English Chess Forum

Matt Mackenzie wrote:Gazza didn't disgrace himself in the end, which is good, but equally it can be argued this event showed chess has moved on from even his era.

I'm not sure you can draw many conclusions from an extremely rusty 54 yr old in a rapid event, let alone blitz. I'm not sure Kasparov was even particularly highly reknowned at those disciples 20 years ago (relative to his dominance at slower time controls). Much more interesting would have been how he would have performed at slower time controls.

Richard Bates wrote:

Matt Mackenzie wrote:Gazza didn't disgrace himself in the end, which is good, but equally it can be argued this event showed chess has moved on from even his era.

I'm not sure you can draw many conclusions from an extremely rusty 54 yr old in a rapid event, let alone blitz. I'm not sure Kasparov was even particularly highly reknowned at those disciples 20 years ago (relative to his dominance at slower time controls). Much more interesting would have been how he would have performed at slower time controls.

I thought Kasparov's finish was encouraging, it took him some time to find his feet but he seemed stronger at the end than the start. By contrast Anand seemed the one who was slightly showing his age.

Richard Bates wrote:

Matt Mackenzie wrote:Gazza didn't disgrace himself in the end, which is good, but equally it can be argued this event showed chess has moved on from even his era.

I'm not sure you can draw many conclusions from an extremely rusty 54 yr old in a rapid event, let alone blitz. I'm not sure Kasparov was even particularly highly reknowned at those disciples 20 years ago (relative to his dominance at slower time controls). Much more interesting would have been how he would have performed at slower time controls.

I would agree with that, like Justin, I thought Kasparov looked extremely well prepared, particularly out of the openings as I mentioned upthread. Also Yasser kept making references to physical preparation so we can reasonably assume Kasparov was regularly in the gym and out jogging. Where he seemed to fall down was either in converting his advantage or keeping equality once he had reached a decent position, he simply used too much time at critical points and I'm sure that was down to lack of match sharpness due to the lay off. He made quite a few endgame errors which given his superb technique was a bit surprising. When you think about it though there were not so many rapid/blitz events amongst the top guys that you get these days so Kasparov was at a disadvantage there, he wouldn't be used to the continual pressure to produce 'only' moves every few seconds and he certainly wouldn't have been used to games where they play on and on and on and on hoping for a slip.

On the final day when he was playing Navara, he offered a draw, Navara turned him down, played on for a bit then agreed the draw, but I think that would have been surprising for Kasparov. Players used to fear him. Clearly this is not the case anymore. I don't think Kasparov will come back to the game unless he thought he could prove he was the best and deep down I don't think he really believes he can compete day in day out with the top guys and it was significant to me that he chose to participate in a tournament that Carlsen wasn't playing in. Having said that I really hope I'm wrong and he comes back, he brings so much emotion and energy to the game that chess, as a spectacle, would benefit from it.

I don't believe Garry fears Magnus

There is a tradition apparently where the sponsors and players team up for a six game match. Much fun was had by all according to the Chess.com report. Towards the end of the report we got Kasparov's final reflections at the Closing ceremony:

""I'm relieved it's over," Kasparov said. "It's the end of my chess vacation.

"In my 12 years I lost touch with professional chess. Here, I reconnected...I'm happy I took this risk."

The $64,000 question: Was this for sure the last time he'd play rated chess? Although he insisted pre-tournament that he absolutely intended this to be a one-and-done, a few cracks in the party line occurred.

First, he reiterated how much that one rapid loss hurt him: "For the rest of my life I will have a Navara moment."

And would he double down on his retirement insistence? "Never say never," Kasparov began, to the cheers of the crowd. Then he added even more hope by saying, "If it happens, it could only happen here in St. Louis."

He may make a few more "one-off" returns, but its safe to say we aren't going to see Kasparov regularly playing chess again.

Matt Mackenzie wrote:He may make a few more "one-off" returns, but its safe to say we aren't going to see Kasparov regularly playing chess again.

Mark Crowther on TWIC "The return of Garry Kasparov to an event that was rated was probably the big news. Kasparov showed he still belonged in such company but no longer should be a competitor for first place, his result probably should have been slightly better but he competed well enough. Kasparov long ago drew a line under his professional career. Late careers of World Champions have a function, they provide continuity and connection with the history and older styles of play, they're almost always good enough to compete. I think of Lasker's forced return in the 1930s which was successful, Capablanca's late career in the 1930s provided some of his most important games. I also think of Petrosian playing Kasparov himself at the start of his career. Kasparov has moved on with his life but should play when he is enthusiastic about doing so, as a service to chess, and because he still can."