Kramnik-Ivanchuk. But no Sofia rules, please. Just dock their pay for every non-Sofia draw.

I'm sentimental. Karpov-Korchnoi IV.

Kramnik-Anand, of course.

A best of 24 Kramnik-Anand rapid match.

Staying on the subject, does anyone know who the seconds are going to be? I hope Anand goes with a substantial team this time!

Leko-Svidler would make insomnia a thing of the past...

Seriously, though, I'd love to see simple 15-game Topalov-Kramnik rematch at 45 minutes per game per player (1.5 hours for the whole game). 3 rounds per day, rest days after days 2 and 4.

Total time: 1 week, including opening and closing ceremonies.

Total prize money: US$100,000 for winner - US$50,000 for loser. Not bad for one week of work (even though I realize it may be a bit tough for guys who have not worked a single day of their lives)...

Mig vs. Sam Sloan would be a good match.

Winner to play Paul Truong for two national championships and a masters degree.

Kramnik-Shirov

You'd like Topalov? Cheez, Mig, what are you thinking? He'll just blunder a couple winning positions and then cry, cry, cry. I want that guy to disappear already. Any match with the CHESS BITCH would satisfy me. CHESS BITCH v. Kasparov, maybe. Maybe she'll write another book!

You'd like Topalov? Cheez, Mig, what are you thinking? He'll just blunder a couple winning positions and then cry, cry, cry. I want that guy to disappear already. Any match with the CHESS BITCH would satisfy me. CHESS BITCH v. Kasparov, maybe. Maybe she'll write another VALUABLE book!

Korchnoi - Krammnik Unlimited match - first to 6 wins.

Kramnik suffering from authority, hero worship and oedipal issues loses spectacularly to the great man 0-6.

Korchnoi, his life's dream realised promptly calls on Karpov to try and dethrone him. Mercifully, Raymundo, rushing to the closing ceremony in his Mini Cooper to try and hoover up some money, runs over Korchnoi - saving Viktor Lvovich's triumph.

Topalov-Aronian would be spectacular I think. Also Topalov-Morozevich would be total mayhem :-) But of course Topalov has to play Kramnik first in order to get his title back and to bury the little bugger once and for all!

Kramnik - Danailov. 6 games. Loser to shoot himself.

Hang on. Not sure we can trust Danailov to stick to the rules. OK. Kranik - Danailov. 6 games. Arbiter to shoot the loser.

Ray Keene and .... oh hang on, the rules are it has to be a chessplayer ... damn

and my final contribution ... the verminous Azmaiparashvili and Lennox Lewis. Chess boxing rules of course.

I was at a tournament recently in the Caribbean and a trainer of Bruzon's (unnamed) said that Bruzon lacks the drive. I wondered why his rating had plummeted a bit. He and Dominguez were side-by-side and now there seems to be a gap.

I would have to say without any undue prejudice, myself against Kramnik or Anand or Karpov. Heck, even Korchnoi because I admire the old guy's geriatric ability.(Can that really be considered agism?) The only rule change would be that all losses would receive a large proportion of the match prize fund; in addition to a substantially large guareented appearence fee for the underdog. Then again, it's really not about the money of course.

Likely Seconds:

Leko working with Dominguez
Aronian with Sargissian & A. Petrosian
Kramnik with Bareev and Illescas
Grischuk with Jakovenko & Shekachov
Gelfand with Eljanov & Huzman
Morozevich with Beliavsky / Barsky
Svidler with Motylev?
Anand with nobody as yet

I would go for a Kramnik-Ivanchuk match, 24 games please; and only if instead of the Sofia rules we have a rule saying that Ivanchuk must show his best and cannot BREAKDOWN or MELTDOWN ala Anand 95 (or when ever it was).
Second on the list would be a Grischuk – Ivanchuk match with the same rules

correction: Leko is working with Dominguez and A. PETROSIAN (not Aronian)

else we have to start speculating about potential bar fights between Leko and Aronian & catfights between Caoili and Sophie :)

I gotta side with those saying Kramnik-Anand.

After that, who wouldn't love to see Kasparov come out of retirement and show Kramnik that he just got lucky?

And then in the category of fantasy, the biggest match that never happened, Fischer-Karpov.

We should have a vote on it... and then fund it.

I know that neither are no longer active, but come on we're dreaming here. If the Fischer of 70-72 against the Kasparov of the nineties couldn't have propelled chess and its popularity to an all time high, then forget about it. That would have been something.

Anand - Aronian

Anand - Aronian

Great matches not unlikely to happen in the near future:

Anand-Kramnik
Aronian-Kramnik
Topalov-Radjabov
Topalov-Ivanchuk
Kramnik-Radjabov
Kramnik-Ivanchuk
Anand-Topalov
Kramnik-Topalov II
Topalov-Aronian
Aronian-Ivanchuk

Anand-Kramnik is probably the most interesting from a "who's the best?" standpoint, but I think Anand-Topalov would be most interesting to actually watch.

Unrealistic but possible great matches:

Kasparov-Topalov
Kramnik-Kasparov II
Kasparov-Anand II
Aronian-Morozevich

Most fun: Kasparov-Topalov

Oh, add Anand-Ivanchuk to the first category.

> Mig vs. Sam Sloan would be a good match.

> Winner to play Paul Truong for two national championships and a masters degree.

Better make the prize 9 national championships, a Phd, and a top management job in a fortune 100 - all fake of course :)

On a serious note, battle of contrasts (and evenly matched) would be very appealing:

Kramnik-Shirov
Kramnik-Anand
Kramnik-Aronian
Anand-Topalov
Ivanchuk-Moro

And one exception to that: Topalov-Moro

- Kapalik

Slappy missed a great chance to say that Topalov should write his own autobiographical book "Chess Bitch". I woudln't mind seeing him play but Danailov wouldn't be allowed into the host country.

Anand-Ivanchuk I happened a long time ago: Vishy won decisively.

Is there any chance that Kasimjanov will work for Moro again? Based on the pictures from last weekend --Kasim & Anand & wives socializing--I'd guess not.

As good as a job as Beliavsky did with Moro in 2005 Kasim could give Moro an even better chance.

@jackrabbit

Interesting list; some points to note: Illescas and Leko worked formerly as seconds to Anand and Svidler & Gelfand were once seconds to Kramnik.

Anand went last time with Peter Nielsen.

Anand vs. Ivanchuk - brilliant, inspired chess with no accusations and whining afterwards.

Or a match for the Senior World Championship between Fischer and Karpov!? (Although we'd probably have to live with some whining in this case...)

Anand-Ivanchuk, Ivanchuk is playing fantastic this year and Anand is the world no. 1. That would be a great match.

Shirov-Kasparov could be the most exciting of Kasparov's matches ever. Alexey was in top form back then and I think (don't shoot me!), Kasparov somehow avoided him by all the politics he could use.

I'm OK with any match with Ivanchuk or Aronian on one side of the board and the winner can shoot Topalov and help the chess world get rid of him :)

Fischer - Aronian (Chess 960 of course)

Fischer-Karpov Of course!

Cheers

Fidel and his former buddy Che are just a couple more murderers, nothing romantic about them.

Kramnik v Kasparov II

Anand - Aronian, the current number 1 against the most talented player of the new generation.

Mig, Radjabov will never agree to play in a match or tournament where 15-move draws are not allowed.

Ivanchuck v Anand II - people seemed to have forgotten they have already played a friendly match.

My preference is for a 'grudge' match between Nigel Short and Gata Kamsky.

From a pure english perspective - Short v Adams

"Mig, Radjabov will never agree to play in a match or tournament where 15-move draws are not allowed."

Is this something you know? Has he said so?

R2D2 against Rybka would be interesting

Kramnik v Radjabov would be interesting. The whole match could decide the fate of the King's Indian once and for all if Radjabov were to usher it.

Morozevich-Topalov(no whinning allowed), Aronian-Anand, Kramnik-Topalov(no winning allowed AT ALL), Navara-Carlsen.

Anand-Aronian seem like the two best players over the last year to me.

No winning allowed? I'm not a fan of anti-draw measures, but taking it to the other extreme seems kind of worse.

surely Ivanchuk vs. Moro would be the most fun... no straight chess allowed

With Sofia rules, I don't care who plays and who wins. Otherwise, Kramnik-Anand.

The people from older generations such a Fisher and Karpov can't play their best chess today, so their matches would mean nothing.

To me the three best players since 1995 have been Kasparov, Anand and Kramnik. All three of them are fit today to play at the highest level. Therefore my choices would be of this order:

Kasparov-Anand (rematch Classical)
Kasparov-Anand (rapids)
Kramnik-Anand (classical)
Kramnik-Anand (rapids)

I think, everyone else hasn't reached the levels of these players yet. Topalov did it, but he is under serious accusation, so his titles and victories are suspicious.

I would like to watch Karmnik vs Morozevich for now and Carlsen vs Radjabov in a few years

Anand-Ivanchuk happened again in the 2001 WC knockout semis and Ivanchuk won the piddly 4-game match.

The poster who called for a no-meltdown rule would be out of Ivanluck. Many believe he never recovered from the "wrong knight" manoeuvre against Yusupov, but either way his nerves are forever shot for long match conditions. So if you enjoy watching snuff films or car wrecks, Ivanchuk's your man for a 12-gamer.

Radjabov-Carlsen would give the world a preview of their future WC match.

Grudge matches could start with Short-Kamsky, then Kasparov-Shirov, Tkachiev-Shahade, Gormally-Aronian, Fischer-Yudasin, Shabazz-Soter and Lewis-Klitschko II.

Anand-Kramnik
Anand-Topalov
Anand-Ivanchuk
Ivanchuk-Topalov
Topalov-Aronian
Ivanchuk-Morozevich
Morozevich-Shirov

16 Classical games. If match ends in tie, one extra classical game (armageddon) with higher rated player getting Black pieces and requiring to draw to be declared winner (for the purpose of holding the Trophy ONLY).

80% of the prize money to be allocated on the basis of POINTS earned in the first 16 games, for each point scored (be it one win or two draws) 5% of the prize money to be awarded.
However, for each Non-Sofia Draw, 2.5% of prizemoney from the each player to be deducted.
Rest 20% prize money should be distributed as per the wins scored in the match (includes armageddon game too).

Sofia rules to be applied to first 60 moves ONLY.

Kramnik - Ivanchuk.
Winner plays Anand who also deserves a shot.

If one limits the potential participants to those ranked in the Top 10, then I'd like to see a match between Shakhriyar Mamedyarev (2757--Ranked 6th) and Dmitry Jakovenko (2735 --10th).

Among the veterans, it would be interesting to see a match with Judit. Maybe Polgar vs. Morozevich

Kramnik - Anand match .. at least 16 games to decide the WC! That is what I want. It is amazing how close these two are in all statistics on Chessmetrics.com

On the undercard, give me

Short-Kamsky
(although we may soon need pawn odds for Short)

Anything involving Moro and Ivanchuk doesn't sound too good to me. Ivanchuk v. Rabbit in a match, Ivanchuk might freak out and lose. Moro just isn't on the level with these other cats and Moro getting shot down is no where near as nice as Moro winning. Morozevich-Sutovsky might be a wild and cool match. I remember Sutovsky winning a very pretty game against him a few years ago in what I believe was a Rossolimo Sicilian.

Fischer -v- the World

I know that everyone is talking about world-class matches, but I'd rather see a real clash of styles on a more tangible level (at least for me). So, I choose:

Emory Tate-Enkhbat

Over-crazy vs. over structural

Fischer-Karpov playing Chess960. Settle it once and for all. Hey you said they had to be alive, right?

We have to beat the macnines once and for all. I propose Fritz 11-Anand as the match that must be held. Anand has yet to play in a high stakes man-machine match, and considering that he is more computer aware than either Kasparov or Kramnik I think he would be the best human to defeat the machine.

We have to beat the macnines once and for all. I propose Fritz 11-Anand as the match that must be held. Anand has yet to play in a high stakes man-machine match, and considering that he is more computer aware than either Kasparov or Kramnik I think he would be the best human to defeat the machine.

I think Fischer vs the World has been running for a while now.

Most boring for the spectators: Leko-Svidler

Most boring for the players: Karpov-Kasparov XVII (or whatever number they're up to)

Most exciting for the spectators: Kasparov-Topalov (with Topalov playing like he did ten years ago)

Most one-sided: Fischer-Kasparov (with Fischer in his 1992 form - unless he's declined even further since then)

Most sportsmanlike: quadrangular match between Leko, Anand, Ivanchuk and Shirov

Most nostalgic: Karpov-Korchnoi III

Most controversial: Fischer-Topalov

Youth: Radjabov-Carlsen

Age: Korchoi-Portisch

Alcohol consumption: Khalifman-Timman

Forgotten world champions: Ponomariov-Kasimjanov

The match I would really want to see would be Kramnik-Anand, closely followed by Kramnik-Ivanchuk. Any match between any of the top players (Kramnik, Anand, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Leko, Radjabov, Aronian) would be great, though.

I also would like to see Rybka versus Deep Junior or Rybka versus Deep Fritz.

Meant to add:

Unfinished business: Kasparov-Kramnik

Anand - Kramnik, og course - a classical match.
World rating top player against the "classical champion".

James Raynard, Timman was a joneser, not a drunk.

hah! Had to look up the term : http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/jo/joneser.html Clubby, has he ever tried to steal your stash?

I was not aware of the definition on the URL. It was not what I meant when I used the term.

Clubfoot, so what did you mean by "joneser", then w.r.t Timman?

Jones Crusher
(lyrics by Frank Zappa)

My baby's got
Jones crushin' love
Jones crushin' love
Jones crushin' love
Well my baby's got
Jones crushin' love
Jones crushin' love
Jones crushin' love

She don't merely fit like a glove
That little girl's got the jones
That little girl's got the Jones
That little girl's got the jones

She's tryin' to
Grind up my Jones
Grind up my Jones
Grind up my Jones
Well, she's tryin'to
Grind up my Jones
Grind up my Jones
Grind up my Jones

She don't ever wanna leave it alone
She can push; she can shove
Till it's just a nub
Just a nub
Just a nub

Karpov-Korchnoi would be IV

Candidates Final 1975
WC 1978
WC 1981

IIRC, they played a short training match before that, but can't be sure on that.

Lots of grievance here, don't think you would get Korchnoi to agree, though.

Clubfoot, I'm fairly sure I read somewhere that Timman had a drink problem at one point (similar to many other Western GMs), though certainly not in the same category as some players.

Unfortunately, all the champion drinkers I could think of - players like Holmov who could reportedly sink a bottle of spirits before a game and still play at full strength - are taking part in the great chess tournament in the sky, so I put in Timman's name, something I now regret, and apologise for.

Gerardo - d'oh! I distinctly remember thinking "Moscow, Baguio City, Merano, so it would be their fourth match". I also remember typing "IV", so I have no idea what "III" is doing there.

They did indeed play a training match - it was before Korchnoi's Candidates Match against Geller in 1971. Korchnoi had Black in five games, and White in the other, and told Karpov which opening he was going to play before each game.

Korchnoi only mentioned this match in "Chess is my Life" as Karpov sent the game scores to "a British master" for publication just before their 1974 match. The training match finished level after Karpov took a 2-0 lead, but relaxed too early.

I'm with Koster on this. The solution to the Timman-as-joneser condundrum can be found in the ancient texts of the Central Scrutinizer.