Carlsen - Anand 2014

[Matt Mackenzie]

I would pay to watch Nakamura have a go, he would probably get spanked but he would not be afraid despite his current record.

It would be nice if Naka managed just *one* win against Magnus in the next two years

[Jonathan Bryant]

Er... 'Briton wins world Scrabble tournament'?

Exactly. Carlsen’s dog has not barked in the Guardian’s night as yet. Scrabble being more newsworthy, it seems.

If a Brit had won the World Chess Championship though, the Guardian would probably put it on the front page!

I’m sure they would. But this is not just a one off. E.g. recent history of reporting the winner of the British Scrabble Championship and not the British Chess Championship.

[Barry Sandercock]

The last round was a superb game and just shows what a great player Magnus Carlsen is.

[Clive Blackburn]

The last round was a superb game and just shows what a great player Magnus Carlsen is.

Yes I agree but Anand didn't have to go in for that sacrifice and after the game he couldn't explain why he did it.

Carlsen just handled the pressure better I think.

[Leonard Barden]

If a Brit had won the World Chess Championship though, the Guardian would probably put it on the front page!

I’m sure they would. But this is not just a one off. E.g. recent history of reporting the winner of the British Scrabble Championship and not the British Chess Championship.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/a ... onal-title

[Graham Borrowdale]

The last round was a superb game and just shows what a great player Magnus Carlsen is.

Yes I agree but Anand didn't have to go in for that sacrifice and after the game he couldn't explain why he did it.

Carlsen just handled the pressure better I think.

I have to agree with Clive. I think the last round showed some nerves creep into Anand's game. Anand would usually remain objective and not play that exchange sacrifice. That, along with the double blunder in game 6, means that the margin between winning and losing the match was extremely close. 3-1 looks flattering to Carlsen.
As for the future, I can not see Anand, or Kramnik for that matter, winning the next candidates, so I think we have a new era with a new challenger to look forward to.

[Matthew Turner]

I didn't see Anand winning the candidates last time round. Nor did I see Anand getting this close in match 2. Very hard to believe he can do it again, but hard to count it out.

[Mick Norris]

I was shocked Anand won the Candidates, but not surprised he was much closer to Carlsen this time

He will be in the 2016 Candidates, so up to him really what he does between now and then, and whether he has a chance then

Most interesting is to see who qualifies e.g. will Grischuk maintain his strong form

Hopefully Caruana and Nakamura will qualify for the Candidates - maybe St Louis will bid then to stage them

[David Robertson]

It's all over for Anand now. He's run out of road. By the end of the next WC cycle, he'll be 46. That's too old at this level. And I doubt he'd been keen to rejoin a doomed battle with a maturing 25 year old Carlsen anyway, not that Caruana et al will allow him the opportunity.

Best he be remembered as a fine World Champion, as a fantastic competitor, and most importantly of all, as a thoroughly decent human being. But time now for him to consider the Tendulkar option. I imagine his country will express its gratitude in a suitable way.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I think Anand should play in the 2016 Candidates if he wishes to. He almost certainly won't win it, but he has earned the right to play if he wishes to do so. There are many top players who keep playing into their 40s and 50s and even later. If they can continue to produce beautiful games and strong play, they add to the prestige of such events.

[Mick Norris]

I think Anand should play in the 2016 Candidates if he wishes to. He almost certainly won't win it, but he has earned the right to play if he wishes to do so. There are many top players who keep playing into their 40s and 50s and even later. If they can continue to produce beautiful games and strong play, they add to the prestige of such events.

Agreed, getting past him to qualify will be useful experience for the next Candidate

I think it is unrealistic that Topalov or possibly Kramnik will qualify next time, but Caruana, Grischuk, Karjakin, Giri, Nakamura, Aronian (if he holds his nerves in check) could do so to name but 6

[Jonathan Bryant]

If a Brit had won the World Chess Championship though, the Guardian would probably put it on the front page!

I’m sure they would. But this is not just a one off. E.g. recent history of reporting the winner of the British Scrabble Championship and not the British Chess Championship.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/a ... onal-title

Thanks Leonard. My comment was poorly worded. I’d meant, "recent history of reporting in the news pages ...." Not that there hadn’t been a chess column on it.

Actually, having had my memory jogged like this I now wonder if I was thinking of the BBC rather than the Guardian.

Fuzzy memory aside, my fundamental point stands, I think: The Guardian - probably typically of the news media in general at the moment - seen scrabble as more newsworthy for a general audience than chess.

[Leonard Barden]

Thanks Leonard. My comment was poorly worded. I’d meant, "recent history of reporting in the news pages...." Not that there hadn’t been a chess column on it.

Actually, having had my memory jogged like this I now wonder if I was thinking of the BBC rather than the Guardian.

Fuzzy memory aside, my fundamental point stands, I think: The Guardian - probably typically of the news media in general at the moment - seen scrabble as more newsworthy for a general audience than chess.

The Guardian (alone among broadsheets) counts chess as a sport and therefore almost all the chess items, not only my weekly column but also Stephen Moss's contributions and others, eg this recent one
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortc ... encounters
appear on the sports news pages, not on the general news pages.

Checking with Google I find around 6-10 Guardian items on scrabble so far during 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/chess

shows approx 65 Guardian items on chess in the same period.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I think Anand should play in the 2016 Candidates if he wishes to. He almost certainly won't win it, but he has earned the right to play if he wishes to do so. There are many top players who keep playing into their 40s and 50s and even later. If they can continue to produce beautiful games and strong play, they add to the prestige of such events.

Agreed, getting past him to qualify will be useful experience for the next Candidate

I think it is unrealistic that Topalov or possibly Kramnik will qualify next time, but Caruana, Grischuk, Karjakin, Giri, Nakamura, Aronian (if he holds his nerves in check) could do so to name but 6

Heh. Would be interesting to draw up lists of 8 players for a Candidates Tournament now and for 15 months time (roughly). Putting to one side for a moment the way FIDE run things, who would you put together in a tournament to decide the next challenger for Carlsen?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortc ... encounters

The 'five months' there for chess calculates the time differently. The tennis and cricket ones are times spent actually playing. Has anyone calculated how long K&K spent actually at the board (roughly) in those five months?