Kramnik 10/1 to win game 7 with White (or even with Black!)

[David Robertson]

The bookies now go 900/1 on Anand to win the championship. £900 wins you a quid if Anand halves one of the next three games. If you still fancy Kramnik though, you can get a pitiful 50/1 he wins the rest

http://www.paddypower.com/bet?action=go ... pe_id=8868

Now if those Indian betting syndicates were to join forces with the Russian mafia......

David

[Mick Norris]

Anyone bet on win for Kramnik today?

Nice to see him win a game and keep the match alive, but would be a major surprise if he won the next game with black

Whatever Kramniks health situation, the major difference in this match has been that until today, Anand has not made a serious mistake, playing at a higher level than anyone has managed in the last couple of WC matches, so he will be a deserving champion

Hope he beats Topalov too

[David Robertson]

What a win does for prospects and odds!

You can get 5/1 Kramnik the win today, and 14/1 he retains the title (clipped from 50/1). Meanwhile odds on Anand winning the title have lengthened massively - from 900/1 on to 100/1 on

Hard to find good value in that lot. Probably 2/1 on the draw is best; or even 2/1 Anand the win if Kramnik overpresses.

But if Kramnik were to win today.... oh my goodness.....

David

[JustinHorton]

But if Kramnik were to win today.... oh my goodness.....

It would be a shock indeed, as they're not playing today.

[JustinHorton]

Meanwhile, guesses as to the opening may be deposited here.

[Ian Kingston]

You can get 5/1 Kramnik the win today, and 14/1 he retains the title...

Not easy to retain a title he doesn't hold.

[David Robertson]

Yes, that point was made earlier on the Atticus forum. I gave my response there, the gist of which was that I (for what it's worth) regard the matchplay, mano-a-mano champion as the real deal, not this half-baked FIDE tournament business. I hope Anand retains his FIDE title and wins the classical title too, ending all arguments

David

[Ian Kingston]

Yes, that point was made earlier on the Atticus forum. I gave my response there, the gist of which was that I (for what it's worth) regard the matchplay, mano-a-mano champion as the real deal, not this half-baked FIDE tournament business. I hope Anand retains his FIDE title and wins the classical title too, ending all arguments

I agree, with the sole reservation that when Kramnik agreed to put his title on the line in a tournament and lost it, my own preference for the match tradition (and anyone else's preference or opinion) was made irrelevant by the plain fact that no one with a claim to the title disputed the identity of the champion. There was only one game in town, and Anand won it.

The best thing about the current match is that it will finally put an end to the nonsense that began in 1993.

[Mick Norris]

Hope you are right about the nonsense and congratulations to Anand for winning the match

Hope there's no Bulgarian nonsense in 2009

[John Saunders]

In one sense, the nonsense did end briefly when Kramnik beat Topalov in 2006. He was the one and only champion in town then. But unluckily for him he was obliged by FIDE to put his title up for grabs at the silly and unnecessary Mexico tournament in 2007. One or two of Vlad's 'great predecessors' might well have baulked at that and played politics but, happily for the unity of the chess world, Vlad was big enough to see the whole thing through to the end. This match has been one of two gentlemen - Vishy a fantastic winner and Vlad a sporting loser. We should cherish both of them.

But, of course, the irony of having two gracious world title rivals is that it translates to practically zero coverage of the match in the general media!

[JustinHorton]

Indeed, the toilet business got reported on the BBC two years ago. As I found out, putting Kramnik in the BBC news search function.

I don't think that's just a chess thing, it's a news thing but when it's the difference, not between differnt amounts of coverage, but between coverage and no-coverage, then it's pitiful.

I think I might knock my head against that particular brick wall a little more, just to see how it feels.