FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019 - Isle of Man

[Pete Morriss]

Magnus in serious trouble against Kovalev, Sesse +2.56, 93-game unbeaten run in danger......

Sesse now +14.

[JustinHorton]

Kovalev's clock though

[Pete Morriss]

Kovalev's clock though

Yes: now 0.00 at move 40.

[NickFaulks]

Carlsen just seems to have a way to make his opponents play like babies. I hope Kovalev doesn't go back to his room and hang himself.

[Chris Rice]

Carlsen just seems to have a way to make his opponents play like babies. I hope Kovalev doesn't go back to his room and hang himself.

Yes I can see him sitting there beating himself up over this and wonder whether he will end up losing. Hope not, draw against the world champion is still a good result but it just won't feel like it.

[Thomas Rendle]

Seems pretty inappropriate language to me. I'm sure he'll be bitterly disappointed but still.

[JustinHorton]

Carlsen just seems to have a way to make his opponents play like babies. I hope Kovalev doesn't go back to his room and hang himself.

Do you think it's Carlsen per se, though, or just it's really hard to finish off chess games against much better players? It's not like (say) football where if you have a lead you can hang on to it: in chess you nearly always have to find something.

I often find it striking how rately much lower-rated players win their won positions, at any level, and already in this tournament, I've found myself following several games of this type in real time, and it's never quite happened for the underdog (unless you count Najer-Anand, which I don't).

[Thomas Rendle]

On a happier note let's see in Luke can convert his excellent game - early days but he looks back in great form!

[Geoff Chandler]

We all know how hard it is to put the ball over the line when you have a good player on the ropes.
Kovalev spent precious 10 minutes when already with foot in time trouble on one move looking for the killer move.
Never easy. +14 or whatever means nothing, computers know nothing of time trouble, nerves or OTB presence.

"On a happier note let's see if Luke can convert his excellent game"

On an even happier note Keith won his game.

[Richard Bates]

Carlsen just seems to have a way to make his opponents play like babies. I hope Kovalev doesn't go back to his room and hang himself.

Do you think it's Carlsen per se, though, or just it's really hard to finish off chess games against much better players? It's not like (say) football where if you have a lead you can hang on to it: in chess you nearly always have to find something.

I often find it striking how rately much lower-rated players win their won positions, at any level, and already in this tournament, I've found myself following several games of this type in real time, and it's never quite happened for the underdog (unless you count Najer-Anand, which I don't).

Actually i think if one was doing the football analogy one could compare the two. Today's game could be akin to a football team being a goal up (OK maybe 2!) and utterly dominant but into the last few minutes of the game, and seeing the full time whistle in sight in sight simply start playing differently to get to full time. And by doing so suddenly putting the win in jeopardy.

Today surely the key factor was the clock. It seemed to me that from around move 30 onwards all Kovalev was really trying to do was desperately get to the time control. The time control being akin to the final whistle. It just didn't come quick enough (despite multiple repeating of moves - which ironically just made things harder because he was also having to spend time avoiding 3fold).

[JustinHorton]

Carlsen just seems to have a way to make his opponents play like babies. I hope Kovalev doesn't go back to his room and hang himself.

Do you think it's Carlsen per se, though, or just it's really hard to finish off chess games against much better players? It's not like (say) football where if you have a lead you can hang on to it: in chess you nearly always have to find something.

I often find it striking how rately much lower-rated players win their won positions, at any level, and already in this tournament, I've found myself following several games of this type in real time, and it's never quite happened for the underdog (unless you count Najer-Anand, which I don't).

Actually i think if one was doing the football analogy one could compare the two. Today's game could be akin to a football team being a goal up (OK maybe 2!) and utterly dominant but into the last few minutes of the game, and seeing the full time whistle in sight in sight simply start playing differently to get to full time.

Maybe, but by coincidence, as I write I am actually watching a team who are a goal up with ten minutes to go, and the point is, they know for sure that if things stay as they are, they win. [EDIT: equaliser five minutes into injury time.] Kovalev didn't and couldn't know that. There may as you suggest be parallels (in either case, should one shut up shop, or try to kill it off?) but it's really quite a different task, I think.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I recall Kovalev butchering a totally "won" game against Kramnik a few years ago (and he probably does too)

[JustinHorton]

Presumably this one

[Richard Bates]

Do you think it's Carlsen per se, though, or just it's really hard to finish off chess games against much better players? It's not like (say) football where if you have a lead you can hang on to it: in chess you nearly always have to find something.

I often find it striking how rately much lower-rated players win their won positions, at any level, and already in this tournament, I've found myself following several games of this type in real time, and it's never quite happened for the underdog (unless you count Najer-Anand, which I don't).

Actually i think if one was doing the football analogy one could compare the two. Today's game could be akin to a football team being a goal up (OK maybe 2!) and utterly dominant but into the last few minutes of the game, and seeing the full time whistle in sight in sight simply start playing differently to get to full time.

Maybe, but by coincidence, as I write I am actually watching a team who are a goal up with ten minutes to go, and the point is, they know for sure that if things stay as they are, they win. [EDIT: equaliser five minutes into injury time.] Kovalev didn't and couldn't know that. There may as you suggest be parallels (in either case, should one shut up shop, or try to kill it off?) but it's really quite a different task, I think.

Well that kind of goes without saying...

The mindset is the often similar though. Play safe and hope the position/situation wins itself through inaction. How many won games (when material up, especially) have been thrown away by simply swapping off pieces at every opportunity in the hope that every exchange will bring you closer to a trivially won ending. Only to end up in a drawn rook ending...

Love the edit

[NickFaulks]

On a related note, did Gawain's opponent just accept a draw offer that he really didn't ought to have done?