The British - according to the French
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:44 pm
I missed most of the British when on holiday, though already knew that Howell started with 3/3 with wins against Hebden and Gordon already, so did not feel very much in suspense. The next bit of news came when I read the chess column in Liberation, on the final Friday. Despite Liberation being a leading national paper, and France an emerging chess power, I must say that I still don't know who the columnist (Jean-Pierre Mercier) is, though he has been writing it for some years now.
Anyway, he attached an exclamation mark to this having been the 96th Championship, and seemed to find David Howell a little short in comparison with Vachier-Lagrave, saying that David sometimes "a la facon d'un super-joueur de cafe". He gave the moves of Howell v Palliser with the comment that although it might prove to be the decisive game, "elle donne l'impression d'avoir ete disputee au Jardin du Luxembourg par une belle journee ensoleillee"!
Make of that what you will. Adams, by contrast, thought the game worth annotating seriously in his Telegraph column ... and worse still, I visited the Gardens of Luxembourg when returning en route via Paris (on two very hot days) and couldn't find any chess players at all!
I'm surprised that Richard Palliser seems not to have received more praise. I note that Leonard spotted that Hebden made 8.5/9, if one excludes his two losses to Howell and Williams. Palliser made 8/9 in the same circumstances, which many might have thought to be more noteworthy.
Anyway, he attached an exclamation mark to this having been the 96th Championship, and seemed to find David Howell a little short in comparison with Vachier-Lagrave, saying that David sometimes "a la facon d'un super-joueur de cafe". He gave the moves of Howell v Palliser with the comment that although it might prove to be the decisive game, "elle donne l'impression d'avoir ete disputee au Jardin du Luxembourg par une belle journee ensoleillee"!
Make of that what you will. Adams, by contrast, thought the game worth annotating seriously in his Telegraph column ... and worse still, I visited the Gardens of Luxembourg when returning en route via Paris (on two very hot days) and couldn't find any chess players at all!
I'm surprised that Richard Palliser seems not to have received more praise. I note that Leonard spotted that Hebden made 8.5/9, if one excludes his two losses to Howell and Williams. Palliser made 8/9 in the same circumstances, which many might have thought to be more noteworthy.