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Russian Federation798 Posts
Hmm. I like Polgar as much as anyone. She is very entertaining to watch and certainly capable of doing well in weaker fields. However, in a tight field like San Luis she just lacks certain solidness in her game. Usually she makes up for it by taking initiative, but in a field like this it gets you in trouble.
As far as Ivanchuk goes, he has some slips once in a while, because he can be very moody. However, He has been very consistent lately for the most part, perfoming well in a lot of tourneys. YHis rating has been climbing, which is even more impressive since he mostly plays in opens nowadays, where even a draw can drop high-rated player like him down in ELO.
Kramnik is good enough to compete seriously for a top player title in the world. In fact, I still think Kramnik is a top active player in the world as far as match abilities go. Due to his style, Anand and Topalov will probably always have some edge on him as far as tournament play goes, but in matches he is the man to beat. Leko couldn't win a sick Kramnik in the match... There is nothing wrong with his chess, he just has health and psychological issues to overcome and he most likely will. The man was blundering pieces more often than I do lately - he's not slipping, he is ill. Also note that he's been experimenting with 1.e4 too much and that haven't gone too well.
P.S. Don't tell me I like Kramnik 'cause I'm Russian.=) Personally, I can't stand him.
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I like to hear about chess and its fun to to watch the commentary but I am no good.  . Has Kasparov retired or why isnt he mentioned in any context?
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I think that he considers retiring now but he hasn't done it yet.I am not sure though.
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Doubt it. Hydra would rape him, though probably not as bad as Adams. Topalov missed two easy wins against Anand and Morozevich, and playing that way against Hydra is a sure way to lose.
How about a little faith in Humans, you cyborg? Topalov managed a draw against Hydra in Bilbao. Either way it would be an awesome match.
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Who is hydra? Is it a program or is it a special computer?
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Wow this is unbelievable. Topalov breaking 2800? He did not seem very strong in the past 3 years. He was around tied with Michael Adams and he was a strong GM, but he did not seem anything more than a mediocre Super GM. But congrats to him!
And Kramnik has dropped so unbelievably fast it's shocking. But no surprise, because his play style is quite boring just like Leko.
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,,he did not seem anything more than a mediocre Super GM''
How it sounds,I would not mind be at medicore master level at all ; )
Yeah I was very surprised of Topalov winning I thought that Anand can make it..
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Jim, Kasparov has retired after the latest Linares. Curiously, he got beaten in the last round (in his last game, no less!) by Topalov, who tied him for first place. However, Kasparov did recieve first place due to the type of tiebreaks in play there. Hydra is a fairly strong computer program who has recently beat Micheal Adams to the tune of 5.5-0.5 in a match, by far the most decisive win by a computer over a super-GM. That is why most of the time, despite Hydra being slightly weaker than its other computer counterparts, Hydra is mentioned ahead of such programs as Fruit and Zappa.
How about a little faith in Humans, you cyborg? Topalov managed a draw against Hydra in Bilbao. Either way it would be an awesome match.
Draw is by no means a win.
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Draw is by no means a win.
And it's by no means a rape.
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On October 15 2005 17:20 TheBlackJack wrote:And it's by no means a rape.
Okay. Maybe not a rape. But neither side can really base anything off of one game...
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GrandInquisitor
New York City13113 Posts
I was rooting for Morozevich all the way. We need more fucking crazy players like him. Same reason I like Polgar.
What I hate are Kasparov-style players that use massive amounts of opening preparation. That ruins the effing game. Same for people who short-draw repeatedly.
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Russian Federation798 Posts
On October 15 2005 18:36 GrandInquisitor wrote:
I was rooting for Morozevich all the way. We need more fucking crazy players like him. Same reason I like Polgar.
What I hate are Kasparov-style players that use massive amounts of opening preparation. That ruins the effing game. Same for people who short-draw repeatedly.
WTF? You hate the man because he works on his openings? You are talking about Kasparov, who revitalized a lot of extremely sharp openings, like Grunfeld, King's Indian and Sicilian Dragon. You praise Polgar and Moro for being "crazy" and creating sharp positions, but there is nobody even close to Kasparov in ability to create and play sharp positions. You say Kasparov wins because he is better prepared in the opening? He wins because he is a better at almost all aspects of the game, including his work ethic towards opening theory. You might want to check out Kasparov - Topalov from Corus 1999. Also I have to remind you that last two tournaments he played he probably had more entertaining games than all of his opponents combined. 1 or 2 short draws in 20-something games, all others were fighting chess.
This question keeps popping up, so... Kasparov oficially announced his retirement after the last game in Linares 2005, which he won. It was somewhat controversial, because he won on a tie-break (he had more wins with black then Topalov.) In the last game with Topa he had black and was ahead by full point. Had an easily drawable position, but mentally collapsed from thinking it's his last game as a pro chess player (he decided to quit before Linares started) and blundered terribly, allowing Topa to exchange rest of the pieces on the board and achieve a winning pawn endgame.
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There is nothing written in that topic that I agree more with than SurG's post above.
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Dealer
Sweden1368 Posts
On October 14 2005 17:59 SurG wrote:
The one player obviously missing was Ivanchuk, no doubt. Polgar is probably not good enough for this level of competition, especially after inactivity. As far as others, I don't think you can take Grischuk instead of Moro or Bacrot instead of Adams. There is virtually no difference in skill there, and given the circumstances it's just plain luck that some were ahead in the rating lists at some point. Case can be made for any out of top 20. As far as Kasim is concerned, I'm not his fan, but he is the only one who went through any kind of competitive selection process, so his place in the tourney really can't be disputed.
It'd great to see FIDE getting a somewhat legitimate title holder. Let's hope that they can manage to organize a championship cycle now. The best thing would be a legitimate cycle and Kramnik loosing match to Topalov. But I would still take a top-form Kramnik over Topalov in a match. The question is will Kramnik ever reach his top form again - he's been playing like shit lately.
I'd definately want to see Ivanchuk instead of Polgar and Kramnik instead of perhaps Adams or Moro (Moro certainly finished decently, Adams is probably more consistant). Kasim is of course a bit behind in ratings but he earned his spot, and if Ivanchuk would've been top10 he would've been in also. Chuckie is looking seriously hot at the moment though, i'd also like to see Aronian playing, already top10 and improving rapidly, in a few years he'll be top5.
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Dealer
Sweden1368 Posts
Surg: kramnik is not experimenting with 1. e4, he switched completely, though he of course plays Nf3 and d4 occasionally when he's content with draws.
I agree with you though, Kramnik in form is as scary as a match player can get, he's virtually IMPOSSIBLE to beat, and his endgame technique is unmatched, which allows him to squeeze out a win from very hard positions. The way he beat Leko in their final game in Switzerland is beautiful, no gambling, no risks, just pure grinding your opponent down. One has to understand the risks Topalov took to compare it. Against a player like Kramnik he would almost never win a game like his white against Adams, and i do believe he would occasionally lose it. Kramnik doesnt take those risks, and sure does agree to more draws than he should.
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EPT
