Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

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Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 01, 2017 3:56 pm

Blitz Round 7:
1 GM Aronian, L. (12½) 2780 — GM So, Wesley (18) 2789
2 GM Vachier-Lagr. (14½) 2783 — GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703
3 GM Giri, Anish (13) 2764 — GM Carlsen, M. (16½) 2851
4 GM Ivanchuk, V. (8) 2757 — GM Kramnik, V. (13½) 2789
5 GM Nepomniachtc. (12) 2766 — GM Anand, V. (11) 2775

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sat Jul 01, 2017 4:17 pm

1 GM Aronian, L. (12½) 2780 ½ - ½ GM So, Wesley (18) 2789
2 GM Vachier-Lagr. (14½) 2783 1 - 0 GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703
3 GM Giri, Anish (13) 2764 1 - 0 GM Carlsen, M. (16½) 2851
4 GM Ivanchuk, V. (8) 2757 ½ - ½ GM Kramnik, V. (13½) 2789
5 GM Nepomniachtc. (12) 2766 ½ - ½ GM Anand, V. (11) 2775

Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 01, 2017 4:24 pm

Carlsen's game with Giri is a bit of a car crash, while someone should really take away Jobava 's licence:

Blitz Rd 8:
1 GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703 — GM Carlsen, M. (16½) 2851
2 GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789 — GM Giri, Anish (14) 2764. (11½)
3 GM Anand, V. (11½) 2775 — GM Aronian, L. (13) 2780 2775
4 GM Kramnik, V. (14) 2789 — GM Nepomniachtc. (12½) 2766
5 GM Vachier-Lagr. (15½) 2783 — GM Ivanchuk, V. (8½) 2757

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sat Jul 01, 2017 4:44 pm

1 GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789 0 - 1 GM Giri, Anish (14) 2764
2 GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703 0 - 1 GM Carlsen, M. (16½) 2851
3 GM Vachier-Lagr. (15½) 2783 1 - 0 GM Ivanchuk, V. (8½) 2757
4 GM Anand, V. (11½) 2775 1 - 0 GM Aronian, L. (13) 2780
5 GM Kramnik, V. (14) 2789 ½ - ½ GM Nepomniachtc. (12½) 2766

Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 01, 2017 4:47 pm

Rd 9 - final one of the day and it features the mighty clash Carlsen - So. Glad its the final round because if Seirawan says "My spidey sense is tingling" one more time....

1 GM Ivanchuk, V. (8½) 2757 — GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703
2 GM Nepomniachtc. (13) 2766 — GM Vachier-Lagr. (16½) 2783
3 GM Aronian, L. (13) 2780 — GM Kramnik, V. (14½) 2789
4 GM Giri, Anish (15) 2764 — GM Anand, V. (12½) 2775
5 GM Carlsen, M. (17½) 2851 — GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:16 pm

1 GM Aronian, L. (13) 2780 ½ - ½ GM Kramnik, V. (14½) 2789
2 GM Nepomniachtc. (13) 2766 1 - 0 GM Vachier-Lagr. (16½) 2783
3 GM Carlsen, M. (17½) 2851 1 - 0 GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789
4 GM Ivanchuk, V. (8½) 2757 ½ - ½ GM Jobava, B. (1) 2703
5 GM Giri, Anish (15) 2764 ½ - ½ GM Anand, V. (12½) 2775

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JustinHorton
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by JustinHorton » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:18 pm

Wesley So disappeared off the stage very quickly at the end, though not as quickly as Kramnik's advantage disappeared after his very surprising 66th move.
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Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:18 pm

Class play from Carlsen and its all level with So going into the final day with MVL a couple of points behind and OMG!!! Jobava got a draw:

Round 10 pairings
1 GM Jobava, B. (1½) 2703 — GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789
2 GM Carlsen, M. (18½) 2851 — GM Anand, V. (13) 2775
3 GM Giri, Anish (15½) 2764 — GM Kramnik, V. (15) 2789
4 GM Aronian, L. (13½) 2780 — GM Vachier-Lagr. (16½) 2783
5 GM Nepomniachtc. (14) 2766 — GM Ivanchuk, V. (9) 2757

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:22 pm

1= Carlsen, Magnus & So, Wesley 18½/27
3 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 16½/27
4 Giri, Anish 15½/27
5 Kramnik, Vladimir 15/27
6 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 14/27
7 Aronian, Levon 13½/27
8 Anand, Viswanathan 13/27
9 Ivanchuk, Vassily 9/27
10 Jobava, Baadur 1½/27

David Sedgwick
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by David Sedgwick » Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:07 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:Greetings from Leuven. I arrived today.
Chris Rice wrote:In the last round I watched Kramnik struggling to make a move with 1 second left. He made it and the clock went to 11 seconds
Nick Faulks wrote:That isn't supposed to happen?
If he started with 10 seconds and moved after 9, then no, it shouldn't. However, if he started with 11 seconds and moved after 10, then it is correct.
Chris Rice wrote:What I was getting at is if Kramnik had not resigned and played another move with say 5 seconds to go would the clock have gone to 15 seconds or defaulted back to 11 seconds?
It should default back to 11 seconds.
Alex McFarlane wrote: It may depend on the model,

There is (American) delay and there is Bronstein (delay).

In the former there is a countdown of the extra time and then the clock resumes from the original time. In the latter the 'bonus' is added on up to the previous time and then that time counts down.

The DGT America does the former as can the 3000 (which I think can be set to do both). Other DGTs do the latter.
I''ll try to check this out tomorrow.
The DGT 3000s are set for what Alex has described as Bronstein delay.

To begin with, the clock shows 5.03. If White (say) moves after 2 seconds, the clock goes back from 5.01 to 5.03. If White moves after 4 seconds, the clock goes back from 4.59 to 5.02.

The earlier posts which I quoted above were of course referring to the Rapid games rather than the Blitz games.

David Sedgwick
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by David Sedgwick » Sat Jul 01, 2017 10:12 pm

Chris Rice wrote:Article from FIDE International Arbiter Chris Bird on time controls. There are a couple of paragraphs explaining the difference between Time Delay and the Bronstein Method. As David is intending to come back to us on this I would be curious to know the reasoning the Bronstein method was brought in for Leuven. Is it simply to try something new? I can see the benefit over the Bonus methods is that the game is likely to be shorter given the lack of accumulation.
I think that it was a combination of what you have said in your last sentence together with a desire, particularly in relation to the Classical games, to avoid frequent repetitions designed purely to gain time on the increment (in that mode).

Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:16 am

David Sedgwick wrote:
Chris Rice wrote:Article from FIDE International Arbiter Chris Bird on time controls. There are a couple of paragraphs explaining the difference between Time Delay and the Bronstein Method. As David is intending to come back to us on this I would be curious to know the reasoning the Bronstein method was brought in for Leuven. Is it simply to try something new? I can see the benefit over the Bonus methods is that the game is likely to be shorter given the lack of accumulation.
I think that it was a combination of what you have said in your last sentence together with a desire, particularly in relation to the Classical games, to avoid frequent repetitions designed purely to gain time on the increment (in that mode).
Thanks David, I hadn't considered the frequent repetitions argument. That seems a reasonable one. I'm wondering, given the lack of accumulation, whether it might be an idea to extend the Delay past 3 seconds in the blitz. The frequent repetition argument wouldn't be affected. It's just that seeing the world's best players floundering about trying to make moves in a split second isn't really doing it for me. The worst example I saw was Anand, four pawns up against Kramnik in an easily winning position, just making moves and losing pawn after pawn. Finally, he is about to queen his e-pawn and realises that Kramnik has a knight fork so Anand in a blind panic promotes to a knight and I'm pretty sure illegally uses two hands to do it. The video on the Chess24 (scroll down to the bottom) shows those last few moves if anyone wants to view it. It looked to me that the two players thought the whole thing was a farce, agreed to a draw and laughed it off. I mean its Blitz so one can't extend the Delay by too much but say to 5 seconds might reduce the incidences of illegal moves, pieces and clocks flying all over the place and the players could demonstrate a modicum of technique.

Tim Harding
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Tim Harding » Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:09 pm

Do we watch online chess in order to:
a) learn something from high quality play by top GMs who have sufficient time to think,
or
b) enjoy the excitement of a blitz finish with crazy happenings and stupid mistakes that we might make in a classical game?

In my case, a.)

Delay, which most of the Leuven participants are clearly unused to, has just made the blitz even more farcical than usual. Having a longer delay is unlikely to make a difference. GCT should scrap it and go back to increment next year.
Tim Harding
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Author of 'Steinitz in London,' British Chess Literature to 1914', 'Joseph Henry Blackburne: A Chess Biography', and 'Eminent Victorian Chess Players'
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LawrenceCooper
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:23 pm

1 GM Giri, Anish (15½) 2764 ½ - ½ GM Kramnik, V. (15) 2789
2 GM Carlsen, M. (18½) 2851 ½ - ½ GM Anand, V. (13) 2775
3 GM Aronian, L. (13½) 2780 0 - 1 GM Vachier-Lagr. (16½) 2783
4 GM Jobava, B. (1½) 2703 0 - 1 GM So, Wesley (18½) 2789
5 GM Nepomniachtc. (14) 2766 0 - 1 GM Ivanchuk, V. (9) 2757

Chris Rice
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Re: Grand Chess Tour events: Paris GCT and Leuven, Belgium

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:25 pm

Agree with Tim that probably best to scrap the delay method. So wins in Rd 10 to retake lead:

Rd 11 pairings:

1 GM Nepomniachtc. (14) 2766 - GM Jobava, B. (1½) 2703
2 GM Ivanchuk, V. (10) 2757 — GM Aronian, L. (13½) 2780
3 GM Vachier-Lagr. (17½) 2783 — GM Giri, Anish (16) 2764
4 GM Kramnik, V. (15½) 2789 — GM Carlsen, M. (19) 2851
5 GM Anand, V. (13½) 2775 — GM So, Wesley (19½) 2789