Its not the talent, but there is something pschylogically wrong, almost pathologically destructive that is hurting his game.
Has Kramnik tried to leave the cigarettes alone? Hard to play at top level with nicotine, tar and arsenic in your blood.
"Hard to play at top level with nicotine, tar and arsenic in your blood."
Good thing no one told Tal.
"Good thing no one told Tal."
This is even more stupid than a usual Clubfoot contribution (which is a tall order indeed.) Who knows how much more Tal would have achieved and how much longer he would have lasted had he taken minimal care of his health.
"Who knows how much more Tal would have achieved..."
Too bad dz wasn't around to warn Tal. Can you BELIEVE the nerve? How DARE the 8th world champion take refuge in the pleasures of alcohol and nicotine upon learning that his kidneys would not last a lifetime?! Only a blithering IDIOT would grab hold of his preempted life and live it to the hilt!! He deserved to die for enjoying himself instead of brooding over a stiff apple juice and licorice stick like all decent terminals. Come to think of it, the doctors should have denied him a morphine drip as well.
[Careful now dz, mote and beam. Mig should delete both our posts asap]
Friends, I humbly object to the use of the word "achievement" in connection to Tal. He was a magician, a sorcerer, a sublime artist. If you allow the comparison, after finishing the sculpture of David, La Pieta, or the Sixtine Chapel, what else is there to "achive"? I am not even sure he wanted the World Championship (all that protocole, you know) and sometimes he was not even interested in winning(check Portisch-Tal, Amsterdam, 1964). For him, it was art for art's sake in chess. But if you insist in looking at achievement, a rapid glance at the rest of his career after losing the championship or at Jeff Sonas' evaluation of his life-time performance compared to that of other world champions will convince you there was something much more.
alphonse right on. A genius far ahead of his time. With half a kidney, a perennial infection in his blood and probably a good bit of alcohol as well, he swung people about by their heels and tossed 'em out the window at will.. metaphorically speaking of course.
Well, my point was that Tal may not have created his Sistine Chapel - although, we will never know for sure, of course. His natural talent was second to none but most of his career he was very sick and often had to play in much physical pain. Unfortunately, as Mr. Clubfoot graciously pointed out above, Tal chose to "live it to the hilt" which certainly did not help his fragile health or his chess. Whatever he did "achieve" (sorry about the offending word again) was despite his regimen - that was the point Clubfoot seemingly missed in the above "discussion".
dz of course, I wonder why you even bother to answer his posts. Your point was about Tal's lifestyle not contributing to his general health or his Chess results. The reply was a rant on the behavioural habits of terminally ill people. CF is a troll. A complete waste of time to bother with replying.
Yes, d, I absolutely agree. I promised myself many times not to debate trolls, but in this particular situation I could not restrain myself. Tal was my favorite player as long as I remember myself, I was following his games as well as his comments, articles, jokes, etc. It was a real tragedy that he did not realize himself fully. CF's statement was outrageous.
d and dz
I appreciate the cute wedding invitation and I think it's wonderful that the two of you are finally tying the knot, united till death in your passion for fear and ignorance; but unfortunately I will not be able to attend as there will be no alcohol served at the event.
Ascetically yours
d and dz:
Dont expect everyone to be your friend. Clubfoot's posts provide better insight on many issues. I feel good to read his posts than the hogwash of blogmaster and his friends.
"Clubfoot's posts provide better insight on many issues."
I think we have seen a big dose of his "insight" right here on this page. Quite enough for me, thank you. In any case, this forum is supposed to be chess-related and CF and his output are anything but. I am done with this silly discussion.
ryan, I am heartbroken you arent my friend. Oh me oh my, what am I going to do?
oh and I guess you wont invite me to your wedding with CF either, where alcohol is going to be served?