The election for FIDE president is long over, but Magnus Carlsen, the world's 3rd-ranked player and the top young chess star in the world, has voted with his feet and dropped out of the FIDE Grand Prix. From his father Henrik's blog:
We have just informed FIDE by e-mail that Magnus withdraws from the Grand Prix series due to the dramatic change to these regulations approved by the General Assembly. Magnus is simply not motivated to continue the GP series with the dramatically changed conditions approved in Dresden, and the uncertainty related to any future changes that may be decided by FIDE. . . .
Having withdrawn from the Grand Prix series Magnus does not have to spend more time and energy on the uncertainty involved, and may fortunately now concentrate on playing several well organised and interesting top level events elsewhere. In the first half of 2009 he has agreed to play some Grand Slam events as well as some great rapid events, starting with a rapid tournament in Gjøvik, Norway January 2nd - 5th and the Corus A from January 16th onwards.
Congratulations, FIDE. Carlsen tied for first in his only GP event, in Baku. What a shame, but you can hardly blame him. And this isn't a veteran of feuds with longstanding issues. Carlsen and his father are of irreproachable integrity and this should be taken as a serious smackdown to FIDE's business as usual: "We can do whatever -- cancel events, add new ones, change conditions, all behind closed doors -- and the players will still show up when we tell them to."
If more of the elite players followed Carlsen's example Ilyumzhinov would get the bum's rush he so deserves. Or would he? He might just hang on like a chessic Mugabe, buying and bullying his way through elections forever as things crumble around him. It's times like these when all the attacks on Kasparov and Short for breaking away from FIDE in 1993 come into perspective. Is a schism worse than the corruption and ineptitude we have now? Unified idiocy is still idiocy. Speaking of, as far as I can tell, world champion Anand has been silent on all this so far. What will he do if/when they start jerking him around, too? He's already going to be playing more defenses in a shorter time than any champion in history thanks to FIDE's blatant favoritism.
Ilyumzhinov keeps rolling out big plans and we watch them fall to pieces and/or end up in Elista. If FIDE wants players to act like professionals with 'zero forfeits' and contracts, it has to meet the same standards itself, at the very least. But they couldn't care less as long as it doesn't hurt their bottom line. As Kasparov predicted several years ago, it looks like only the new generation has the guts to stand up to this garbage. Carlsen doesn't see why he needs FIDE and he's right. He's letting them know he's not going to put up with them messing with his career, and thank god.
Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen! He is not only a great player, he is also smart and corageous.
Hopefully, World Champion Anand and other top players will have the balls to stand for what is right.
Time will tell.
¨¨Lastly we would like to mention that our criticism of the latest change of regulations is not directed at the change itself.....But changing the rules dramatically in the middle of a cycle is simply unacceptable, ¨¨
This is great , this is good news .For all of us , for him.
He found the best move in the position.
Vive la Résistance? talk about adding oil to fire!
now, if the tournament leader also withdraws on grounds of uncertainty..
After the recent public spectacles - worthless guarantee, public sponsor bashing, breach of players' trust and possibly contracts - I doubt that FIDE will find a lot of people trusting them with their money.
Ilyumzhinov has become a legacy. He is hurting the bottom line. Maybe the Grand Prix failed because the organizers outside Putin's sphere of influence weren't willing to cooperate on FIDE's terms = pay the bribes.
Would there be any money in FIDE chess at all without Ilyuminzhov? I mean, we're heading into a global recession, and it' hard to believe that the citizens of the globe would pony up for a group of GM's to sit around shuffling wood. There's no reliable corporate (or other) sponsorship, and there's not likely to be.
I think maybe Carlsen's gotten a little too big for his britches.
Right. Like Corus Wijk, Linares, Dordmund, Sofia, Mainz, Amber, Bilbao, ocasional popup events in China, Armenia, elsewhere-all sponsored by Kirsan's money.
Kirsan sponsors his idiotic knockouts and that's it.
Chess is a part of culture-in Europe, and in post-Soviet countries. It is like an arts exhibition-no one asks "why do you spend money on it". There will always be sponsorship, IF FIDE DOES NOT SCREW IT UP.
On that matter, congrats on Magnus. Hope Aronian, Wang Yue etc. join him.
Unfortunately FIDE has it rigged so that it doesn't matter how mad the chess world gets with Kirsan, he can always retain power. By giving the tiny federations with almost no players equal voting rights to the big federations, the small federations can keep Kirsan in power indefinately regardless of how the real chess world feels.
If refusing to let FIDE jerk him around is too big for his britches, then I hope we hear the sounds of britches ripping apart all across the chess world as other players also refuse to play by FIDE's mercurial rules. How can you make plans if FIDE keeps changing conditions, rules, and expects you to sign blank contracts that will be filled in at a later date. What idiot in any sport or business deal would sign a contract that had blanks in it?
Congrats to you, GM Carlsen! And Happy 18th Birthday!
It is not easy to be fair and objective in this case. Because most people seem to be supporting Magnus' decision, I will take the critic part.
1. Magnus can only drop out of the Grand Prix cycle without major financial penalties, because he is 3rd in the world, and could (and probably will) play every "well organised and interesting top level event(s)" in the upcoming year(s).
A GM who's got neither Magnus rating, nor his standing and publicity, simply can't do this.
2. If other very strong players (Aronian, Leko, etc.) follow Magnus, the Grand Prix might really get busted. But in this case the not so strong GMs who would like to play it (and need the money) are the real losers. From this point of view Magnus decision is very egoistic and could cause real problems for his (weaker) GM colleagues.
On the other hand, why should any GM follow Magnus? The more strong players drop out of the Grand Prix the better! Because the chances for the remaining GMs increase of course.
3.The past has shown that no professional chess player really is willing (and this means of course not only to talk a lot, but to act(!) and to bear the consequences)to fight FIDE - except players at the very Top of the rating list. Why is that? Because they can still play their Supertournaments and earn enough money!
And that's exactly the reason, why all other players have never and will never join them. Because they dare not to risk their livelihood.
ACP is the best proof for that. They had some good ideas, some (but not that many(!) GMs joined ACP, but what did they do?
Except some more or less meaningless online rapid tournaments (which by the way caused some serious cheating problems, as far as I know) and some open letters (words, talk, but no acting!) I can't remember anything.
And the reason might just be again the same. As long as FIDE is as powerful as it is, it is some kind of Kamikaze as an average 2600-2750 GM to take up the fight with FIDE.
Only the real Top players can dare to do it, because they are much more independent from FIDE, because of their popularity.
4.The only real way to "fight FIDE" is to change it from within. Bessel Kok tried it, he got a lot of supporters, but in the end Iljumshinov won, most probably because of corruption, but that's no reason not to try it again.
If FIDE keeps doing the crazy things they do, and if FIDE runs out of money the group that wants a Change grows.
So Magnus' decision should maybe not be seen only in positive light, it has some dark sides as well...
Do you notice that all this talk comes up every 2 years following an Olympiad?
I don't hear any suggestions to what FIDE should do once 2 GPs organisers cancelled.
Duncan
How many more withdrawals would it take to have an appreciable effect?
Isn't Karpov a billionaire...? He should take over and organize a full cycle, like in the good old days!
Magnus is young and will have many years and chances to go against Fide. Sometimes resisting Fide means getting out of the World Championship cycle. Iy will have to be seen if anyone can continue to fight especially when growing older and seeing the chances of even participating in the World Championship cycle fading. Even mighty Kasparov could not continue outside Fide.
End of the day, it is a quesion of who can bring momey into the game.
SJ
mig, as always, thank you for a great blog. the best. two things:
first, congratulations on the Carlsens for their stance. bravo.
second, i dont know chess as well as some, but i do know financial markets, including commodities. as the price of oil languishes here, far from US $150 per barrel towards or even below $50, rest assured, the center of power might not leave central asia or the mideast, but we will see less money in all ares, including the seemed limitless source funds of FIDE, and its president.
this could change everything, exogenus to chess but very telling a sign.
as oil was in ascent, so Kirsan but now the decline, believe you me, affects everything.
take care, dk
I find it just normal that Carlsen withdraws from GP. It's the most obvious choice if they change rules in that way. The point in GP was to provide a predictable qualification way for WC. Every top player not entering (Morozevich and so on)were well aware at that moment that they were closing themselves one big door to being World Champion. Now the rules about who will qualify are changed in the middle of the tournament. What is surprising is that Carlsen is the only one to quit. Imagine in the middle of the football WC qualifiers FIFA decides that someone will be seeded like that. The scandal would be enormous, every player and every federation would complain. True, Carlsen can afford it, he is sure of playing Linares, Wijk an Zee and other top tournaments. Still, it would be a really good moment for top players to make their move and put FIDE at their place. I'm convinced they would be even getting big support from Kasparov, Short, Nunn, Karpov and even Timman. The whole old guard would be relieved that finally the chess world could organize and produce something coherent.
It is a sad day.
I sympathize with Carlsen's decision and find it very understandable. But it remains to be seen what he/we get out of his action and probably depends on how many fellow top-GM's follow him. I predict that too few will join Carlsen in his boycot.
I fear that Carlsen has burned some bridges with FIDE here and that we, the chess enthusiasts, will have to wait for a long time to see him fight for the World crown again. Hopefully I am wrong.
Like Raffael, I am not sure what to think about the entire issue, but thanks to him for 'daring to swim against the stream'.
I will just ask three question, which admittedly simplify the whole problem considerably .... . An earlier post on the Carlsen blog stated that Magnus did not like the idea of switching from sunny Doha to Elista in winter.
1) Is this understandable? Yes it is.
2) Does his subsequent decision make him a hero (as some people suggest)? Not so sure about it .... .
3) Is the "Vive la resistance" tag appropriate?
Magnus Carlsen loses some money (but as Raffael correctly pointed out, it won't hurt him much) and a possible shot at the WCh title [not even sure as rules change constantly ....].
"Resistance people" may lose ALL their money, their personal freedom, health or even life .... .
Of course the tag is a typical Mig joke - but in this case, I would say it is not a very good one .... .
"End of the day, it is a quesion of who can bring momey into the game."
I bet you could end any discussion about pretty much anything with this cynical statement. Do you talk like that to your children, wife, parents and friends? That's quite depressing, you know.
Magnus has left the GP series. But still he has good chances to reach the 8-man tournament which leads to the championship match.
-Participating in the WC 2009 is one possibility.
-Maintaining his Elo rating is another.
Speaking of World Cup 2009, does anybody know which players will attend this tournament?
Anyway, FIDE will probably change the plans again if Magnus doesn't qualify some other way for the cycle. Maybe he will be the nominee? I am sure FIDE knows that a WC tournament without Magnus but with (let's say) Gashimov or some other dude qualifying through the World Cup would be bad for their image, especially considering the circumstances.
And since FIDE cares nothing for the rules and everything for their image, I have every confidence they would find a way to get him in.
Magnus has just become my favorite player
It's interesting to read the "contrarian" opinion that Magnus can do this (withdraw from the Grand Prix) only because he is popular and is guaranteed other appearances in tournaments that should give him a good paycheck. Then the punch line comes: He is no hero!
Read his blog. He does not claim to be a hero. He does not claim to be doing this to help others. He is trying to create a better (more stable) environment for himself; which, by the way, would also benefit every other player trying to market his skills and get payed well while enjoying playing chess.
It is well calculated and cold decision because before GP Carlsen was out of top 10 while now he is one of the leading players. He got some points in only GP event he participated and had some great performances afterwards. I think his rationale is very simple: he will be a player which has been selected by rating.
For those critical of this decision, what is the appropriate course of action for Carlsen (or anyone else, for that matter) to take? Is it really better to just sit idly by and endure all of Kirsan's outrages?
If a situation becomes intolerable, you have to take action - even if it means causing some temporary discomfort to some.
Let's get real:
Who from this list is not a top GM?
Carlsen Magnus NOR 2765
Aronian Levon ARM 2763
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2752
Radjabov Teimour AZE 2751
Svidler Peter RUS 2746
Leko Peter HUN 2741
Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2740
Karjakin Sergey UKR 2732
Adams Michael ENG 2729
Kamsky Gata USA 2726
Gelfand Boris ISR 2723
Grischuk Alexander RUS 2716
Jakovenko Dmitry RUS 2711
Bacrot Etienne FRA 2705
Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2695
Wang Yue CHN 2689
Inarkiev Ernesto RUS 2684
Gashimov Vugar AZE 2679
Navara David CZE 2672
Pelletier Yannick SWZ 2607
Al Modiahki Mohamad QTR 2554
only the last three are not, but they are the top of the respective countries and that's bring them money. We all know their names, so that must mean they get invitations.
Carlsen was not the 1st to drop out, It was Morozevich.
All those players can get on with their business with or without FIDE grand prix.
I understand Magnus' decision, FIDE shouldn't be changing a established process the way the do. I sometimes wonder how Kirsan manages to avoid collapsing his country, granting that he directs it in the same way that FIDE.
The next events and reactions from top players will be key to assess the possibilities of fighting against FIDE but
I'm afraid Magnus will be the only player to get out of FIDE's GP. It's amazing how a supposedly intellectual game like chess is a complete mess, while sports like professional wrestling have a more coherent and professional direction.
SJ wrote (6:58):
{
End of the day, it is a quesion of who can bring money into the game.
}
Ask not what the sponsors can do for chess, ask what chess can do for the sponsors.
Hooch: "It's amazing how a supposedly intellectual game like chess is a complete mess, while sports like professional wrestling have a more coherent and professional direction."
It is neither amazing nor surprising. Intellectuals tend to be very good at frolicking around in imaginary worlds but routinely mess things up when reality interferes with their reveries.
Wow. Now only one player from the top six is participating in the Grand Prix.
i don't get why is everybody doing a big deal out of Carlsen's withdrawal from the Grand Prix. note that he didn't withdraw from the world championship, he can still qualify by winning the World Cup or by highest rating. at the moment he's 4th on the rating list behind Topalov, Anand (both already qualified for the candidates tourney) and Ivanchuk whom he trails by 3 points. if he doesn't manage to overtake Ivanchuk it is still possible Ivanchuk qualifies from the Grand Prix or the World Cup thus freeing the highest rating place. and finaly there is still the possibility that Carlsen gets the presidential invitation by Kirsan. in short: Carlsen is still very much in the cycle.
yea, for all we know Carlsen may have finally decided that Moro and co. were right all along, it's high time that a player of his calibre be playing in more lucrative events like Corus and not settle for Grand P***. As an added bonus he does not need to risk it against Drawnik's disciple
"It's times like these when all the attacks on Kasparov and Short for breaking away from FIDE in 1993 come into perspective."
There's no comparison.
--Carlsen (2008) broke away from a bungled FIDE cycle because he was shafted out of his rightful shot at the WCC.
--Kasparov and Short (1993) rode a working FIDE cycle to prominence, then broke away in a trivial dispute over playing sites. Kasparov called it one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
"As Kasparov predicted several years ago, it looks like only the new generation has the guts to stand up to this garbage."
--Throughout his 20-odd years at the top Kasparov occasionally showed "guts" the way a three-year-old throwing a tantrum shows guts, but did little or nothing to push FIDE in the right direction. And when it suited his personal agenda Kasparov cozied up to Kirsan; who is to Kalmykia what Putin is to Russia.
Mig please tell Kasparov to finaly send an autogram to greg koster :P
"I am sure FIDE knows that a WC tournament without Magnus but with (let's say) Gashimov or some other dude qualifying through the World Cup would be bad for their image ..."
I don't know just how derogatory the word 'dude' is meant to be. In any case, Gashimov shared the win in the Baku Grand Prix tournament ahead of strong opposition (including his nominally stronger compatriots Radjabov and Mamedyarov), has a present rating of 2703 (not quite top 10, but not bad either) and, at the age of 22, has potential for further improvement. He may be not that widely known because he did not play that many supertournaments yet, possibly because there are two other strong(er) players from the same country.
It could be argued that a qualifying system is dubious because 'the wrong person' ends up on top. I would say surprises are part of the system (and I am talking about 'serious' tournaments, not knockout lotteries) - and whoever manages to surprise the chess world duly earned his spot in the WCh system.
Shut you dogs mouths about Kirsan and Grand Prix choice. President Kirsan has spoken and you all listen because you are mere peasants,do you contain the blood of Kalmyks kings? NO.
Carlsen is pig boy he is second rate has been who will never get a world champion shot because he has sinned upon mighty Kirsan and FIDE. thinking you will get away with such actions brings smiles to all kirsan supporters global. Carlsen and Nigel tried to do something before as well and I guess they did not get the message across in their first "accident".
Stop doubt in thread about FIDE and Kirsan some people above much smarter and see through Carlsen evil plot and try to show how he is still safe to get into world championship. Fortunately Carlsen evil plot will fail because Kirsen is World Champion GM of chess politic and will make fool of young failure boy.
Perhaps Kirsan will give forgiveness and kindness if Carlsen rename himself to Karlsen in honor of Kirsan then maybe in years of time he will be on sunny side once again, but i doubt Carlsen will see his only draw move in time.
Did you take your medication today?
KirsanFan,
Hello, crackhead!
Thomas,
"I don't know just how derogatory the word 'dude' is meant to be."
The word "dude" in itself is not derogatory at all. That's why he said "some other dude", which implies that Carlsen is also a dude. It's simply another way of saying "guy".
Sounds like KirsanFan has been watching too much Monty Pythons. Not quite funny, but a good attempt nevertheless. I like the idea of someone containing the blood of Kalmyks kings. I have some Kalmyk king blood too. It's in a jar on top of the TV set.
I know it's sometimes a little hard to tell in the comments of this blog (especially when the subject is either Kramnik or Topalov), but KirsanFan is obviously being sarcastic.
I'm reminded of a line in the movie "Hoffa", which, paraphrased, goes something like, "... the question is what has been lost and what has been gained."
Well, let's see. Magnus has lost the opportunity to participate in a series of low-paying tournaments which would not help his skills and mostly tie up his time when he could be playing in more lucrative and strength-build competitions vs. top level players. Plus, he'll most certainly receive other opportunities to play in the World Championship cycle simply due to his strength and popularity.
Bravo Magnus! Hopefully the world will folllow his well-considered example and FIDE will go the way of the dinosaurs. FIDE no longer serves any useful purpose to either the casual chess fan or to professional chess players. It is now purely a boondoggle for third-world beauracrats and petty wanna-be politicians who are utterly lacking in skill.
Let the true chess-playing nations of the world unite and form an organization that serves World Chess and not 3rd world patzers or tyrants.
3rd world patzers ? the true chess-playing nations?did you mean Norway?
Are you drunk?Or a nazzi? , maybe both?
I think noyb is one of those arrogant+ignorant westerners who find the idea of democracy attractive only when they can determine the parameters and outcomes of the process. Silly ideas such as he/she/it just pouted were aired on chessbase during the last FIDE elections. And of course these angelic moral superiors don't ever complain about USCF, BCF and any number of federations from 'true chess-playing nations'. Or maybe it's a case of our imperfections are still better than anything the poor third-world hoi polloi can contribute.
Kirsan may be a fool and a knave but it's nothing to do with not being American/British/Dutch/German etc.
Thomas, "Setnoescapeon",
Let me expound on my use of the word "dude":
- I was actually describing a hypothetical World Cup winner, not Gashimov, as a "dude". But by implication I was also including Gashimov in the category of "dudes", since he was the "other" in "other dude".
- I was using it to mean "a really good GM but not somebody currently recognized as top, top class."
- So I might call Magnus "dude" if I was really good buddies with him but in this case no, I was using dude in opposition to the really big-time chess dudes like Magnus, Vishy, Vlady, Moro, etc.
- As to Gashimov, I have mucho respect for him and his potential... but nobody is gonna get all lathered up if he doesn't make the WC tournament, whereas Magnus' absence would raise a lot of eyebrows, which was my point. If Gashimov makes it, kudos to him, it would be a fantastic accomplishment.
- Finally, my bigger point was that the last two WC tournaments were respected beacuse pretty much all the big boys were there. If a few of them are left out through fights with FIDE, it does detract from the process and the merits of the eventual winner, of whom it will inevitably be said he hasn't beaten everyone to get to the top.
.
Mig,
why don't you address one of the most important reasons why fide can go on like they do? i don't disagree with much in your article, but it leaves out the big, important issue of why a strategy based on divide and conquer, populism and bribery can work for a supposedly "serious" organization like fide.
the reason is simple: basically EVERY ELITE GM turns out to be spineless, egoistic and selfish when faced with the choice of
a) accepting some random gift (bribe) from fide, and
b) doing what is morally right and fair towards his elite gm colleagues
in this case, the three names we know for certain, are kamsky, topalov and anand. chances are big that kramnik, with the help of uep, is the fourth one, just waiting to be confirmed. after all, the bidding procedure has been tailormade to produce one and only one bidder, the one i assume was talking with kirsan before the rest of us even knew there would be a "candidate event".
if these four "great players" wouldn't willingly tag along with fide's stunt proposal, favoring them over players that actually supported fide's first unified world championship qualification cycle, then fide would've been forced to think again. topalov has voiced some criticism, but that's simply empty words as long as he still has every intention to accept his gift. kamsky and anand haven't even commented on the changes, afaik. neither has kramnik, but that's more understandable.
fide has messed up again and tries to "save face" by arranging some so-called "candidate event" where they make sure some big names are present - and in self-interest these big names agree to help save fide's and kirsan's asses, making sure we will get more of this nonsense for years to come. so what if some aronians, carlsens, radjabovs or wang yues get shafted in the process?
meet fide and their humble (when bribed) servants kamsky, topalov, anand and (most likely) kramnik. i can find _some_ excuses for anand, as he's generally received few benefits as (defending) champion and must defend his title awfully often, but for the rest i can't see how they can shake hands with carlsen, aronian and radjabov before their next encounter, without feeling pretty ashamed and small inside. or maybe i'm wrong - maybe they shamelessly accept anything thrown their way, even if it's virtually blood-money.
it's easy to blame kirsan and fide, mig - it would clearly take more guts to publicly criticise kamsky for making fide's stupidities reality. i'm probably not the only one who thinks the transition from "the time for negotiations are over, see you in court!", to "happy, happy, joy, joy! kirsan gave me another semi-final, so now i have two" went pretty fast.
man or mouse, Mig?
Many of us who know professional chessplayers realize they, unlike, say, professional football players, cannot afford to turn down cash or put their immediate earning power at risk by dissing the chess world's head honchos without any backup plan. They are in their prime earning years and often feel that intently. They aren't going to all have nice backup careers when they can no longer compete at the elite level and feel the need to earn as much as they can, while they can. So our brilliant arguments about the long run and the good of the sport ring a little hollow when faced with paying bills and supporting a family. It's not a coincidence that so much of the criticism of FIDE and Kirsan comes from retired and semi-retired players.
This is why I pointed out Kasparov's remarks about waiting for a new generation that doesn't feel they need FIDE, and that might even see FIDE as the obstacle they have become. They are thinking about the long term because they can.
So while I hope and try to rally the troops, as it were, and would be delighted to see the top players who occasionally benefit from these bribes and perks but suffer with everyone else in the long run come out and say enough, or boycott, or whatever, I don't have the right to tell them to act against what they perceive as their own best interests. I still do it on occasion, mind you, but I know there is a harsh reality behind all the rhetoric we get caught up in.
I hope to have time to go over some of these comments and put together a more cogent set of thoughts on what can actually be done. But that's my basic thought process when it comes to calling out players. I'm quick to praise those who do the right thing, but I'm not going to insult Topalov, Kamsky, et al for basically taking everything they can get in the very uncertain world they live in.
ok, Mig. i consider that a fair and square answer.
it doesn't stop me from believing that accepting what i consider "bribes" plays an important role in actually legitimating the actions of the fide leadership. and it makes it incredibly hard to make a real change.
carlsen can afford to say "no", i think topalov, kramnik and anand could, too - but kamsky isn't among the 6-8 top players that basically play whatever top event they like.
It would be ironic to champion Carlsen's actions for the 'greater' good yada yada, when at the end of the day, he may well be merely trying to act in his own interests.
Ark wrote:
It would be ironic to champion Carlsen's actions for the 'greater' good yada yada, when at the end of the day, he may well be merely trying to act in his own interests.
---
First off, I don't see Carlsen claiming he is doing anything for the 'greater good'.
Secondly, the two are not mutually exclusive.
Jean-Michel, OK with this explanation "dude" was not really derogatory, and I see your point. But I would argue that the distinction between "top, top class" and 'dude rated 2700' is not quite that clear. And considering your last paragraph, it could even be argued that the last two WCh tournaments were a bit devaluated because the strongest living player, Kasparov, did not participate? I don't know 'just why' he quit professional tournament chess - a combination of several things, including fights with FIDE(?). BTW, it is an interesting question whether Kasparov would still be #1 or even top10 within a few months if he returned to full-time chess today (quite probable, but not certain).
Returning to the dudes:
Is Wang Yue a dude?? I would say at present a WCh tournament would not be devaluated if he does not participate, but the WCh system would be devaluated if he does not get a chance to qualify. Interestingly, in John Nunn's system (where the top 8 on the ELO list are 'in'), he would presently be out: On the latest live rating list, he is #9, 2.5 points behind #8 Radjabov (and - after losing some rating points at the Olympiad, Aronian is #10 a further whopping 0.2 points down).
Going back in time one or two years: Is Carlsen a dude?? Back then, he was already popular and widely known - probably because he was already clear #1 in his own country and rather high on a global list excluding all ex-Soviet players. But he was not (indeed, not yet) "top, top class".
"It's times like these when all the attacks on Kasparov and Short for breaking away from FIDE in 1993 come into perspective. Is a schism worse than the corruption and ineptitude we have now? Unified idiocy is still idiocy."
Excellent question. I'd say this: if the leader of that schism suddenly reverses course to save the political life of the person he was supposedly fighting against, while leaving his own supporters hanging, then yeah, the schism is worse.
Schismatic idiocy is still idiocy.
And unified idiocy is still unified...
"This is why I pointed out Kasparov's remarks about waiting for a new generation that doesn't feel they need FIDE, and that might even see FIDE as the obstacle they have become. They are thinking about the long term because they can."
Give it a rest just ONE time. There will be no silk purse from a sow's arse -- no matter how mightily you huff and puff, he's not an oracle and never will be.
"So while I hope and try to rally the troops, as it were"
Humility costs nothing but what the hell, Gallipoli's all yours.
I can see that many are trying to glorify his actions, in the end the wishful thinking may backfire
aronian says: retract the change or I am out too, see chessbase news
Clubfoot, you might turn that keen eye on yourself for a moment and give it a rest JUST ONE TIME. I mention Kasparov's non-chess opinions about once a month, tops, and you and Koster sit there lurking so you can freak out about it every single time. It wouldn't be quite as silly if either of you ever came within spitting distance of an informed opinion, an original thought, or anything beyond the "WAAAHHHHHHH KASPAROV WAAAAAHHH!" of which the above is a fine example.
Aronian has little to lose since he didn't exactly have a sterling performance so far
"Aronian has little to lose since he didn't exactly have a sterling performance so far"
He has won the only Grand Prix event he has participated in so his performance can hardly have been better.
I wouldn't say that, Mig...I mean, if opinions and conclusions should not be informed by weight and consideration of evidence without prejudice, you're absolutely right. But I believe this ought to be the case, and this week you furnished evidence that indicated an effort on your part to efface a fair segment of the political hell and chaos inflicted on the chess world as a result of Kasparov's actions. And I didn't need a "keen eye" to see that.
If it's an "original thought" to point out that occasionally you write things about Kasparov that aren't true, then it's unfortunate for this blog, isn't it? Telling the truth should not be a revolutionary act on a chess blog, and you could expect more from your readers than face-value credulity. You DO write about Kasparov's non-chess opinions more often than you claim, and you DO hold him up as a false object for emulation.
"WAAAHHHHHHH KASPAROV WAAAAAHHH!"
You started writing this on the blog in 2004 as a response to those who disagreed with you, which included me. And as before, you don't get anywhere by calling people crybabies when you do wrong and get called out.
But enough of this, I'm late -- I gotta go out and promote my new HBO series, Lurkin' With Koster.
GP was a failure and lost credibility even before it was started
Anand
Topalov
Kramnik
Morozevich
Shirov
they did not give a damm to GP and if Carlsen is added to this list is it going to make a difference, GP will continue with or without Carlsen's presence.
he is still not a credibile match player to match the above 5 players, may be in future he will have a say and people in FIDE will hear his voice as a champion but not now as a 18 year old.
and he is not the first player to revolt actually it was Morozevich
Broadcast date and time for "Lurkin with Koster", please.
With Adams withdrawing also, the grand prix is turning into a farce. FIDE have shot themselves in the foot by making unwelcome changes.
His father no doubt told Carlsen to withdraw, as he doesnt strike me as that sophisticated as yet. The kid just wants to play chess. IMHO