Mig 
Greengard's ChessNinja.com

Linares 2007 r1

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I'm sticking with the name of the tournament, Linares, as with Corus, instead of the geographical sites. (God forbid we use a handy hybrid like, say, MoraLin or LinaLia. What a dire, dire insult that would be.) Round one begins at 15:30 local time in Morelia, Mexico. That's 4:30pm EST, 1:30pm PST, and 21:30GMT. I'll be doing live audio commentary on ICC Chess.FM©™® from the start of the round. My GM co-host today is Gregory "Kentucky Fried" Kaidanov. If you aren't an ICC member you can get a free trial account here. As they say, once you've had chess audio, there's no going back. There are also my infamous daily trivia contests, but this time with a difference: real prizes! The winner of the tough third question will win a year's subscription to New In Chess! Details here.

The first round starts out with a bang. The world #1 has white against the #2 in Topalov-Anand. Then we have Ivanchuk-Leko, Svidler-Aronian, Carlsen-Morozevich. ChessBase has opening photos and the full schedule in this report. This glacially slow Mexican website is claiming live game webcast. (Go to the "Linares-Morelia" menu and then "Partidas en vivo".) Be afraid, be very afraid. John Henderson is in Morelia for the ICC, so if worst comes to worst we'll have him relaying the moves by phone in a Scottish brogue. I'm sure there won't be any errors with that foolproof system. The Spanish soloajedrez site will have the games in the Linares half.

Swapping Ivanchuk in for Radjabov added someone with as many career Linares titles as everyone else in the field combined. Anand won in 1998, Leko in 2003 (tiebreak) and Aronian won last year. Ivanchuk has three clear first wins, albeit none in the past 10 years (89, 91, 95). Now on to the fool's game of predictions... +3 should win clear first in this field unless Ivanchuk and/or Morozevich totally melts down and skews the spread. I'll put Topalov and Aronian ahead of Anand, who just hasn't looked himself at classical chess lately. Leko is also bit of an enigma. He's been something of a choke artist in the last year; with two better final rounds he would have been the big winner of 2006. I don't expect plus scores from Ivanchuk, Morozevich, or Carlsen. It would be great to see more ambition from Svidler. If he doesn't show it he'll finish even when someone blasts his Grunfeld.

Please keep these threads on Linares. You know, chess. Here's the cheating thread. The Ninja boards have a prediction thread and daily round coverage. Here's a cat playing piano.

58 Comments

Ok, this is totally not meant to start a flame war, but is meant as a genuine comment.

The world's champion is #1.

Topalov can be #1 ranked player, #1 contender or #2. He is not #1.

As I look over the list of contenders, I can't find a single one I would be too surprised to have a terrible meltdown. Topalov is going through these idiotic accusations. Anand is not playing his best. Leko has not been seen in a year and he melted back then too. Aronian plays worst after hype (Olympiad loss to Kramnik and Dortmund followed Linares success). Chucky is well, Chucky. Svidler will try to finally win a big one but he hasn't played well when he had to go for the jugular. Carlsen is outclassed here. Moro is my favorite player, but he plays with chess more than he plays chess.

Mr. Kleyner,
Your commentary is not logical.
Topalov is #1 and the world champion is afraid to show up at the competition. This is his habit, as it is habit for Topalov to play in as many chess events as possible.

Nothing to flame about, it's just semantics. The world champion is the world champion. The world's #1 ranked player is the world #1. I and everyone I know has been using this nomenclature for years, especially during the schism. Now that everyone knows who THE world champion is it's not such a big deal. But it's still quite an achievement to be the #1. There have only been what, three of them since Fischer? Did someone sneak in over Karpov for a moment in the 70's?

Anand didn't show much against the top guys at Corus and this is all top guys excepting Carlsen. His opening prep has been stellar though. It's just hard to imagine Vishy with a negative score in any field.

Have there really been only 3 #1s since Fischer? I don't think someone got pat Karpov from the moment Fischer dropped out to 1983, but I thought Kramnik may have been tied for 1st with Kasparov on one of the lists around 1996. And wasn't Anand at least tied for first at least once since Kasparov retired? Or was it before Kasparov officially dropped out of the list?

Dear Anand, please try some new opening ideas...! How about playing 1) d4 yourself and checking how other's feel about the QID?

Yah, Kramnik was tied with Kasparov on one list. Not really what I had in mind though. Anand never tied; that was the cruel joke on Vishy. Garry was inactive but officially stayed #1 until Topalov passed Anand.

Anyway, this should be fun with Mig and Kaidanov doing the show. I remember Kaidanov was always correct with his evaluations even without a computer. Probably the only chess.fm commentator I heard that is up there on the level of Kaidanov is Illescas, but he didn't seem to go into explanations too much, while Kaidanov does. Should be a fun round, with a great lineup of games, and I hope the players are not too cautious in the first round.

January 1996: both Kramnik and Kasparov have 2775. I think FIDE uses to rank players with the same rating according to the number of games they played for that list; 42 games for Kramnik, 19 for Kasparov. In that case Kramnik would be the nr. 1 on the list. Otherways he's shared first.

WCN also has live audio coverage. GM Alex Finkel is on mic today, WGM Anna Zatonskih on Sunday. Next week are Larry Christiansen, Irina Krush and Arthur Kogan.

http://wcn.tentonhammer.com

marca,

If my commentary is illogical, please point out to me the error.

There is no reason to think Kramnik is afraid of Linares any more than there is that Leko was afraid of Corus or Anand/Topalov will probably be afraid of Dortmund. If Topalov's style is to play in every tournament, it is natural he will get more ELO points. But it does not make him a better player.

Mig,

I understand why you put it like that. But the funny thing is, people read words more than they do the meanings behind them. So world's #1 usually means world's best to them. Not #1 ranked according to some rating system (and more accurately according to some of the rating systems). So, I think you are doing Topalov undeserved lip service by calling him #1.

Morales?

Yuriy, your memory is not too good. Leko won Tal Memorial (he didn't have a bad position in the whole tournament) and also won the ACP rapid event in Odessa.

Also, Leko has won Linares before, so Ivanchuk is 'only' tied with the rest of the field in Linares victories.

Zakki,

You are right, but I never think much of rapids and Tal is not at the same level as Corus or Dortmund.

Leko in an interview in November 2006 (my translation):

"You can reach a lot of things before you turn 25, but maturity comes at around 28-30: both Kramnik and Topalov rose to the top at this age. I had obviously exhausted myself, I took on too much, but this is the past. Now, besides training more than ever and broadening my repertoire, I pay more attention to my tournament schedule as well. I'm 27, the next three or four years I will live in order to achieve my childhood dream, becoming World Champion."

http://nol.hu/cikk/423022/

So probably Leko's main concern at the moment is his candidate's match in May, but you can see he has started some serious preparation for he won the last two tournaments he participated in.

Well, the official site crashed. As predicted by everyone, including us computer illiterates. Who wants to be the first to use the lame "Linares-Moronlia" pun?

Mig:

The free membership on ICC does not include ChessFM. As a matter of fact, it doesn't include anything. Nor is Playchess any better: They are relying on the official site (big mistake) for their relay and are delayed.

Considering their membership base, couldn't ICC offer the relay for free? Couldn't Playchess (Chessbase) have sent some guy over to relay the moves, or at least have gotten a local guy to do it?

Pretty sloppy service from both servers.

Chess Bozo.

Could anybody provide some comments on the actual games ?

Yes, please. Any game updates are welcome. I'm stuck at work until 7pm Central (US). Thanks!

A wild game:

Carlsen-Morozevich
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 g3 Bg7 4 Bg2 0-0 5 Nc3 d6 6 Nf3 c5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d5 Na5 9 Nd2 e5 10 b3 Ng4 11 h3 Nh6 12 Nde4 f6 13 Nxd6 Qxd6 14 Ne4 Qd8 15 Nxc5

Kaidanov says he doesn't see what Carlsen is up to. White can plan to play d6, Qd5+ and Qxa8 but then he loses the d6 pawn and it's not good.

Another game:

Topalov-Anand
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 g3 Ba6 5 b3 Bb4+ 6 Bd2 Be7 7 Bg2 c6 8 Bc3 d5 9 Ne5 Nfd7 10 Nxd7 Nxd7 11 Nd2 0-0 12 0-0 Nf6 13 e4 de4 14 Nxe4 b5 15 Qe2 bxc4 16 Bfd1 Nd5 17 Be1 Nb6 18 Nc5 Qc8 19 Nxa6 Qxa6 20 a4 Rab8 21 Bf3 Bf6 22 Rac1

Svidler-Aronian was a Marshall, they are at move 30 in an endgame looking quite drawish. I won't write down the moves unless someone absolutely insists.

Updates:

Topalov-Anand
22... Nd5 23 Qc4
Black has equalized. Now he can trade queens and play Ne7, or play Qb6 putting pressure on both pawns.

Carlsen-Moro
15...f5 16 d6
Now black can shut down the white bishop with 16...e4, and at the same time open the diagonal for his own bishop on g7. White can continue 17 d7 and if 17...Bxa1 18 Bxh6 followed by Qd5+ looks better for white. On 16...e4 white can also try 17 Bxh6 Bxa1 18 Bxf8 and 19 Qxa1 looking good on the long diagonal.

Ivanchuk-Leko
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd5 Bc5 5 Be3 Qf6 6 c3 Nge7 7 g3 (Kaidanov: an unusual move) 7...d5 8 Bg2 dxe4 9 0-0 0-0 10 Nd2 Bb6

Thanks Linux fan! Next week I'll bring my portable chess set and play out the moves. No boss here to look over my shoulder on the weekend.
;)

Tal Memorial was a Category 20, but maybe you mean it is lesser tournament in terms of prestige attached to it

Update

Topalov-Anand
23...Qb7 24 Qxc6 Qxb3 25 Be4
Anand is fine here, he can play ...Ne7 and try to create threats against the d4 pawn.

Ivanchuk-Leko
11 Re1 Nxd4 (novelty) 12 Nxe4 Qg6 13 Bxd4 Nc6 14 Bxb6 axb6 15 Qd2 Qf5 16 h3
A typical position for this opening, white is just a bit better.

Svidler-Aronian
Svidler refused draw by repetition. However, I will use my telepathic powers to make them to draw quickly so that I won't have to type in their game.

Thanks , linuxfan.

Update

Carlsen-Moro
16...e4 17 d7 Nf7 18 Rb1 Qe7
Now on 19 dxc8=Q Raxc8, then ...Rfd8 with active play for the pawn.

Topa-Anand
25...Nb4 26 Qd7 a5 27 Rb1 Qa2
Attacking the pawn on a4, without which white has no chances to win. Black's pieces are better coordinated. (comments taken from http://chesspro.ru/chessonline/onlines/index_278.html)
They agreed to a draw just now.

The Svidler game is drawn as well, but that's no wonder in relation to my previous post.

I'll stop here, I have to go wash the dishes now, but you can probably follow the relay on chesspro.ru.

Linux --

Thanks for the info, but I think White's 16th move in Topalov-Anand is Rfd1, not Bfd1.

The replayable game of Topalov and Anand is on veselintopalov fansite

http://www.veselintopalov.net/article/topalov-anand-linares-morelia-2007

I cannot find pgn to download. Anybody has pgn of the rest of the games?

Any other results?

Two games are still in progress.

Ivanchuk-Leko went 16....h6 17.g4 Qb5 18. a4 Rxa4.
Now white can try 19.Rxa4 Qxa4 20.g5! and if 20... hxg5 (20... h5 21.Nf6! gxf6 (21...Kh8 22.Nxh5) 22.gxf6) 21.Qxg5 f6 22.Qd5! Kh7 23.Qh5 Kg8 24.Ng5! and black is in trouble.
But the game progressed 19.Nf6 gxf6 20.Rxa4 Qxa4 21.Qxh6

Carlsen-Moro
19.dxc8 Rxc8 20.Na4 Rd8 21.Qe1 Nc6 22.Nc3 Nd4 23.Bb2 b5 24.Nd5 Qd6 25.Bxd4 Bxd4 26.Rd1 Be5 27.Qa5 bxc4 28.Ne3 Qc7 29.Qxc7 Bxc7 30.Nxc4 Ne5 31.Rxd8 Rxd8 32.Rc1 Nxc4 33.Rxc4 Rd1 34.Bf1 Bd6 35.e3

Rating lists:
Karpov was clear first from taking over from Fischer until being surpassed by Kasparov in 1983.
Korchnoi twice came very close, Tal once, but they never caught him.

Ivanchuk-Leko
21... Qa5 22.Qxf6 Qc5 23.Be4 Ne7
Now Vasil could've played 24.Bh7+!? Kxh7 25.Re5, but he was down to less than a minute on the clock so he either didn't see or didn't want to risk it.
There followed 24.Rd1 Ng6 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Qxg6 Kh8 27.Qh6 and draw. If Ivanchuk had more time, he could've avoided the perpetual and had good winning chances.

Carlsen-Moro
35...a5 36.Kg2 Kf7 37.Rc2 Ke7 38.Be2 Rd5 39.Bc4 Rd1 40.g4 f4
Just before the time control black makes a dubious move, giving up another pawn. Still, after trading rooks he may be able to hold:
41.exf4 Bxf4 42.Re2 Rd4 43.Bd3 Kf6 44.Bxe4 Rd2 45.Rxd2 Bxd2

The terrible situation with Morelia's game transmission is totally inexcusable!! They invited the best actors in chess and dropped the curtain on them. I thought they'll fix it in time for the event. Very, very bad!!

D.


I do so agree with Yuri Kleyner. The "World Champion" is just a title like "Miss Universe".

To be the number one player, you have to do tiresome things like win lots of games and tournaments. Play a lot of games and tournaments too.

I do so agree with Yuri Kleyner. The "World Champion" is just a title like "Miss Universe".

To be the number one player, you have to do tiresome things like win lots of games and tournaments. Play a lot of games and tournaments too.

Carlsen wins! As Mig himself announced in the broadcats, I guess some apologies are in order. :-)

He could of course lose the remaining games, but at least he's proved that he's able to obtain wins at this level.

And now a word about someone who does not belong at Linares. LOL.


Zek moves: Ke4
Zek moves: Qe8+
Malthrope kibitzes: ~lol~ - sardanapal
blitzfrieden2 kibitzes: centralising the king, hoping for stalemate
mightymax kibitzes: resign
White wins
White wins
LectorH kibitzes: ice....
trytoplaygood kibitzes: Nice
JonSchoder kibitzes: white wins!!!!
hank-rearden whispers: gettign the h p
Nyana kibitzes: KONGE
Fortinbras kibitzes: nice win
ljg kibitzes: gg I guess
Nyana kibitzes: MAGNUS IS DA MAN
Nyana kibitzes: THE KING
Deep-Pawns kibitzes: some game he pulled up
Nyana kibitzes: HOYAAAAA
Luisana kibitzes: GO MAGNUS
JonSchoder kibitzes: carlsen is a besast
Malthrope kibitzes: Yeah for Magnus! ;-)
JonSchoder kibitzes: he's going all the way
Siglar(IM) kibitzes: g'night everyone..viva la carlsen!!
Peregryn kibitzes: well played difficult ending
vargen kibitzes: +cen idiots
hank-rearden whispers: moro resigned
zoomi kibitzes: wonderful mag!!
tacticrule kibitzes: told you guys
hank-rearden whispers: clock stopped
GoodPeople kibitzes: i feel bad for carlsen hes always 2690 never 2700
JonSchoder kibitzes: he'll knock of anand, svidler, aronion, topa... all of them
tacticrule kibitzes: now what did i say
MarktheGreat kibitzes: yeaaaaaa!
Hermetica kibitzes: 1-0 oficial
Luisana kibitzes: magnus takes the lead!
LectorH kibitzes: it was the chant!! GO! GO! GO!
tacticrule kibitzes: huh thats right
Luisana kibitzes: magnus is 1st play
hank-rearden whispers: moros clock
WidowTwanky kibitzes: yes Peregryn, couldn't say it better
hank-rearden whispers: ??
Luisana kibitzes: 1st place
tacticrule kibitzes: Booyacashaa! Peace
foffo kibitzes: its never over before its over lol
zoomi kibitzes: I guesse this result 20 moves ago!
Zek(*) kibitzes: Round 2 tomorrow at 4:30 PM ICC time
HelgeStrand kibitzes: nice one
Nyana kibitzes: hehe tactic
PhilThePower whispers: its 1-0 official for 10 minutes already, lol
hank-rearden whispers: is it? peace
Braveheart-xx kibitzes: Thanks to Zek- a stalwart of the ICC :-)
sardanapal kibitzes: magnus first game in linares is a win!
Bethabara kibitzes: so someone stole Rabjabov chess laptop will all his research
JonnyBeGood kibitzes: Woo Hoo!
foffo kibitzes: thanks zek
Zek(*) kibitzes: Round 1-7 start times 1130 Honolulu 1330 Los Angeles/Tijuana 1430 Denver 1530 Morelia/Mexico City/Chicago 1630 ICC/New York City 1830 Buenos Aires 1930 Sao Paulo 2130 GMT/London/Lisbon/Reykjavik 2230 Berlin/Paris/Rome 2330 Athens/Tel Aviv/Johannesburg
Deep-Pawns kibitzes: winning from a lost position next book by Carlsen
DeeVeeOss kibitzes: I remember Magnus playing Kasparov to a draw in an extreemly sharp middlegame. After that day, I knew Carlsen had what it takes.
Pawned kibitzes: Magnus stole Radja's computer
Yankee kibitzes: I´m coming early tomorrow to get a good seat
Inferis kibitzes: 100% all time record in Linares! :)
Zek(*) kibitzes: (next day) 0030 Moscow 0100 Tehran 0130 Yerevan 0300 India 0530 Singapore 0630 Perth 0830 Sydney 1030 New Zealand : more http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?month=02&day=17&year=2007&hour=15&min=30&sec=0&p1=155
sardanapal kibitzes: yes that day kaspi was lucky to escape
Fillebikkje kibitzes: think ive could have played this endgame bette then Moro did :-D
Kalasnikov kibitzes: Hey Zek - what about Berlin time ?
Braveheart-xx kibitzes: Thanks to Zek- a stalwart of the ICC :-)
DeeVeeOss kibitzes: Magnus will be a very intense and WC juggernaut.
DeeVeeOss kibitzes: No doubt.
Shmawa kibitzes: Morozevich self-destructed- rather badly in that endgame- it would have been better if Carlsen was tested more to find a win.
Bethabara kibitzes: must heve been Danilov who stole rajdabov's stuff
Malthrope kibitzes: In other news the young Norwegian wunderkind GM Magnus Carlsen leads the field at the famous Morelia/Linares chess tournament
foffo kibitzes: no a good endgame but the kid won
Shen21 has stopped examining game 4.
foffo kibitzes: and he needed that
Lazerpawn kibitzes: lol
sardanapal kibitzes: right foffo might be important for his confidence
SpecialK kibitzes: If benefactor shows up does that mean this game is over??
Lazerpawn kibitzes: pychic warfare
Nyana kibitzes: its a hard day nothing buy a hard ache hits you when its to late hits you when its down its a fools game nothing buta fools game standing in the cold raing feeling like a clown
foffo kibitzes: yes sardanapal
Shmawa kibitzes: No- he is already confident of beating Morozevich!
zoomi kibitzes: well done magnus, the only decisive result!
Braveheart-xx kibitzes: Hasta la Pasta chess-nuts- sleepy time 3 am
Dualist kibitzes: did he resing?
rizioo kibitzes: i tink s a good endgame for Magnus he had a very few chances t the beginn
narceleb kibitzes: Allowing connected passers was a bad mistake -- Black King was too far back.
Peregryn kibitzes: yes, this game is over 1-0
Mehdi79 kibitzes: chessbase is already reporting 1-0
ratutevita kibitzes: Is the game officially over??
foffo kibitzes: chessbase prolly reports from the next round:)
WidowTwanky kibitzes: yep
ljg kibitzes: yes
Freja-Odin kibitzes: Ha, to all the 4 draws predictors
Malthrope kibitzes: Remember Magnus did beat Moro 2-0 at Biel 2006, but Moro won the touranment anyway... ;-)
rizioo kibitzes: Magnus very well prepared against kid with a knight sac is he th buglar?
foffo kibitzes: all jokers stopped fast
rolfo kibitzes: :-)
Malthrope kibitzes: 1-0 official
Shawshank kibitzes: did Magnus win?
ljg kibitzes: yes
Shawshank kibitzes: good for him!
ljg kibitzes: yes
foffo kibitzes: but it's sad to see how weak many gm's is in endgame compared the old guys
sardanapal kibitzes: tomorrow 2 games to follow: aronian carlsen and ivan topy
foffo kibitzes: hurra for norge!!
foffo kibitzes: bye bye
LittleMaster kibitzes: so is the game over
Inferis kibitzes: foffo, i don't believe for one second that you would have seen which mistakes were made without your Rybka
SpecialK kibitzes: Hey skol!!!!
LittleMaster kibitzes: is the game over?!
e4ia whispers: this kid can play!
e4ia whispers: very instructional game
Rey-Momo whispers: it was a draw, but Moro forced it
Inferis kibitzes: now the final sprint to reach 2700 has begun. He'll never look back again from now on!
Malthrope kibitzes: Hehehe... +2700 here I come! ;-)
Inferis kibitzes: Malthrope...I don't want to know when you come! :-P
e4ia kibitzes: great performance rating as well
Malthrope kibitzes: ^You have a dirty mind! ~lol~ ;-)
Fillebikkje kibitzes: Magnus has always had a good hold on Moro..he will face much stronger opposition rest of the tourney
Malthrope kibitzes: Every game is a test...
e4ia kibitzes: this ob 4 has become PG-55
gameplayer40 kibitzes: now at this time is magus carlsen the youngest player ever to at less lead the tournament linars
e4ia kibitzes: who did he replace?
gameplayer40 kibitzes: that i dont even know.
Fillebikkje kibitzes: Kortchnoi i guess
e4ia kibitzes: Mal knows everything here Mal Mal!
gameplayer40 kibitzes: how old was kortchnoi when he did
Fillebikkje kibitzes: round 63
Malthrope kibitzes: This tourney by invitation only... Magnus was invited (Chuky replaced Radja)...
e4ia kibitzes: Mal b4 marnus, who was youngest to lead?
e4ia kibitzes: Magnus
Malthrope kibitzes: Hehehe.... - e4ia
e4ia kibitzes: no it wasnt me
Fillebikkje kibitzes: anyone seen the video where Kortchnoi loses to Sofia Polgar?
Malthrope kibitzes: Could very well be hard to beat it... I'd have check the records....
jguru kibitzes: carlsen win
e4ia kibitzes: is that on Utube or where?
Fillebikkje kibitzes: yes
Malthrope kibitzes: Yes, on Y-tube and other sorces... I like the one where Viktor loses to the cow! ~ROFL~ ;-)
e4ia kibitzes: lol I heard it was a steak-out after same...revenge is sweet and medium rare
Fillebikkje kibitzes: funny as well but against Sofia its no acting its real
e4ia kibitzes: you have exact url please?
Malthrope kibitzes: Yes, well Viktor is Viktor! ;-)
Fillebikkje kibitzes: only one Viktor
e4ia kibitzes: he's one of all time chess treasures
Malthrope kibitzes: He sure is! Yaz always said that Viktor had magic hands! ;-)
e4ia kibitzes: hold a + 60 Senior WCC, and he'd be the guy
Fillebikkje kibitzes: im reading Kaspys book on him these days ...very interesting what he writes
e4ia kibitzes: a lot of waitresses said that too about Victor mal!
Fillebikkje kibitzes: said what?
e4ia kibitzes: that Viktor had magic hands!
Malthrope kibitzes: Hehehe.... He did it all with a smile! ;-) (Yaz never mentioned 'waving' magic hands)... ~lol~
Fillebikkje kibitzes: lol
Malthrope kibitzes: (Or. should I say 'wandering'?) ;-)
e4ia kibitzes: lol squared
e4ia kibitzes: you didn't see fold out of Victor's magic hands in KASPY'S BOOK?!
KevinAce kibitzes: they are still playing?
e4ia kibitzes: no pgn 4
Malthrope kibitzes: Over 1-0 official - Magnus leads Linares!
e4ia kibitzes: we're still playing N! variations
Malthrope kibitzes: The kibitzers time to have fun! ;-)
Malthrope kibitzes: S. Polgar vs Korchnoi video // http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9k5oBgaZGI
e4ia kibitzes: isnt Linares +5-6 server? what a late game for them!
e4ia kibitzes: thx Mal!
Zek(*) kibitzes: Round 2 tomorrow at 4:30 PM "finger Linares07" for standings

Nadja Woisin has some great picture up on the Spanish ChessBase website: http://www.chessbase.com/espanola/index.asp

She also took some nice videos. Here is the one from the start of the first round: http://www.fritzserver.biz/Morelia2007Ronda1


Wonderful news to wake up to! Carlsen owns Morozevich 3.5/4. I still hope Moro wins the whole thing, after losing once more to Carlsen - like Biel 2006 :)

The official site has been hacked:
"YOU HAVE BEEN HACKD BY EL AVE!!! [...] EL AVE WAS HERE!!!EL AVE WAS HERE!!! [...]"

Somehow I'm not surprised...

The official site has been hacked:
"YOU HAVE BEEN HACKD BY EL AVE!!! [...] EL AVE WAS HERE!!!EL AVE WAS HERE!!! [...]"

Somehow I'm not surprised...

The website has poor security, the city has poor security, the police are inept, violent crime is rampant, and Carlsen won a game.

None of this would happen in a proper country like the Netherlands.

Moro needs a quick trip to the Sonora market to get a Carlsen remedy.

A great start for Magnus.

that sure is some cat

Mig is patetic like always.His new name have to be MIGBASE.He have not his own opinion,he is just small satelit of Chess base.

World number 1 rated player according to FIDE rating charts is the world number 1 rated player according to FIDE rating charts. Nothing more and nothing less.

The world chess champion is the world chess champion nothign more and nothing less.


The "title" "world's number one" was handed out around the time of the disputes about why Kasparov was being seeded directly agaisnt the winner of Tripoli. Anand and others protested this. The generic title "worlds number 1" was invented around that time. Its just as lame now as it was then.

If we are going to draw distinctions between players being "worlds number one" or "worlds number two" or "worlds number 5" based on a handful of rating points on FIDES list, (wich I think is silly) why not go whole hog? FIDE does have a tiebreak system so Kramnik was the world number 1 Kasparov was the world number two. If you want to place the FIDE rating system on this pedestal lets not pick and choose the rules we like.

Morelia and Mexico is to Linares and Spain what Kirsan is to Max Euwe and Mig to Mencken.
It resembles, but it doesn't compute.

Sadly, it's true. The free trial to the ICC does not allow you to listen to chess.fm. I tried during the recent WC match and was thwarted. Chess.fm used to be great, but since I have plenty of other places to play online, it's not worth joining ICC just for that.

Oh well.

ICC ownership changed a few years ago and a guy who used to run the place (he had the title of Executive Director or CEO or something like that, but was NOT an owner) has been posting on USCF Forums lately saying it's all been downhill from there.

The guy's name is Hal Bogner, who now owns something called the Chess Magnet School. He has been posting that ICC's new owner of the past few years is basically a sleaze and everything he has ever touched has turned to excrement. Bogner even posted links to a couple of articles in mainstream business publications that chronicled in agonizing detail the rise and fall of some of the current ICC guy's past business enterprises.

Anyway the recent membership price hikes and elimination of formerly free services like Chess.fm that could have brought great marketing benefits for ICC, is said to be all part and parcel of the owner's self-destructive bent.

Dear Chess Bozo
So the free membership on ICC doesn't include audio commentary. Too bad 'cause it great. My advice? BUY a membership. I've been carrying you guys since the late '90s.

My free trial let me listen to chess.fm yesterday. Maybe you might try logging in once to ICC with that free trial and then try listening to chess.fm.

Same here - I was able to get a free trial yesterday and was able to listen to chess.fm after logging on to ICC once through the Blitz2 client.

First time I heard Mig's voice. Sounds pretty good. There's a level of innocence in his laughter that you wouldn't be able to guess from his incisive writings.

I also heard Russianbear getting the trivia prize yesterday with the Ponomariov answer. Congrats bear :-)

Now I have to find a non-chess loving buddy of mine to get a 1-week membership for next week's coverage :-))

ICC gives 2 free weeks of membership. But it gives them 1 week at a time. When the first week runs out the computer will ask you if you want to join. You can get a 2nd week at that time.

However, if the tournament is in recess, then wait for the 2nd half to begin before taking the 2nd week of free membership.

Anyone in school gets in for half price. Some people sign up their son for half price and watch the tournaments themselves. You are not suppose to play games under your son's account. But I would think you can listen to chessfm on the account.

Leko is one of the favorits in this tourney. The way he manged the sac by Ivanchuk was professionell. Chuky is a favorite himself I must say ;)

Peter, good work on chessvibes

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    This page contains a single entry by Mig published on February 17, 2007 11:20 AM.

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