Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

[Chris Rice]

Chess 24 laying out their coverage plans and giving the schedule. The discussion centres around all the worlds top players who didn't qualify now helping the ones that did. Round 1 Saturday at 2pm UK time.

[Chris Rice]

Chess 24 laying out their coverage plans and giving the schedule. The discussion centres around all the worlds top players who didn't qualify now helping the ones that did. Round 1 Saturday at 2pm UK time.

Who would have thought this would cause a stir? As soon as Carlsen found out Giri was helping Kramnik a Twitter war started. I guess it was intended to be a joke but the poor translation into English messed it up.

[Thomas Rendle]

The first round is very promising, lots of interesting chess. Aronian-Ding Liren is already critical and I'm expecting fireworks later on in Caruana-So.

[JustinHorton]

For a moment I was thinking "is that game an evening kick-off?".

[Matt Fletcher]

Exciting games, but not a good start for the organisers - when I looked there were only around 300 watching the (free) official stream - I guess it may have picked up later on - followed by this from Grischuk in the post-match interview, when asked what he thought about the start of the tournament:

It's a bad day for me for this question, because I think the playing conditions are absolutely terrible... Now that I lost it will sound like an excuse or something but believe me it's not. I mean, there's not even water in the toilet.

(from here around 49:10)

[JustinHorton]

Also

[Matt Fletcher]

Also Karjarkin and Mamedyarov, to a question about the venue:

Actually, I don't like almost anything in the organisation of the tournament. I don't like (the) hotel, I don't like (the) venue, and also it was a few times very noisy during the game

I agree with Sergei half to half. I think the hotel is OK for me, but (the) tournament hall, it is sometimes quite difficult to think. Also today it was one big mistake...Sergei thought too much and I saw Judit Polgar commentary on how to play this game...I don't know...how it's possible to show the commentator in the playing hall.

[David Sedgwick]

I was present at the Opening Ceremony on Friday 9th March and I have written a report about it which was pretty scathing. I don't wish to publish it.

I am sorry to hear about the problems experienced by the players, but I am not in the least surprised.

[Roger de Coverly]

From the chessbase coverage
https://en.chessbase.com/post/candidate ... und-1-live

Once again citing the specious YouGov survey data from 2012, as a basis for setting expectations of viewership, Merenzon says the goal is to reach 20-30 million people who will follow the Candidates in Berlin regularly.

Perhaps the message is getting through to commentators.

[NickFaulks]

I was present at the Opening Ceremony on Friday 9th March and I have written a report about it which was pretty scathing. I don't wish to publish it

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that Agon are literally incompetent to organise a pissup in a brewery.

They will be held to account, but their protection evidently extends to the Batumi General Assembly. The WC match in London is of course after that.

[Matt Fletcher]

From the chessbase coverage
https://en.chessbase.com/post/candidate ... und-1-live

Once again citing the specious YouGov survey data from 2012, as a basis for setting expectations of viewership, Merenzon says the goal is to reach 20-30 million people who will follow the Candidates in Berlin regularly.

Perhaps the message is getting through to commentators.

Merenzon here throws about some pretty incredible* stats, starting with 600 million and moving up. So far, the video has achieved 163 views...

*ie, not even slightly credible

[Roger de Coverly]

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that Agon are literally incompetent to organise a pissup in a brewery.

I thought their presentation in terms of video standard was of a higher quality for Berlin 2018 than it had been for London in 2013. Perhaps not hard to beat, but little things like being able to see the live clock times matters. The lighting and presentation in London had the effect that clock times were unreadable. The display board was higher quality as well.

[JustinHorton]

Complaints to my personal email address, says Merenzon. I wonder how many he expects.

[Paul Dargan]

@JustinHorton re:Merenzon - he did engage with me via email regarding the broadcasting rights model a few years back - so I don't doubt that he will respond to emails to that address. How many he expects I don't know - but another internet fallover is embarassing...

[JustinHorton]

Oh, with me as well. However, if he really believed there were hundreds of millions of us out here, I doubt he'd be extending this invitation.