Hello, TeamLiquiders!
Inspired by chess thread:
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=18291,
and Jaedong's uncontested dominance:
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=102891
I tried to make a comparison between Jaedong and Garry Kasparov,
who used to be chess No. 1 for a long time. Actually, these two have pretty much in common...
I. GARRY KASPAROV:
Full Name: Garry Kimovich Weinstein
Born: 13 April 1963 (Age 46)
Nationality: Russian/Azeri/Jewish
Homeland: Baku, Azerbaijan
ELO Peak: 2851 (July 1999)
ELO Currently: Not rated (2812 on last FIDE entry)
Nicknames: The Killer, Kaspy
Status: Retired since 10 March 2005
Major Achievements:
- World Champion (1985-2000).
- #1 Highest rated player in history (1990-2005).
- #1 on FIDE rating lists (1986-2005).
- Most consecutive pro-tournament victories (15 wins, 1981-1990).
- Eight-time winner of prestigious Linares tournament.
- Eight gold medals of Chess Olympiad (with USSR/Russian team).
Openings:
- Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation
- King's Indian Defence, Classical Variation
- Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
...and many more
Current Duty:
- Coach of promising Norwegian player, Magnus Carlsen.
- Active in politics as leader of "The Other Russia" (Putin's opposition).
- Frequent on-line commentator during top-class chess events.
Style:
Kasparov is an agressive risk-taker, often aiming for double-edged positions and complicated games. With brilliant tactics and calculations, he often wins through combinational flurry of threats. He is also know for excellent opening preparation and re-inventing oldschool set-ups like Scotch Game.
Controversy:
Kasparov played his first WCh match in 1984, under very strange regulations. There was no game limit then, meaning the match could be played virtually forever if both players were to score draws all the time. However, Gazza's opponent, these days' champion Anatoly Karpov won 4 out of 9 initial games, and Kasparov seemed to be wiped out (first player to get 6 wins would clinch the title). After 17 draws, Karpov scored again, but Kaspy held out and won games 32, 47 and 48 (there were 40 draws in this slugfest). The match was finally ended without final result, by FIDE* President, Florencio Campomanes, who was worried about players' health (by this time, Karpov was reported to lose approximately 22lbs of weight). Though Kasparov was still 3-5 down at that point, he always believed the momentum was on his side, and he could win the whole match. This lead to big developement of hatred between him and Campomanes (and FIDE as well).
In 1993 Kasparov refused to play under FIDE rules and created his own chess organisation - PCA**. This was largely due to lack of financial rewards FIDE rules provided to World Championship cycle. Though Kasparov was banished from FIDE lists, he was still widely considered as World Champion, especially when new FIDE WCh format turned into average-players' fest. "The Schizm" lasted till 2006, when last PCA champ battled out FIDE World Champion in reunification match.
Nemesis:
Anatoly Karpov used to be Kasparov's lifelong opponent. "The Two Mr K" played over 200 official games, and despite Kasparov's overall success in taking/defending his World Championship, the overall score is pretty even to this day. Lately, Karpov, who is still an active tournament player, lost to Kasparov in showmatch 3-9.
Badass Quote:
"It will be Short and it will be short."
(Kasparov in 1993, when it turned out that he will fight England's Nigel Short in WCh Match).
Immortal Game:
Fun Video:
Master And Apprentice:
Kasparov and Mikhail Botvinnik, former World Champion and Gazza's mentor.
Death Stare:
+ Show Spoiler +
* - FIDE - Fédération Internationale des Échecs = World Chess Federation
** - PCA - Professional Chess Association (by GK, disbanded in 1996)
II. JAEDONG:
Full Name: Lee Jae Dong
Born: 9 January 1990 (Age 19)
Nationality: Korean
Homeland: Ulsan, South Korea
ELO Peak: 3459.3 (September 2009)
ELO Currently: 3124.0
Nicknames: Legend Killer, JD
Status: Active
Major Achievements:
- Three-time OSL winner (EVER 2007, Batoo 2009, Bacchus 2009).
- GOMTV winner (2008).
- WCG Korea winner (2008).
- First Progamer to break 3.000 ELO points barrier (August 2009).
- Highest ZvZ winning percentage in history (88 wins, 26 loses, 77.19%)
- Nine #1 appearances on TeamLiquid Power Ranking.
Openings:
- 3 Hatch Muta into 5 Hatch Hydra
- 3 Hatch Lurker/Ling
- 2 Hatch Muta/Ling
...and many more
Current Duty:
- Re-signed with Hwaseung OZ.
- Soon to recieve Lasik Surgery due to some trouble with sight.
- Gaming like crazy to prepare for upcoming season.
Style:
Jaedong is an agressive, somewheat micro-oriented player, though his macro is by no means weak anyway. Depending on excelent agility and game sense, he can pull off virtually any strategy, from all-in rushes to long, Zerg-management style battles. From time to time, he shows how to pull out something unorthodox.
Controversy:
August 2009 saw Jaedong carrying his Hwaseung OZ to Proleague final. "Legend Killer" did this almost single-handely and was expected to be the biggest threat for SK Telecom 1, the final obstacle in the championship run. However, JD adopted weird, weird strategy for his 1st game against fantasy, going Guardians and skipping his favourite, fearful Muta-harass. Despite decent micro, his strategic failure brought him devastating defeat, when Terran pulled out massive Tank counterattack. Next day, JD was an absolute favourite to win ZvZ against somehow mediocre Hyuk. Yet, he again went for dubious build, 12Hatch against 9Pool speed. It turned into BO defeat, but many commentators stated that he could win easily if he played safe. Tyrant's last chance of comeback was rematch against fantasy in Day 2 Ace Match. This time he was cheesed to death by Neo Medusa's fake wall that was in fact BBS rush with 1Rax hidden in heart of the map. 0-3 result obviously raised immortal questions about "JD slumping".
In September 2009 Jaedong declared free agency. His father speculated about possible JD's retirement, and expressed his dissatisfaction about his son's salary (which is kept at low level due to some irrelevant KeSPA rules). However, the regulations and general lack of serious transfer bids forced JD to re-sign with Hwaseung OZ with just little more money paid for his efforts. As a result, we got one more reason to say that KeSPA sucks (Note how similar it is to Kasparov's cause).
Nemesis:
Though Jaedong developed some nice rivalries with Flash and Stork (the latter being the only progamer, who has positive score vs JD in good number of games), only Kim Taek-Yong is worth calling him Jaedong's Nemesis. Still, Bisu has very much to prove against JD, especially since he has no OSL titles so far, and his famous PvZ is yet to be tested. However, recently Bisu beat Jaedong in a Proleague showmatch.
Badass Quote:
"I rate his defense 2/10."
(Jaedong in 2009, in double Bisu/JD interview, about Bisu's defensive capabilities).
Immortal Game:
Fun Video:
Master And Apprentice:
Ma Jae Yoon said: "May force be with you."
Death Stare:
+ Show Spoiler +
Poll: Who is No.1?
(Vote): Kasparov
(Vote): Jaedong
(Vote): Both are badass