The next steps toward the Anand-Topalov world championship match were taken today in Bulgaria, where the match will take place in late April 2010. FIDE has a report with photos from the scene, where contracts were signed by FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Bulgarian Chess Federation president Stefan Sergiev. Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov was also on the scene. The prize money, announced at two million dollars euros, will supposedly be transferred in January. Game one is scheduled for April 23. It might be tricky for me to be on Chess.FM for that one since that's also the exact date our son is supposed to be born.
In a recent interview, Kramnik said he was surprised Anand agreed to play in Sofia, Topalov's home turf. He also said that Topalov winning would be a "disaster for chess." Danailov's history of dirty tricks is indeed daunting, though I'm more concerned about the potential for shenanigans at the candidates event in Baku. On the corruption scale, Azerbaijan is to Bulgaria what Bulgaria is to Denmark.
Hard to argue with Kramnik on that one... so naturally we must cheer for Anand!
yes - corruption seems to come with the azeri territory. as new team coach the one-and-only azmai pulled another one at the team world championships:
with akopian queening in a position against gashimov in what optically looked winning for white, azmai uttered the word 'draw' while standing near gashimov. hearing the word from his coach may have instilled hope in the azeri, in what was otherwise was a seemingly hopeless position.
i have no doubt that they will try something again. shame on fide for catering to dirty play.
"Azerbaijan is to Bulgaria what Bulgaria is to Denmark."
Add the three of them and you get Russia.
Anand will win.
It is 2 mllion euros, not 2 million dollars. The highest prize fund ever for a World Championship match. Too bad it isn't Kasparov who is getting this money.
They haven't gone overboard on the publicity, but it looks as though Spassky and Korchnoi are playing an 8-game classical match (!) between now and Christmas in Elista - for a share of 20,000 dollars (to celebrate the 400-year anniversary of Kalmykia becoming part of Russia, no less). Mentioned on Chessdom: http://previews.chessdom.com/spassky-korchnoi-elista and at Shipov's site (in Russian), where they say they have a correspondent on hand to report: http://crestbook.com/?q=node/1103
Congrats on the future Mig Jr!
Congrats Mig!
Sure it's a boy? If not, why not consider "Sophia" as a name?
At birth a champ in chess yet crowned,
Child prodigy who will astound,
At just age two found Scholar's Mate,
IM by four, GM by eight.
While Daddy beams, Son once again,
Refutes the dread Sicilian,
The soft foam chessmen in his crib,
Rybka logo on checked bib.
Dad's pride and joy, Dad's champ-to-be,
Gets interviewed on ICC,
When asked how world champ he'd become,
Said, "I learned the moves from dearest Mum."
:-)
Congrats,
tjallen
Yes, just found out it's a boy a few weeks ago. Completes the set! Also breaks an odd family streak on my side. 12 kids born to my generation and all 12 were the opposite gender of the parent on my side. That is, all the men in my family have girls and all the women have had boys. Twelve for twelve. Lucky #13, as Garry would have it.
I wish I could believe the players will actually split two million euros between them. Unfortunately, between the known FIDE fees and taxes and the under-the-table shenanigans that inevitably accompany these things, it's likely to be substantially less.
@Greg: 2m euro is 2.86 million dollars at the moment, which is short of the three million dollars Kasparov and Karpov played for in their 1990 match without even adjusting for inflation. If you adjust to today's dollars that would be around $4.9 million (65% purchasing power increase).
Yeah, congrats Mig! While babies rarely arrive at the precise predicted date, indeed you may have other things to do/on your mind than ICC coverage of the event in April 2010.
BTW, it seems that 2 million Euros is the net prize fund: earlier Chessdom had mentioned a guaranteed (but not bank-guaranteed) total sum of 3 million - "The 3 million euro will be distributed as follows: 2 million for prize fund, 400 000 FIDE taxes, and 600 000 for organizational costs."
http://previews.chessdom.com/topalov-anand-sofia
Regarding the Korchnoi-Spassky match, about a month ago during a Dutch blitz tournament I heard from Korchnoi himself (well, via one or two persons in between): one or the main reason why he accepted the invitation was that he has been "everywhere" in the course of his career, but has never been to Elista before.
Unfortunately I would make Topalov strong favourite for the match. I hope I'm wrong but he must be hungrier than Anand. Has Anand suffered the de-motivation that most(?) World Champions get after getting the title. Topalov must feel time slipping away with Carlsen et al coming up fast. Maybe the pressure on Topalov will be too great - Kramnik says in the video promo clip for his DVD that Topalov loses his mind under very extreme pressure so who knows. Is Anand's agreeing to play in Bulgaria just cashing in the title for plenty of Euros. Can someone please give me hope by making the case for Anand :-)
Mig, I don't know if the 3 million dollars for Kasparov/Karpov in 1990 were net of any FIDE fees. That match was under FIDE management as well. I'm sure that FIDE was again getting a huge slice from the pie so the amount now for Anand/Topalov is indeed bigger. At least in face value.
"Topalov loses his mind under very extreme pressure"?
LOL!!!
That's why he produces all these sacrifices against his opponents in complicated positions?
Anand better go shopping for some good bug detectors... unless he wants to lose his opening surprises
What's the noun for "one who plants a bug"? A "bugger"? Is this match about who has the best buggers on their team? Doesn't that bug anyone?
Congrats on Miglinho!
The line of reasoning to bring this corruption scale in the context of Chess is SO STUPID that other than inciting the usual round of blog traffic aimed at bashing and spitting a few cheap shots at a bunch of developing countries I see no other net meaningful effect. The countries mentioned are quite established as far as Chess traditions and history of organizing events… Below Bulgaria on the list are India, Russia, Ukraine – what does that say about the potential of shenanigans when organizing major Chess events there? Anyway, look on the positive side – more money in a WC Chess Final than before…
D.
P.S. Kramnik is free to say whatever he wishes, it is human to be pissed, but he is not a factor at this stage. He is playing very strong lately and may emerge again, until the time when Magnus slams the door on that generation completely.
Kramnk is insolent twerp.
Congratulations on your growing family, Mig, and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010.
Congratulations!
Congrats to Mig! Suggest "Garry Greengard", has a nice ring to it.
" yes - corruption seems to come with the azeri territory. as new team coach the one-and-only azmai pulled another one at the team world championships ..."
what a nonsense post. Gashimov was able to draw with Akopian because Azam uttered "draw"? I don't remember hearing about protest from Armenian team.
A what is a connection between corruption in the country and chess tournaments? Did somebody hear of any incidents during Grand Prix or other tournaments played in Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan or other countries that are at the bottom of corruption scale (except Korchnoi's complain that donuts were not so fresh)? Did Kamsky have any complains in Sofia match? Yes, Danielov capable on dirty tricks and being even in Elista on Kramnik's turf did not stop him. But it is hard to imagine that it can go beyond the psychological attack on Anand, so really doesn't matter where you play.
A what a hypocrisy from Kramnik to say that Topalov's victory will be disaster for chess. What did he do when he became champion - mostly avoided rematch with Kasparov. Did he travel around promoting chess, did he win many tournaments, did he come with any innovative ideas (like Sophia rules for example)? No, no , and no.
Congrats on the kid, Mig. When my second son was born, I was immediately astounded at how ridiculous the notion of "tabula rasa" is--from day one, it was clear that his personality and approach to life were markedly different from his older brother's.
Brian: according to everyone who knew anything, Topalov was a heavy favorite in his WC match against Kramnik, but Kramnik won. And then, Kramnik, having defeated both Kasparov and Topalov, was deemed "all-time supreme match player of the universe." Obviously, Anand wouldn't have a chance against him. But Anand won handily.
Anand clobbered the guy who beat Topalov. Why be so pessimistic about his chances next spring?
Love it when Kramnik tells the truth about idiots like Danailov and Topalov.
Congratulation to Mig! I second Ben's suggestion for boy's name - "Garry Migovich Greengard" - sounds awsome!
Korchnoi wins game 1: http://chess-rk.ru/
"corruption seems to come with the azeri territory [---] i have no doubt that they will try something again. shame on fide for catering to dirty play."
About Gashimov having a seemingly hopeless position, I haven't heard anything about Azmai (who isn't Azeri, by the way, but maybe was corrupted by his time on Azeri soil :-)) whispering something to him before, but the draw was obvious three more or less forced moves later and it was hardly difficult for Gashimov to see that. On that CPI list Azerbaijan is ranked as less corrupt than Russia, by the way. Maybe Mig's placing the Azeris below Danailov in expected fair play is a ranking that also could be questioned :-)
Gelfand's another GM to state that he'd favour Anand elsewhere but thinks Topalov will win in Sofia (though he says it's a close to even match up - Anand has the edge in chess terms but Topalov has his aces of unbelievable energy and power): http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2009-12-17/6_4/
Explaining his success at the World Cup he mentions his knock-out experience, and also says he remembered the advice he was given by Petrosian: "Think before every move, even when playing blitz". And for dealing with the cold (relevant to half of Europe now!), he said that he and Ponomariov went for an hour's walk outside each day, whereas players like Gashimov stayed inside and eventually struggled.
My prediction is that the match will be free from incidents, and that Topalov will win it.
Perhaps a more accurate and relevant assessment is:
"FIDE is to Azerbaijan, what Azerbaijan is to Bulgaria, and what Bulgaria is to Denmark."
"The line of reasoning to bring this corruption scale in the context of Chess is SO STUPID that other than inciting the usual round of blog traffic aimed at bashing and spitting a few cheap shots at a bunch of developing countries I see no other net meaningful effect. The countries mentioned are quite established as far as Chess traditions and history of organizing events… Below Bulgaria on the list are India, Russia, Ukraine – what does that say about the potential of shenanigans when organizing major Chess events there?"
Agreed 100%. But it's not the first nor the last lame shot at Azerbaijan that will be posted by Mig here. Far from it.
Anand has shown with the preparation for the Kramnik match that he is able get inside his opponent's head. He also has the advantage of being more universal. They both excel in tactical complications, ruthlessly attacking when given a chance. But Anand is better in playing defense, and in handling quiet positions. That gives him more options in planning match strategy.
If the Bulgarians want to play psychological games, Danailov faces a difficult task. I can't see Anand letting himself get involved the way Kramnik did.
My prediction that the match will be drawn and that sucker Topalov will lose in a tie-break (again).
The truth? Kramnik and truth? :))
Which truth? The truth for Kramnik is all privilegs for him and nothing for others. Brazen and cowardly dog!!! What made Kramnik for chess even like World Champion and what make Danailov? Incomparably!
Basically what you are saying is that the Russian´s are the only ones who can accuse others of dirty manouvering and get away with it ...
I don´t understand why is that going on record accusing an opponent of cheating (with all the consecuences and problems that it brings , having to answer to FIDE ´s authorities ,etc)is the worst thing to do , while continuously hinting dishonest play from another person (or even an entire country like in this thread) is the good way to go.
Why should i assume that the teasing and the psychological tricks are property of one country only ?
I like Kramnik´s play lately , but all this talk from a person who is completely out of the picture is just the usual sour grapes .
I'm not sure about Anand not getting involved. I remember a comment of his about what he perceived as Kasparov's incorrect behaviour at the board in 1995. 'Not reacting to it is a way of reacting to it.'
Deep observation about human nature or personal revelation; who knows? But I don't think Vishy's as cool internally always as he is externally.
I don't know about third party comments being sour grapes. I think the majority of the chess world believes it was strange that Anand agreed to play in Bulgaria and that it will be a disaster for chess if Topalov wins. Not much point kramnik not saying so when he's asked.
pb: "My prediction is that the match will be free from incidents, and that Topalov will win it."
If Topalov is ahead, it is unlikely that there'll be "incidents." The time to expect "incidents" is when Topalov falls behind.
"But I don't think Vishy's as cool internally always as he is externally."
I don't know if Gelfand knows Anand any better than the rest of us, but in the interview he said, "Anand's a man for whom it's important to play under conditions of complete psychological comfort. Then he's strong. But in this situation [the match in Sofia] there's no certainty that's he'll be able to achieve that."
>If Topalov is ahead, it is unlikely that there'll
>be "incidents." The time to expect "incidents" is when Topalov
>falls behind.
The limited minds who post trivial nonsense like that should realize that while conflicts are inevitable occasionally, one doesn't reach the top or win things on a regular basis by always resorting to dirty tricks when falling behind. It just doesn't work that way in the transparent game of Chess. That applies to Azeris, Bulgarians, Indians, Russians, Ukrainians, you name it (in alphabetical order). The conspiracy theorists should not equate non-performing entities (like the USCF, for example) to the accomplished group of players and managers that push the sport forward.
D.
¨I don't know about third party comments being sour grapes. I think the majority of the chess world believes it was strange that Anand agreed to play in Bulgaria and that it will be a disaster for chess if Topalov wins. Not much point kramnik not saying so when he's asked.¨
Of course this ¨majority¨ of people thought the same before the match with Kamsky , but those sneaky Bulgarians got away with it.
Not much point on Kramnik saying so when he´s asked?
Of course , he is just giving his opinion about the facts of nature , birds fly , Bulgarian people cheats , Anand trusted them , Anand can surely fly...
"Not much point kramnik not saying so when he's asked."
Indeed that's the point, Kramnik was asked for his opinion and gave the expected (and from his point of view) logical answer. Unlike Shirov who was asked the same question in Bilbao and started his answer with "Primero, yo no soy Anand ... [First of all, I am not Anand]" - nothing wrong with that diplomatic one either.
Anyway, Kramnik is obviously a chess expert and a WCh candidate in the next cycle. And he is the only one who recently had a friendly match with Anand and a not-so-friendly one with Topalov. So he can comment on past Bulgarian behavior ... . [Kamsky also played both, but his match with Anand is some time ago - anyone else?]
@Manu: Pointless to argue with you about this, but:
- The direct consequence of Topalov's cheating accusations was a free point in the Elista match
- The indirect consequence was, at most, some sort of warning by the FIDE ethics committee. Not a money fine, ELO deduction or tournament ban - quite a few people suggested the last for Mamedyarov in a similar case.
>But I don't think Vishy's as cool internally always as he is externally.
It doesn't matter -- the cool manner in which Vishy dismantled Kramnik's walls should make him an instant favorite for winning the match, regardless if they are playing in Sofia, New Delhi, or on the Moon. Topalov's task after the Elista meltdown is to prove the contrary. It is as simple as that. What will happen next April? I cannot claim such clairvoyance as to pretend to know...
D.
Seeing as Mig mentioned the interview here it might be worth reposting the relevant section of the interview that I put on another thread:
"- Do you still not greet Vesko? You haven’t forgotten about Elista?
- No, we don’t greet each other. You know, it’s not a matter of insulting anyone - it’s just the personal relationship I have with him. I know things that others don’t know, and understand perfectly well who I’m dealing with. Perhaps he’ll someday see the light and start to behave normally – unlikely, but in that case my attitude might change. But it’s hard to believe in that and I think it’ll be a long term thing.
- What do you expect from the championship match and how do you explain Vishy’s readiness to play with Topalov in Sofia?
- It’s hard to explain. Vishy’s an adult and of course it’s his right. I think it’s due to the large prize fund, as I can’t see any sensible reasons to play Topalov on his home territory, it’s simply madness – it doesn’t seem much like Vishy. You see if something’s going badly for Danailov he’ll definitely find some means or other to put pressure on Vishy. There are a million tricks, even if you’re not playing on his home turf. I will, of course, root for Anand, but not for personal reasons but chess ones. After all, if Topalov becomes champion it’ll be a disaster for chess.
- Why a disaster?
- Because then Danailov will have unlimited power which, of course, is terrible for chess whichever way you look at it. If you end up with people at the top who have no moral principles at all it’s a sad day. First and foremost for the future of our game."
>After all, if Topalov becomes champion it’ll be a disaster for chess.
I see. Perhaps because Topalov does not know how to play Chess. Perhaps because he never reached anywhere near the top in the Game. And he certainly is afraid to face opposition, but prefers to hold to the title indefinitely and avoid challengers by all means. Considering the last point, I think that Kramnik projects himself upon Topalov, which truly would be a disaster to Chess.
>Because then Danailov will have unlimited power which, of course, is terrible for chess
Ohh, an "unlimited power" -- to do what exactly?? Organize more Chess events, find larger sponsorship involvement?? What else does Danailov do in the context of Chess?? He's a Chess promoter and Manager? He is not a Politician to start some new war, or something..
Anyway, funny stuff, if you look at it logically.
D.
To be fair, I think Topalov has been behaving "normally" lately; at least chess-wise. He admitted his weak play in the Topalov-Kamsky match, and mentioned to the effect that if he will play like that with Anand he would be slaughtered.
Given that Anand is generally well respected by his peers and chess public, I think Danailov would think carefully if he is to create any controversy/scandal. Maybe I am just naive :-)
About Kramnik's assessment. How could he think otherwise about Topalov/Danailov given his personal experience with them? He gave up one free point in the Elista match. So he does know how scandal can affect one's judgement.
btw, slightly off topic ...
If Anand will win the 2010 match, he will have to defend it again in 2011. Does the man ever get to take a break from defending his title?
It's hard for me to imagine Topalov beating Anand in the Tartakower QGD.
good question.
It would be equally unfair to both of them to defend the title the year after this match , and considering what it takes to organize and sponsor the whole thing it is reasonable to asume that it wont happen that way.
¨@Manu: Pointless to argue with you about this, but:¨
Do it or don´t do it ,but such preemptive strike is only based on ignorance and fear.
My point being, if Anand wins he would be involved in 4 championship matches/tournament in five years, 2007-2011.
That's pretty drastic.
If Topalov wins then he will be doing twice (2010, 2011) then he gets to take a break for 3 years (if he wins again in 2011).
Well, Topalov just beat Kamsky because he was stronger. There wasn't any need for misbehaviour.
Actually, I don't believe Topalov and his gang go in for the Elista stuff on a premeditated basis. I think there was probably a genuine element of paranoia in what they did; possibly they even persuaded themselves they were right. But still their behaviour was unforgivable and they've had quite long enough to reflect on it and apologise instead of their ridiculous conduct since. I don't necessarily think there will be shenanigans if Topalov falls behind, but it's strange to me that Anand is willing to take the risk. On the simplest level, you don't normally go to your opponent's home turf whoever he is if you can help it.
I see , and i agree that it would be specially unfair to Anand , on the other hand he is making a lot of money with this matches so it is not the end of the world.
IMO Anand is just taking the most pragmatical approach and focusing on how to get there in best shape , i also believe that he is simply not afraid of any of these speculations.
Bulgaria is at 3.8 on the corruption scale with Danailov as a citizen. Imagine where they would be without him!!!
By the way, Mig, just wondering, what does national
corruption have to do with chess and the WC quals?
>...but it's strange to me that Anand is willing to take the risk. On the simplest level, you don't normally go to your opponent's home turf whoever he is if you can help it.
Well, "normally" no, but has anyone offered you recently 1M Euro win or lose? Got any better bids?
D.
Re: corruption, it has to do with how political actors with vested interests in the success of an event, and how that is tied to specific players, are directly involved with the sponsorship and organization of an event. This is a recipe for conflicts under the best of circumstances in the "cleanest" of environments. In places where a culture of influence peddling and corruption is prevalent it might seem odd, if not actually punishable, not to do everything possible to aid your preferred competitor. Good one on Danailov and the 3.8.
@Greg, "face value" means what they are saying without adjustments or interpretation, so that simply means 2.86 million dollars for Anand-Topalov vs 3 million for Kasparov-Karpov 1990. I'm sure FIDE took a chunk then as now, but have no knowledge of it being more then.
But there's no reason not to adjust for inflation; that's required to make a fair comparison across eras. Otherwise the Capablanca-Lasker, 1921, prize fund of $25,000 sounds pathetic when it was actually equivalent to $300,000 in purchasing power today. (And few sports boasted such numbers at the time. Babe Ruth, already a legend and the highest-paid player in the American national sport of baseball, made $30,000 from the Yankees that year.) Even the then-stunning Fischer-Spassky (original) fund of $125,000 sounds lame until you consider that's $650,000 in today's dollars.
Otherwise you end up thinking the latest Transformers movie was really one of the top 10 grossing films of all time. In face value that's true, $400,000,000 makes it number nine. But adjusted for inflation, as is necessary to make any useful comparisons, it's number 65, behind Smokey and the Bandit and Tootsie. (And, appropriately, Gone with the Wind is #1!)
I complained about the streak of matches Anand has to play when they announced this ridiculous schedule two years ago. They seemed to be hoping the same player wouldn't stick around to play in them all, which may end up being the case, of course. And there wasn't supposed to be a match in 2010; what became Anand-Topalov was supposed to happen in 2009. This new candidates event is just going to drag things out more.
If Carlsen wins Corus with Anand (and Kramnik, but not Topalov) there, and consolidates as #1, his shadow will be looming over the Anand-Topalov match. That's especially going to be the case if the candidates event isn't firmed up. Fischer was the obvious uncrowned king in 1970-71, but he had a clear path to the summit. If Carlsen's path isn't transparent and fair, we could end up with a real mess. Especially with Garry counseling him on the matter!
Uff Da: If Topalov is ahead, it is unlikely that there'll be "incidents." The time to expect "incidents" is when Topalov falls behind.
Dimi: The limited minds who post trivial nonsense like that should realize that while conflicts are inevitable occasionally, one doesn't reach the top or win things on a regular basis by always resorting to dirty tricks when falling behind.
---
Oh, great Dimi of unlimited mind and ubiquitous profound thought! We beseech you to condescend to enlighten us with your omniscience--that the dirty tricks in Elista obviously had nothing to do with desperation as Topalov fell behind in the match, that it is so clearly ridiculous to wonder if something similar would happen if Topalov were to fall behind vs. Anand, that he is just as likely to resort to dirty tricks when he is ahead as when he is behind.
''In places where a culture of influence peddling and corruption is prevalent it might seem odd, if not actually punishable, not to do everything possible to aid your preferred competitor''.
Don't be so hard on the USA, UK and France, Mig. They do have some honest people, a lot of us, really. Never mind the Republican congressmen, the Illinois governor and the UK parliamentarians fiddling expenses.
@Manu: Pointless to argue with you about this, but:
- The direct consequence of Topalov's cheating accusations was a free point in the Elista match
- The indirect consequence was, at most, some sort of warning by the FIDE ethics committee. Not a money fine, ELO deduction or tournament ban - quite a few people suggested the last for Mamedyarov in a similar case.
***
I must object to this characterization.
Topalov said (in essence) "my opponent is going to the rest area after every move -- 30 or 40 times a game. It is disturbing me. Make it stop."
Kramnik said -- I will not stop.
Topalov said (in essence) "he could be doing anything in there".
Kramnik said -- I am doing nothing in there.
Topalov's team became a little paranoid about it -- clearly they *were* disturbed by it.
The rest areas were going to be closed for both players. Kramnik staged a sit-in and forfeited a game.
Kramnik chose the forfeit. Not Topalov.
This is similar to Spassky choosing to accept the forfeit against Fischer in game 2 in 72. He later said that doing so lost the match psychologically -- if he had been free to do so, he should have staged his own incident and given the free point right back.
I don't see anything "unforgivable" about saying "don't go to the bathroom 40 times a game". If it happened locally, we would certainly stop a player from doing it.
Once the matter spiraled out of control...it became a cheating thing.
But Kramnik could have said "if it disturbs you that much, I'll either not go or try to keep it to a half-dozen at most." The situation would have stopped there. Instead, he tried to become Rosa Parks in the toilet.
Chesspride, the minor problem with trying to make Danailov and Topalov sound like reasonable, moral people is what they actually said and did.
Just one example: "Topalov said (in essence) "he could be doing anything in there"."
But his team actually said (before the forfeit): "The World Champion Veselin Topalov is outraged by the suspicious behavior of his opponent Mr. Vladimir Kramnik who in actual fact takes his most significant decisions in the bathroom...
If the match were to continue, the World Champion would refrain from shaking hands with Mr. Kramnik before the games".
They openly accused their opponent of cheating, produced ridiculous "Fritz correspondence percentages", staged a photo op with a cable in the ceiling of a toilet shared by both players (did they really think chess fans around the world were utter morons!?), accused Kramnik of being assisted by the KGB... The list goes on.
The FIDE ethics committee rightly condemned them and threatened further sanctions if they continued to imply Kramnik cheated. But of course they still do to this day (see Topalov in New in Chess). If Kramnik was Danailov, perish the thought, he'd have written to the ethics committee again and they'd be honour-bound (stop laughing at the back there!) to ban Topalov for a couple of years.
As a supporter of the shameless duo your best bet would be to keep quiet about Elista and hope people gradual forget the facts.
¨The FIDE ethics committee rightly condemned them and threatened further sanctions if they continued to imply Kramnik cheated.¨
It is funny to hear you say that , because a ¨severe reprimand¨ could be read as ¨we cannot actually condemn you for this , you were trigged by your opponent´s unusual behaviour.¨
Topalov´s case was just too easy to defend , that´s what happened...
¨As a supporter of the shameless duo your best bet would be to keep quiet about Elista and hope people gradual forget the facts.¨
They made a movie , dude... And screened it on their last match with Kamsky... Maybe the bat-ethic-signal is broken...
:)
"It is funny to hear you say that , because a ¨severe reprimand¨ could be read as ¨we cannot actually condemn you for this , you were trigged by your opponent´s unusual behaviour.¨"
Well it could, if you had no grasp of English or perhaps the comprehension skills of a turtle. They added: "there is no justification for his behaviour", but that probably meant, "Topalov is a visitor from the Planet Zog".
"Maybe the bat-ethic-signal is broken..."
Sure, *NEWS FLASH* "FIDE are incompetent and ineffectual" - but nice of you to make Kramnik's case for him.
I like turtles .
@Mig
Yes, you absolutely have to adjust the matches for inflation to compare! Anyone could tell you that. What was funny about Babe Ruth was he was making more than the president of the United States at the time. We don't think of that as funny now since many people make more than the president... but Babe Ruth was the first to do so.
@Chesspride In all my years of reading bulls**t, madeup and distorted things regarding toiletgate. I hadn't yet found anyone who was truly willing to take the side of Topalov so as to completely remove the facts against him. You read like a Holocaust denier. I bet you think that was all a conspiracy to make Germany look bad right?
@mishamp. Everyone is aware of the facts whether they want to be or not. People like chessprive who choose to be so extremely sheltered are clearly unreachable to the light of reason, logic and day.
There is a difference between 1995 and now - Anand is married. This seems to provide him with a strong psychological anchor. I would say Anand is tougher mentally now then he was in the 90's.
If Topalov tries a toiletgate-esque manouver it will reflect very badly on him and perhaps even backfire because Anand seems to be a more or less impeccable character. Indeed it is going to be very hard to attack Anand off the board. At most "Anand plays weak chess, Anand has no fighting instinct in him, behaves like a wimp"...that's the best I see Topalov being able to do.
I would think the pressure, enormous pressure, is going to be on Topalov because he is going to have to deliver the goods on the board. His own country is the one sponsoring this affair. Remember what happened to Capablanca, his own S. American fans put up the money. Alekhine took full psychological advantage of the situation. Capablanca was losing in front of his own supporters.
The only way I see Anand fumbling is if Topalov resorts to chess software. And I am not going to say Topalov is not capable of that.
There is a difference between 1995 and now - Anand is married. This seems to provide him with a strong psychological anchor. I would say Anand is tougher mentally now then he was in the 90's.
If Topalov tries a toiletgate-esque manouver it will reflect very badly on him and perhaps even backfire because Anand seems to be a more or less impeccable character. Indeed it is going to be very hard to attack Anand off the board. At most "Anand plays weak chess, Anand has no fighting instinct in him, behaves like a wimp"...that's the best I see Topalov being able to do.
I would think the pressure, enormous pressure, is going to be on Topalov because he is going to have to deliver the goods on the board. His own country is the one sponsoring this affair. Remember what happened to Capablanca, his own S. American fans put up the money. Alekhine took full psychological advantage of the situation. Capablanca was losing in front of his own supporters.
The only way I see Anand fumbling is if Topalov resorts to chess software. And I am not going to say Topalov is not capable of that.
May be Anand should not go to Bulgaria umtil he has a clear statement how often Danailov allows him to go to the toilet during a game. It could be wise to put some Pampers in his luggage for his trip to Bulgaria.
My concern about the match is: unless Anand and team are living in the Indian Embassy, how can they ensure that their opening preparation is not compromised? Laptops can be stolen, and given that the Govt. of Bulgaria seems to have a stake in the match, bugging of their accommodations doesn't seem out of the question.
It's a big step from acting like a jackass to permanently compromising your career and reputation with bugging etc. Topalov is a good enough player not to have to resort to that sort of shenanigans, and Anand has enough experience of matches to take care of himself. I'm gonna presume a clean match til I see otherwise, call me naive if you will.
"If Carlsen wins Corus with Anand (and Kramnik, but not Topalov) there, and consolidates as #1, his shadow will be looming over the Anand-Topalov match."
This is true. However, given that Corus is 3 months away from the match I doubt that Anand will give his best at this tournament. So we will have to take that result (Carlsen winning 1st -> domination) with some adjustment.
Anand has not been dominant in super tournaments since his winning in Bonn, so maybe age is slowly catching up with him; however I wonder if having to prepare for the match in 2009 (then moved to 2010) affects his psychology (i.e nice to win tournaments, but most important is to prepare for up coming match).
btw, latest news article in which Anand discussed his 2009 performance:
http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_my-performance-dropped-this-year-vishwanathan-anand_1325482
"This year has been a mix. It was not a bad year but compared to 2007 and '08, my performance has clearly dropped off. There are lessons to be learnt from that and I will be working a lot harder for next year."
"I must say that my opponents have raised their game and that's one of the reasons why my results have not been so good. It's not that I have lost focus but when you are in a sport for so long, they (opponents) get used to your way of playing and I need to develop new strategies."
I'm with you on this one. It'll be a clean match and a great festival of chess.
First, this is not going to be the last, major Chess Tournament held in Sofia, so nobody has interest in spoiling the future in any way. In fact, all kinds of extra efforts will be made to avoid even the possibility of perception of impropriety. I am 100% convinced that the match will be very clean. Very tense, but very clean. Plus, Anand is not the kind of guys who invites concerns or does weird things that may create worries, even in the most tense of moments.
Second, some of you might have noticed that Topalov has played Anand before. It is not like he needed to steal Vishy's laptop every time in order to be on an even par. There is a reason why Topalov has virtually disappeared from the Chess scene -- if he truly relied on compromising Anand's preparation then why would he be hiding for so long doing his own preparation.
Anyway, have fun.
D.
Interesting by the way watching Kramnik in London. He was away from the board literally every move while I watched.
The all india federation wishing luck to the Bulgarians with the match>
http://interviews.chessdom.com/topalov-anand-2010-match-of-the-year
Anand said after the Sanghi Nagar fiasco in the Kamsky match (losing in tie-breaks after leading 4-2 and needing just 1 draw in the last 2 games) that he would preferably not play high-stakes matches in India, because the local pressures and expectations were too much.
Maybe one of the reasons he agreed to this match in Sofia (in addition to the big prize money), was the experience that home advantage can also bring additional pressure which could back fire on Topalov.
He should outsource the job of overseeing arrangement to trusted professionals on his team, so he can focus on chess completely without any nagging doubts about whether the match is clean. But, he is highly experienced and I suspect this is what he is planning to do in any case.
Asked if playing in Sofia would be a disadvantage, Anand replied in the negative.
"I would be focussing on the 64 squares of the chess board and playing the game."
He didn't feel it would be disturbing to play the world championship in Topalov's backyard.
interview ~ Dec 8
That's all the Indian federation can do now as they didn't manage to come up with an own bid.
kxm, stringTheory and Anand himself have a point, in my words: _A priori_, playing in the opponent's country is only a disadvantage if you consider it to be a disadvantage. _Ad hoc_ and/or _a posteriori_ it may turn into a disadvantage if there are "incidents" during the match. I would like to agree with chesshire cat that there will be no such incidents even when Anand takes a lead in the match, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.
In any case, this entire discussion would have been avoided by a match on neutral ground - and there were other bids, albeit for a somewhat lower prize fund.
@Chesspride In all my years of reading bulls**t, madeup and distorted things regarding toiletgate. I hadn't yet found anyone who was truly willing to take the side of Topalov so as to completely remove the facts against him. You read like a Holocaust denier. I bet you think that was all a conspiracy to make Germany look bad right?
***
If anyone goes to the bathroom 40 times in a game locally -- they will be forfeited. Period. And no, their opponent will not be penalized for complaining about it.
To compare that position...with the vile one you describe...makes YOU look bad, not me.
Hurrah! The great Toiletgate debate is back! We missed you for that five minutes..suppose everyone's gotta take a leak now and again though...
Well, for real top-level multi-billion/trillion dollar, bring the world to the knees for your own short-term benefit kind of corruption, the USA is easily far ahead absolutely top #1.
And is FIDE so incompetent? They produce good events, from Youth and Junior up to World Cup and now a big prize fund match Anand - Topalov.
American management talent and honesty hasn't exactly produced a great administrative environment for chess - look at the US Chess Federation (OK, with some foreign help on that).
Remember that it was the government of Bulgaria that planned and executed (unsusccessfully) the asassination of the Pope.
That sneaky basterd , the gold from his jewelry protected him ...
"My concern about the match is: unless Anand and team are living in the Indian Embassy, how can they ensure that their opening preparation is not compromised? Laptops can be stolen, and given that the Govt. of Bulgaria seems to have a stake in the match, bugging of their accommodations doesn't seem out of the question."
There is something called encryption.
Not bad for a troll...
Now if you really cared about the incident, you would have mentioned that the bulgarians were exonerated and it was proved they were set up.
So much so that the Pope (yes, John Paul II ) personally went to Bulgaria and apologized for the accusations.
This situation with Topalov reminds me about the old joke: Once rumours begin that your sister is a slut, you can't convince anybody otherwise... even if you have no sister :)
After all, Kramnik-Topalov was played in Russia under the aegis of some well connected Russian government figures which obviously had a strong preference that the title stays home. Topalov started the match horribly and then there was the suspicious behaviour from Kramnik. Danailov was paranoid and grossly overreacted, making a fool of himself and his protege.
However, to extrapolate from that and predict assassinations, weird corruption schemes, the government bugging the hotel and what not is just moronic.
Some dudes in this forum should
travel more internationally (they can start by leaving their mom's basement).
I've lived in Sofia for 4 years and the city/country has its share of problems. Still, to me, opinions as jjlisters' reflect more the
shallowness of their authors than anything else.
Manu said: I like turtles.
See there you go again, turtles look geometrically like soccer balls, so you bring up football again. Your constant comparisons of futbol and chess have now brought in turtle carapaces, which, contrary to popular belief, were the first soccer balls, not human skulls, nor the heads of the enemy. Chess is a war game, with little soccer balls glued atop each pawn, but we don't kick around the heads of our enemies, not turtle carapaces. Away from me, vile analogies! Chess stands firm, unanalogizable!
:-)
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays!
I have a sneaking suspicion that there is a triangle at play here; Kramnik beat Topalov, Anand beat Kramnik, so now Topalov will be Anand. Just a hunch...
Triangle is already at play...
Kasparov beat Anand... Kramnik beat Kasparov.... Anand beat Kramnik.
Yes, the Bulgarian's were "exonerated" - if you choose to call it that - in the same way that Mehmet Ali was, by the Pope himself. Yet there is zero doubt that Ağca pulled the trigger.
According to the official Italian prosecution investigation, this was a Bulgarian operation - no ifs, ands, or buts. I don't doubt that this may not be the story according to local Bulgarian propaganda, which you seem only too naive to sop up.
Having wandered out of the basement to live in five different capital cities around the world, I know enough that local lore, especially in connection with national embarrassments, isn't necessarily the truth.
Aruna is good, but Silvio on his home turf will be too much for her.
"It is funny to hear you say that, because a 'severe reprimand' could be read as ¨we cannot actually condemn you for this, you were trigged [triggered?] by your opponent´s unusual behaviour."
By the same logic, mishanp, calling your discussion partner a moron (or a turtle, I suppose) could be viewed as a high compliment because you might have called him an imbecile.
But if Topalov once again starts falling apart early in the match there's no reason to believe Silvio will act any differently than he acted in Elista.
Danailov certainly won't wait for Veselin's opponent to act "suspiciously." Past WCC teams with more sporting integrity than Silvio have fashioned provocations out of colored yogurt and overhead lighting. What, for example, did Anand or Aruna ever do or say in their lives to deserve these comments:
"I expect that in the remaining six months the team of Anand will try to do everything possible and insist on implausible conditions during the negotiations and before signing the contract with FIDE, just to make us nervous."
If Veselin again stumbles badly, Silvio will put on another show. There's no reason to believe otherwise.
"If Veselin again stumbles badly, Silvio will put on another show. There's no reason to believe otherwise. "
I don't want it to be true but it probably is. The other thing is, with Kramnik, while his toilet visits were perfectly within his rights, it gave Danailov something to latch on to. What could the do with Anand? Vague computer cheating accusations? I'm hoping T will have the decency/ lack of necessity / circumspection to refrain from all such crap this time cos what is left of his reputation would be destroyed forever. However, since this micht be his last real shot at the title, maybe he will play va banque with that, too. But Anand will surely be prepared for everything, on and off the board...the element of surprise is absent...another factor which might discourage shenanigans.
¨However, since this micht be his last real shot at the title, maybe he will play va banque with that, too. ¨
This match is hardly his last real shot at the title , in case of losing Topa gets seeded to the candidates tournament ...
And if all of that fails , i still believe that a person who has been toping the rating chart a lot since Kasparov retirement might have some more chances in the near future.
Didn´t you heard about Gelfand?
Maybe you are mixing your personal wishes with reality , Topa is not running out of gas yet.
Note the use of the word "might".
"What could he do with Anand?"
The possibilities are endless:
--Aruna is walking into the playing area at critical moments with differently-scented, move-coded curries.
--Anand's habit of remaining at table for long periods of time is distracting to Veselin.
--Anand's first six moves are copied directly from Eric Schiller's World Champion Openings.
--Anand's guru is mentally transmitting Rybka moves.
--Anand insists on having a movie played in the lobby on a continuous loop: "I Was Robbed in Lausanne."
Sorry, but you ¨might¨ be the first person in the whole world to announce the end of Topalov´s career...
About the cheating concerns , i leave with something you can sing while Danailov does his magic.
Everybody [Gm]knows the deal is [A]rotten:
Old black [C]Joe's still picking [Dm]cotton
for your ribbon and [Eb]bows
@jjister
Uhh, you lost me there... You know Mehmet Ali Agca is Turkish and a Grey Wolf, right?
Are you suggesting that if it decided to do something this outrageous, the Bulgarian communist government would choose to use a right wing, ultra-nationalistic Turkish organization with close ties to the CIA?
Just checking whether we are on the same page...
Anyway congratulations on making it out of your mom's basement. I hope that the 5 capital cities you have visited are not Albany, Nashville, Des Moines, Bismarck and Salt Lake City.
And please cut the BS about local lore and no absolute truths. You were the one that presented the urban legend version of a very complicated international incident as the word of God.
Magnus will be Anand's second in the upcoming world championships.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091222/jsp/sports/story_11894927.jsp
That would be huge news .
"but you ¨might¨ be the first person in the whole world to announce the end of Topalov´s career..."
This time I gotta bite, and apologies for wasting thread space on this.
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a piece of untruth of the first order.
Manu misrepresents my views yet again due to his limited understanding of English and his tendency to scan a post, see the word "Topalov", and plaster the usual spurious rubbish all over the page without bothering with accuracy.
Well, knock me over with a feather.
I could explain and prevent every possible malicious misunderstanding of my posts by increasing their length 20 fold to iron out all the inevitable ambiguity which goes with relative brevity. Then I'd hear complaints about ponderousness and waffle, and rightly so. As it is, EVERY time a word or phrase could be misunderstood by a person inclined to read his own paranoid views in every nook and cranny which allows him to, he promptly does so. However, any competent/ non-rabidly biased person should be able to detect and understand the meaning of the posts, and since only YOU, time and time again, make your usual hash of it, I'll leave matters stand and not weary myself explaining every blessed word, again, again, again as I would to a three year old.
If you like to believe it, I and everyone else are against "your" Topalov and all other issues where you see yourself as defending your strange version of the truth. Trying to disentangle your web of utter baloney only leaves the hapless interlocutor tangled in it himself, as I've experienced many times.
Dude, I have time for you, but I weary mightily of your malicious misunderstanding, as do many others. In future, ask me what I mean, instead of assuming you KNOW what I mean. You never do.
Merry Xmas.
I absolutely agree with chesshire cat (and many others) on the issue of you misrepresenting someone else's view.
ccat: "However, since this might be his last real shot at the title, maybe he will play va banque with that, too."
manu: "Maybe you are mixing your personal wishes with reality, Topa is not running out of gas yet."
(A somewhat misleading claim. No wishes expressed, just simple observation of Topalov's past behaviour - and predicting future from that.)
manu: "Sorry, but you 'might' be the first person in the whole world to announce the end of Topalov´s career."
(A blatantly misleading claim. No end to his career was announced.)
--
Time and again you have shown yourself incompetent in understanding/interpreting the (nuances of the) English language.
Heck, maybe it's independent of language, but just an inability of yours to comprehend nuances?
I enjoy reading Daily Dirt and find it overall interesting and entertaining - but there are a few jerks around...that is a waste of time.
So grow up and start debating in a decent and fair way.
@ chesshire mouse: I was just teasing you , not the use of the word "maybe" ...
@ dTANSkak :
" Maybe " you take all of this too seriously , i don't.
And IMO you should use your own nickname to attack me.
Merry looney , Christmas.
chessshire and dTan,
The blog's most industrious manure spreader has never been interested in "debating in a decent and fair way," preferring to simply post links from Chessdom and propagandize for the indefensible Silvio.
His interminable displays of kindergarten sophistry and juvenile snarkiness replace decent arguments because he simply has no decent arguments. If you expect anything else it's you who are being foolish.
All this pickng on Manu is very bad. It is all pick pick pick just becuase he say some thing. The ones who do pickng are being so silly. Have I ever picked on Manu and so now you can pick on me if you need to go pickng. Maeybe most peoples are those who must do pickng for some reason unable to know. But Manu is not such perfect one him self. He very mucj makes big fool of him self.
not:note
If Carlsen is going to second for Anand, as Vishy was recently quoted as saying, then it seems clear that at least two key individuals agree with Kramnik about the impact of a Topalov victory.
It almost look like Topa vs the rest of the world , i bet that it would be the first time in WCH history that a second is better rated than the 2 contenders ...
Correction: Topa & Danailov (couple aka Topailov) vs the rest of he world
Anand: Seconds are a very secretive thing. Even if I tell you that he will be one of my seconds, the rival camp will not believe me. But one thing is for sure, Magnus Carlsen (the world No. 2) will be one of the seconds.
Quite obviously Anand doesn't expect anyone to believe this, and perhaps tossed this out with a smile. And this is highly improbable in any case since Carlsen himself is a contender in the next cycle with a possibility to fight against Anand.
Yes, seeing is believing in this case...definitely
It is a fact that Carlsen cancelled his Linares participation, though. Look at the calendar and consider the position of Linares in relation to the World Championship match... :o)
Anyway, there is "being a second" and there are various types of "professional cooperation". I doubt Anand would mention Carlsen in this context without having some kind of agreement with Carlsen. If nothing else, he might have an agreement that it's ok to mention Carlsen as a "possible second" - this is also pre-game psychological warfare.
>> Anyway, there is "being a second" and there are various types of "professional cooperation". I doubt Anand would mention Carlsen in this context without having some kind of agreement with Carlsen. If nothing else, he might have an agreement that it's ok to mention Carlsen as a "possible second" - this is also pre-game psychological warfare.
Agreed.
"It almost look like Topa vs the rest of the world , i bet that it would be the first time in WCH history that a second is better rated than the 2 contenders ..."
LOL
Great news that Carlsen will be helping Anand. Their partnership should benefit both players.
Since Kasparov helps Carlsen and Carlsen helps Anand, I wonder if by association Kasparov might participate in Anand's title defense?
I doubt Carlsen's involvement is a mere bluff. Placing pure chess considerations aside and moving match related gamesmanship and shenanigans to the fore, would the most likely challenger to the winner of this upcoming match prefer to deal with Vichy or Topa?
The mind boggles at the weapons-grade BS that Magnus might well face negotiating a challenge match if Topalov were FIDE champion. In contrast, Vishy, a consummate professional and gentleman, has been markedly more than fair in connection with the current title challenge match.
If the choice is clear, why not do something to make it happen. Magnus would only be plowing a clearer path to the championship.
From Vishy's perspective? First things first. Topa is the first order of business.
Could this be a hint from Kasparov to Carlsen? "Kramnik was my second, learnt a lot about me and later beat me in a WCh match. You should become Anand's second and .....". But, as rumors go, Anand and Carlsen were already (loosely) working together before the Anand-Kramnik match, i.e. before Kasparov became Carlsen's coach.
Straight from Magnus' facebook:
Magnus Carlsen "Is apparently not going to be a second for Anand after all. A shame, as I was really looking forward to that"
A clever ruse? Or, if real, then why?
All so many wrong facts told by people. Who can say why.
I am surprised they will play the match in Bulgaria. Topalov will certainly be hungrier to win. On the other hand Anand is the world champ and no one will be surprised if he won. All in all we should be in for an exciting match.
So Carlsen seconding Anand ? unfair
I hope Topalov wins then , a victory of Veselin would be akin to Fischer beating the Soviet school in my eyes ...
Plus Topalov is much more interesting to watch (takes risks , plays sharp against anyone , doesn't care about losing ) and far less of an hypocrite as Anand (false modesty ..) but that is just my personal take , i'm aware everybody wants Topalov to lose obviously
Another reason for Vishy to sign up Carlsen as a second: if Vishy can hold on to the championship until a challenge by the wunderkind, he is likely to be the beneficiary of an match with HUGE sponsorship.
If Topalov win against Anand (I hope not) then there is actually a chance of a match for the title once more between Topalov and Kramnik (Kramnik must offcase win the Candidate-tournament first). That would be a thriller.
"A likely explanation – which we shall confirm or correct on Thursday – for the above passage is that Anand said "Nielsen", referring to his second of many years, Peter Heine Nielsen. The journalist, whose ears have been ringing in the past few weeks with one Skandinavial "-sen" name, remembered "Carlsen", googled it and came up with the above story."
Source:Chessbase
Do not forget India is a bigger financial and military power than Bulgaria. Should anything happen to Anand it can be expected Indian government will act. They will make noise at the United Nations and eject the Bulgarian envoy from Delhi. If things go as per Dainalov then we are in for a show that will dwarf Fischer-Spassky '72...fasten your seatbelts!
Why Topalov afraid of big India. Why he care about so many bilions of people and all there bombs. He just play chess and bomb away Anand who can bomb away olso so why do any one care of so many bilions of people. Mr Danalov does not play for Topalov so why shuold any one care. He just an on looker that is who he is. Every one so silly I must laugh so much.
"The best place for freelance projects is freelancing sites. Freelancing sites are the best option for part time home based business and freelance jobs. There are many types of work available at freelancing sites
latest trend
"
"The best place for freelance projects is freelancing sites. Freelancing sites are the best option for part time home based business and freelance jobs. There are many types of work available at freelancing sites
latest trend
"
I am not cheering for either side, but ity would be better if Topalov won, then maybe the next WC match will be Topalov - Carlsen. That would have to be far more exciting than Anand - Carlsen, because Anand and Carlsen are good friends.
(Who wants to watch a match between good friends?
That's boring.)
Hmmm, Anand and Kramnik also get along well with each other, was their match boring? A closer match to Anand-Carlsen may have been Kramnik-Leko, which also had its moments of tension.
Personally I don't mind if a match focuses only on chess, unlike several WCh matches in the past: Topalov-Kramnik, Kasparov-Karpov, Karpov-Korchnoi, Fischer-Spassky (which was already before my time, so don't ask me to go further back in chess history).
A little bit of symbolic force for good vs. forces for evil might make this match a more sellable item. And maybe, if we're lucky, we could see a Carlsen - Topalov match pulled away from eastern Europe. Here's an idea. What can be done to bring a match like this to a major city in the US, one that has both a Norwegian and Bulgarian consulate or embassy? I also believe that Carlsen can get more sponsorships and bring chess to a larger audience than anyone else playing today.
Hope Anand is preparing well to Over come Topalov's Opening preparation and will Try to win the WCC in April 2010
Hope! Hope dies last!
Topalov will win. He is a great chess player with a great style and will get his title back.
Topalov can't win unless
Topalov cheats or
Anti-FIDE politicians play games