Chess

[Federberg]

I think Akobian played the player not the position. Should be a draw by repetition now. Had a couple of chances but kept blowing it. Very poor game from So

 

[DarthFed]

The second tier players in the US Open are holding their own very well. Caruana got his first win of the event yesterday over Kamsky. Naka, Caruana, and a few others are at +1 with So being the only one at +2. Even though So is at +2 he has lost almost 3 points, Caruana is down 3 and Naka is down 5. It kind of shows this is a tough event to get a lot of points for the top dogs.

 

[Federberg]

The second tier players in the US Open are holding their own very well. Caruana got his first win of the event yesterday over Kamsky. Naka, Caruana, and a few others are at +1 with So being the only one at +2. Even though So is at +2 he has lost almost 3 points, Caruana is down 3 and Naka is down 5. It kind of shows this is a tough event to get a lot of points for the top dogs.

Yes agreed. I'm loving this tournament

 

[DarthFed]

And Caruana got trounced pretty good yesterday putting him at an even score. Very surprising results so far with just 4 rounds left.

 

[DarthFed]

Just looked at the official page of the US Championship and noted there is a "Fischer Bonus" of $64,000 for anyone who finishes with a perfect 11-0 score. Lol, I think those days are long gone. With all due respect to Fischer the competition is quite a bit stronger here and in this day and age it's really tough to rack up a ton of wins with computer prep playing a big role.

 

[Federberg]

Did you watch that DF? So vs Giri. Probably the best Speed Chess match we've seen so far! Btw... Mamedyrov at 2800?? Woof! He's been on a mad run for the last few months. Always folds like a cheap tent against Magnus. Still I like his style

 

[DarthFed]

No I didn't see it actually. Did So win? I would expect he did.

And yeah it has been a great run for Shakh and I like his game too. He seems to cause everyone trouble except Magnus, let's see if he keeps this up though.

 

[Federberg]

No I didn't see it actually. Did So win? I would expect he did.

And yeah it has been a great run for Shakh and I like his game too. He seems to cause everyone trouble except Magnus, let's see if he keeps this up though.

Yup, So won... 14.5 - 13.5 but to be honest it was swinging around all the time. It was very very tight. Giri started off trying to get into endgames, but realised very quickly that So was more than up to it, in fact he was getting bad endgame positions. He went 2 down, and over time he realised that the only way to go was all out attack, which made So very uncomfortable and so Giri starting to pick up wins. After that they kept swapping the lead. I think it's fair to say that it was just timing that left So the winner because they really were exchanging the lead when it got to bullet.

All in all Giri impressed me, because I didn't see him as much of speedster, we all know how good So is in that format. At the end, Giri admitted that he doesn't play online that frequently, and when he does he normally plays much weaker opposition hence his strategy of simplifying to endgames. It took him a while to realise that that wouldn't work against another Super GM. Amazing match...

 

[DarthFed]

Carlsen's gap at #1 is really starting to narrow and there are a lot of players in the mix with 6 total at 2800 or above!! His play in classical has been a little more up and down the past couple years now, he just had a really bad tournament in Norway a week ago. There is of course speculation that he's burned out, other interests, already past his best, etc. but I think he's going to step it up again soon with people chasing #1.

I am very interested in seeing another WC match with Carlsen vs. So or Caruana even though the latter hasn't been overly impressive on a consistent basis for awhile now. A match with Aronian would be interesting too but I can't picture him beating Carlsen in a match even though it does seem that he has gotten a little more positionally sound this past year.

 

[Federberg]

Carlsen's gap at #1 is really starting to narrow and there are a lot of players in the mix with 6 total at 2800 or above!! His play in classical has been a little more up and down the past couple years now, he just had a really bad tournament in Norway a week ago. There is of course speculation that he's burned out, other interests, already past his best, etc. but I think he's going to step it up again soon with people chasing #1.

I am very interested in seeing another WC match with Carlsen vs. So or Caruana even though the latter hasn't been overly impressive on a consistent basis for awhile now. A match with Aronian would be interesting too but I can't picture him beating Carlsen in a match even though it does seem that he has gotten a little more positionally sound this past year.

I heard he has a girlfriend now. So I imagine it's hard to focus on the chess pieces with a hottie walking around in lingerie

 

[DarthFed]

He's still playing like a monster in the quicker time controls but classical has been a different story. I think being this close to falling from the top spot may be the kick in the ass he needs.

 

[Federberg]

I really hope so. He was a real phenom. From what I've observed, he's still able to dominate middle games, but once he builds up an edge he seems to lose the thread. There was a time when he became almost computer like when he had a slight edge

 

[Federberg]

Interesting Kramnik interview...

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/kramnik-on-carlsen-s-slump-candidates-qualification

 

[DarthFed]

I really hope so. He was a real phenom. From what I've observed, he's still able to dominate middle games, but once he builds up an edge he seems to lose the thread. There was a time when he became almost computer like when he had a slight edge

Yes, as you say a hot piece of azz could be the explanation. He isn't as singular-minded as Fischer or Kasparov (when he played), I never got the sense that chess is his everything like it was for those two. And even though he's only 26 we have to remember he's already been on top for many years even if he was only WC for 4 of them so far.

 

[Federberg]

Yes I got that impression too. He's a fairly normal guy, and Scandinavian culture probably normalises him too

 

[DarthFed]

Big tourney going on in St. Louis. Through 5 rounds it is MVL up half a point over Carlsen and Anand. Basically all the guys who were nearing Carlsen's rating have played terribly the past few tourneys now and Magnus has some breathing room again.

Next week Kasparov plays a bunch of the guys currently in this tournament in a rapid and blitz tournament.

 

[Federberg]

Yup. They're all finding it's tough to make progress. Funny thing though... even though Magnus blundered a winning position against MVL, it actually looks like he might just be regaining his previous quality. Whether that translates to the same outcomes is doubtful though as these guys are a lot less fearful. Cool finish in the Anand Caruana game yesterday

 

[Federberg]

Some good games today! Caruana MVL in particular, but also some interesting stuff happening in Carlsen Naka.

 

[Federberg]

Wow! Wesley's just stinking the whole joint up right now

 

[DarthFed]

Yep. So seems to be the latest in a long line of players under Carlsen who have a few breakout tournaments and then suddenly start struggling badly. It's happened to Caruana, Aronian, and MVL too. That MVL-Karjakin game in round 7 was something too!