I heard this go by on CNN International's business show the other day and several people have sent in news items. Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel company that sponsors the annual Wijk aan Zee tournament, looks likely to be bought by the Indian steel company Tata. Such a merger would mean a giant company, but they're always looking to cut costs... Corus kept the great Wijk aan Zee supertournament when British Steel merged with the Dutch company Hoogovens to form Corus in 1999. Let's hope that tradition continues. The reports say a Brazilian company might be preparing a rival bid.
The next Wijk tournament, in January as always, again looks set to include most of the top ten. Topalov and Anand have already confirmed. Aronian and Carlsen will also be there.
Funny. But how come Topalov doesn't get to start M-Tel with a +1 score then? :-)
Too bad for this German freak organiser Schmitt. Topalov is in!
Now, THAT is a sponsor and a tournament we should be worried about, not Mexico, which can be a one time thing for all we know. Organizers of Wijk, Dortmund and especially Linares (with its San Luis/Mexico-like format) give us supertournaments every year. And we didn't even have to repay them with a pound of flesh or a death of classical title.
Giannis,
I don't think Schmitt suggested banning Topalov, he was just suggested threatening to bann him so that he would stop his unsportsmanlike behavior.
Besides, I believe (and correct me if I am wrong) the Wijk 2007 invitations were already in the mail before the matches in Elista was under way. So were invitations to Linares 2007. So Topalov being in Wijk or Linares in 2007 doesn't tell us anything, becacuse even if the organizers decided not to invite him, I don't think they would withdraw the invitations they have already sent out. Whether or not Topalov has pissed off enough people to REALLY not be invited to supertournaments - it is hard to say, but we will have to wait for the tournaments that haven't sent out the invitations yet. Obviously, Topalov will be invited to Sofia, but it will be interesting to what Dortmund organizers( which seem to be on very good terms with Kramnik) will do.
Well there was the heat of the battle. Emotions were running very high.
Now we are in the calm down stage. I am sure in the long run nothing much will change. With Topalov at the top of the fide list, even kramnik says he deserves to play in Mexico.
But all this aside, it would be very nice if Topalov could change his behavior to show better sportsmanship. He should hire Spassky as his spokesman.
Well, if Mexico is thought of the Candidates Tournament or even WC tournament, it doesn't make sense to exclude Topalov. A jerk or not, he deserves a shot at the title. But as far as a regular supertournaments go, it is another story. They do not have to invite Topalov if they do not want to.
The tournament can not be considered a valid WC event on a permanent basis. How can we consider somebody a Champion if he won the tournament by beating outsiders, but losing to the second placed?
Only the match system is legitimate, IMHO, because the to become the Champion, a Challenger must beat all his opponents face to face, who managed to beat their ones, and so on. Therefore, if you lose to somebody, you are out. To be legitimate, you must show your supremacy over anybody the fortune brought in front of you.
A match system is fine as long as the defending champion is not directly seeded into the final (Now don't give me the 120 year history and tradition BS).
Say 8 players qualify - 1 of them defending champion 7 qualify either by KOs or Swiss or whatever). The 8 players can play matches or a Double RoundRobin - both are equally valid ways of choosing a champion. Any format among the final 8 is acceptable which is agreeable amongst players, organizers, sponsors and FIDE.
My only no-nos are draw odds, defending champion directly seeded into the two man final and rematch and the new 2700 rule.
Well, Topalov starts at +2 with Danailov on his side in Essent tomorrow ;-)
Can anyone let me know how Topolov and Kramnik now stand in ratings. My impression is that they are separated by perhaps 10 elo, with Anand perhaps clinging on to 2nd place.
"Can anyone let me know how Topolov and Kramnik now stand in ratings. My impression is that they are separated by perhaps 10 elo, with Anand perhaps clinging on to 2nd place."
Although the difference between them has narrowed, it has not narrowed as much as that.
Besides, Topalov is going right back into action (Kramnik is not), so his rating will quickly change again.
I was actually fairly pleased to read about this, in the Guardian.
I believe that the Indian newspapers--at least one of them--were the only relatively far-flung ones to report on the Corus tournament last year. So, I feel as through a continuation of Corus after 2010 (when the current deal expires) seems pretty likely.
Eh,
Kramnik stole maximum 10 points from Topalov this match. Not more.
yep, more. 16,3, I believe.
15.9 points is reported.
topalov falls below 2800 to 2797 and kramnik rises to 2766.
difference is 31 points now.
Anand is at 2779 October 1 list.
http://fide.com/ratings/top.phtml?list=men
I believe Topalov's rating will fall to below Anand's in Essent for the following reason.
Remember that Topalov and Danailov are one person. It must be inconvenient for Topalov to play with Danailov inside him. It is even more inconvenient for Topalov to play from inside Danailov.
Anand's sponsor (NIIT) is a competitor of Tata's TCS and if they takeover Corus, he is more likely to start at -1 :)
Kapalik
Is Kamsky playing? A Kamsky-Anand matchup again would be interesting. It is unlikely that Tata would pull the plug on an event that has seen Anand winning so many times. Tata is known (within India atleast) for a high standard of corporate social responsibilty.
The real BS is to ignore history and traditions. Adjust to changes, but remember the past.
One thing that makes chess World Champions different from, say, NFL (American Football) champions is the exclusivity of the list. It is REALLY hard to become World Champion. Part of this is that the current champion is seeded to the final.
Then there's the spectacle of the final match. The match always has the drama of current champion vs challenger. The question is "Will the challenger wrest the title away from the current holder?" "Will there be a new champion?" (Without seeding the champion into the final, the answer will generally be yes unless the top player is worlds better than the competition. And the spectacle of two challengers is just not the same.)
A lot of things in sport are about tradition, so I think it is wrong to trivialize that aspect of the debate.
Besides, Topalov is going right back into action (Kramnik is not), so his rating will quickly change again.
-- Posted by: Marc Shepherd at October 19, 2006 17:49
Topalov is -the- hardest working man in chess. That's why I am such a fan of his chess.
In London on vacation!
Given some time for reflection on the match, let me make a point that has rarely been made.
Putting the major diversions aside for a minute, the chess part of the match was REALLY EXCITING. It was a GREAT match and the games were FANTASTIC from a chess point of view. I looked forward eagerly to the games and was not disappointed in any way. We saw everything: brilliant attacks and astounding defense. Not to mention shocking [double] blunders. Highest-level positional play? Check. Difficult-to-hold endings? Check. Fast-paced action? Check.
Let's face it gang, we can complain until we're blue in the face, but it doesn't get much better than this.
One other point: last chance to get a good laugh at Danailov's expense before I yank this website over the next few days:
www.danailov-before-and-after.com
Topalov is the hardest working man in chess, because Danailov is pocketing 50% of his prize money. He needs twice as many tournaments as the other players.
Do you know if Danailov is the coach of other GMs? I think he was the coach of Pono... Is he still?
You can email him at www.ponomariov.com and find out.
Which well known GM described Topalov as a "chess vampire"?
I don't know, Andy, but if I had to guess, I would say Korchnoi.
Ivanchuk! What's my prize?
Greg's right - and your prize is a recognition of your chess punditry Greg. Anyone know why he said it?
Just a guess: because he feeds off his opponnent's energy over the board?
Hey, Topalov's games in Essent start the day after tomorrow, but he and Danailov went to Essent several days ago! Wonder what Danailov is up to...inspecting toilets?
Because he wins often because of his opponents blunders? That's the part of his game the hardest working GM might want to work on, hard.
TATA sponsor GM Parimarjan Negi
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=333
so maybe they will increase their interest in chess and WAZ
ACP succeeded in organizing their first significant event, albeit a rapid, with Kramnik, Anand and others of the elite in Odessa http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3440
Anand will have 3 rapid titles to defend: Mainz, Monaco, and Odessa, or will Odessa be won by Kramnik?
Well, just because Kramnik, Anand and the others will be invited doesn't mean they will all agree to participate. If anything, I'll be suprised to see Kramnik and Anand there.
To people who are interested in current ratings
For the ELO of the world top 30 players
(with 0.1 accuracy calculated for October 16th 2006)
look at
http://www.64.ru/?/ru/news/item=1025
You should be able to read in Russian...
but if you are chess fan - this is a must anyway
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